Concerns about lack of Tutorial and Price of Game

[Dryton]

( This is not a flame or a rant, I LIKE THE GAME, I just have some issues is all)

I am a longtime SE fan and I own quit a few other Shrapnel titles as well. I am not too concerned about graphics of the game although it's pretty rough. I'm big on gameplay, strategy and re-playability however I think that quality graphics and sound should be a part of any game nowadays. I like the demo and the game deffinately seems to have promise, however I was not at all impressed that there was no tutorial. Not a smart idea to send a demo out to try to get people to buy the game and they end up getting frustrated in the first 5 - 10 minutes into the game because they couldn't figure out that they had to create a God before they could start playing (yea, I saw the little sub-title down in the bottom but my other 3 friends did not).

My main issue however is with the price of the game. How did Shrapnel or Illwinter come up w/ this kind of price tag??? This game is by no means an "A-List" game. It's very rough around the edges and would not stand up to the games that are coming out in today's standards when it comes to graphics and sound. Other turn based strategy games that come to mind are Age of Wonders and Civ 3 (I paid 39.99 for AoW). I would like to get everyone's feedback on this or just some explanation to a loyal Shrapnel fan as to why I should pay 45.95 for a game that should be priced around 34.95 or less.