Bulgakov, you're being incredibly inflamatory and disrespectful [of Relic] in my opinion.
OK, let's not compare the support on CoH2 to CoH1. But then let's compare Relic to other game developers. Are they delivering the support you can expect with other games?
Why not? That's exactly what the OP is doing. Relic have patched COH2: Western Front Armies more than Blizzard have patched Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls, and in less time. That's incredible, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.
OP has a point, CoH1 had something which CoH2 still doesn't have. I haven't worked out what it is exactly but there was some magic in vcoh. The feel of the gameplay, the atmosphere, the strategy options... For its time it was practically flawless.
I hate this shit. Don't come in here with your high and mighty COH1 was best because reasons (which we can't argue against). It's quite honestly insulting you think this is at all helpful to post. Relic have crafted a superior game and "it doesn't feel right". Sure.
As someone said, the original dev team left Relic, leaving us with the people who thought Brits were a good idea. Brits were the antithesis of Vcoh and really spoiled the game. It's that development team that we still have today designing CoH2. They don't have the finesse of the original team.
Staff changes happen. Some original COH1 people will still be there too, like Quinn. They have learned a lot since COH1, and I think WFA has, as Rogers has stated, some of the best design to date, and has brought a lot of folks back to the game. They don't have the finesse of the original team - they have more. They have a different vision, and are executing it how they want.
I will agree that Josh is one of kind - his vision on Diablo 3:ROS has been ridiculous, and made the game fantastic. It's likely part of what made COH1 so good (at least you see the same direction). Hell, Diablo 3 has been through two "Relic" developers to date. Jay Wilson worked on Dawn of War 1. I think it is a fine comparison to any Relic product.
Now CoH2 does get more patches and some new features are great. And I'm hoping they can iron it out because it is potentially better than vcoh.
This is your opinion. I think it is already greater - it has 4 unique sides and far fewer issues (as mentioned Brits) than vCoH, with fairly decent balance and a handful of issues that need fixing.
BUT the OP's main point is good. There are a lot of bugs and game-breaking units and other very serious problems with the game. The Relic team reacts to these incredibly slowly.
The OP has the same attitude as you - COH1 is great because "reasons". How does that help, how is that useful feedback? This is such bullcrap. They fixed the healing crate stuff unbelievably fast. I remember putting up with Dark Crusade (same year as COH1) and Soulstorm bugs for MONTHS. Dawn of War 2 still has glaring issues.
I know arguing with you types (COH1 is so perfect omfg COH2 sucks) is completely pointless, but I don't think you realize how much of a dis-service your comments are to the current team.
Yeah, Relic has changed. I know that as much as anybody - seeing so many good developers and faces go, like TASK3R and Egon, and the countless others. They've also had tradegies, like with Brian Wood dying (which seriously affected the whole team). It's not the same company, they have a different publisher and things have changed. But they still make GREAT games, and since COH2's release I'd had a lot of faith restored. Look at them take care of the old Dawn of War games - its utterly fantastic. I can't think of a single other developer that has safe-guarded its legacy so well.
The attitude and word of mouth people like you have created about COH2 is one of the biggest issues. Even after massive improvements you maintain the game is "worse than the original". It's no wonder the player-base is so hesitant to try it out if these are the sorts of posts or ideals that go around. If the game is on "life support", that's because you want to believe the game should be more like COH1. Your the same type of person that made everyone hate Dawn of War 2.
This whole post has made me come-across as some sort of Relic defender. I'm not. I'll be frank, the release of COH2 was a tremendous downpoint for me. I really felt SEGA had crippled Relic and that the game couldn't be saved. The last year has taught me otherwise. I'm glad that my faith has been restored, and I stayed through the bumpy times. I'm still going to be critical of Relic because WHERE IS MY OBS MODE and WHY ARE YOU IN THE ESL WITH SO MANY BUGS. But I can't stand the lies people are spreading, or won't look at the numbers. (Editors note: I know that Obs mode is coming, its just far later than it should be).