Profile of 5trategos

So I've given it about 8hrs this weekend and it's a pretty decent game to be honest. They've obviously given more attention to multiplayer than they initially let on. That being said, the multiplayer is basically limited to quickmatch (no leagues, infrastructure for events). I didn't notice a live match spectating section either, but maybe I just missed it.

The early game feels a lot more consequential than other RTSs, if you lose too much territory early on it feels like it's much harder to bounce back. As you upgrade resource points however, the income rate grows significantly and by mid-late-game you can churn out units almost continuously. It makes for an interesting dynamic where single units are extremely important early on but very disposable late game. There's also a lot of room for micro with devastating ability combinations.

The impact of terrain (cover, vision, blocking) has been dumbed down compared to CoH. But given the amount of micro required by units and their abilities it doesn't feel like something's missing. The current mechanics stand on their own.

The fear-mongering over the supposed MOBA elements are over-blown. Their function is similar to base bunkers in CoH in that they prevent base rushes until late-tier units arrive. That's pretty much all they do. There's almost no impact on map control otherwise.

There's depth here, but in a more traditional sense where tactics are somewhat less impactful than in CoH but micro, macro and buildings take a bigger share of the pie.

well, i can only speak based on the things they say in interviews and the stuff they produce.

for coh2 i have never read about that "pushing it to the limits" or "rethink every mechanic until its perfect", but for vcoh that has been true and i think it shows

Were you even around back then (vCoH)? Yeah they re-thought the shit out of the kangaroo for about a year without patching the game. And all those times strafing runs alternated between broken OP and useless with months on end going by. They pushed it to the limits so hard...

The frustrating thing is that despite the bad rep they get due to their lack of support for EVERY game they release, there's little or no change in the long run. Relic still treats their multiplayer component as an afterthought.

I don't know, maybe only industry giants like Blizzard and Valve can afford workable balance teams and proper after-launch support and events. In that case the only thing Relic has going for itself is that none of the big boys decided to steal their lunch money in a while. That, and government protectionism because they clearly wouldn't have survived without those subsidies.

Since there's little or no focus on competitive RTS players, I take that to mean that Relic isn't really interested in competitive gaming.

I'm done wishing for something they obviously have no interest in delivering.

I have very low expectations for this game and Eugen's track record on strategy games is weak.

Wargame is nice if you have a fetish for miniature models but you'd be sorely disappointed at its lack of tactical depth. Thousands of units don't mean shit if they all fall in a handful of indistinguishable roles.

RUSE is barely worth mentioning and I'd be genuinely ashamed to have Act of Aggression on my resume.

We'll see how Steel Division turns out, but judging by the way they deride other games as being "contrived rock-paper-scissors" suggests that they don't really understand strategy games to begin with and that they're mostly in the business of producing pretty dioramas.

Have we still not come to grips with the fact that CoH2 was never meant to be a competitive game?

Also, I don't think consistency is the word you're looking for. Standard deviation from expected outcome maybe? Extra credits has a good video on this. They call it 'the delta of randomness' (and they use Heartstone as an example too).
The delta of randomness

Tank combat is a good example of frustrating RNG, I agree with you there. Infantry combat, no. It's not random. Each model has its own health pool that is added to the health bar of the squad. If you see a 5 man squad with very little health, it simply means that all models are low health. Similarly, you could have a 5 man squad lose one member while all others are full health. He was closer to the enemy and got focused down. It sucks, but it's not random.