It's a programming/scripting language for people who are obsessed with spaces and tabs.

I love the internet; any moron with a keyboard can pour their uneducated opinions out for all to read.  Only on this Forum, the CEO steps in to explain the situation.  And only on this Forum, he's basically told he's wrong by an uneducated moron.

+1

Myself, I am please to see Stardock adding more talent to their company to improve upon Elemental. Only a retard would be against this. As for Jon, I never played Civ V. but only a retard would assume that all decision are made by the lead designer, espicially on a AAA studio. there is nothing here that tells us that making the game easier/simpler didn't came from higher up and was part of the thing Jon had to make with the game.

So I am guessing that guys like the OP believe Sid Meier is the bane of the gaming sim industry because one day he created a game called civilization Revolution? Pathetic...

It's not because Jon simplified Civ V that his role will be the same on elemental. We do not know, beside making the game more extensible, what jon will be contributing to on Elemental and other games.

To be fair modding support is great but the more complex modding is not hugely important to alot of people. Me for instance.. give me some XML or CSV etc and let me go to town.. once i have to SDK or python i'm out of my league so the potential it has from there is moot unless i'm lucky enough to run into a prebuilt mod component that is A. exactly what i wanted and B.useable in the CURRENT version of the game.

I said modding support is great.. not HIS modding support. I meant in general. Since I know jack about python which civ IV used(Civ V uses something else forgot what it was) and SDK i can't really comment on how civ Vs modding support is.

Which is funny.. that if something is great in civ V then it was shafer but if something was terrible then its not his fault? wtf

Python has alot more capabilities than XML.

Comparing python to xml is like comparing Windows to a text file.

You know what... you're exactly right. I'm sure he added parts I don't like as well as parts I like to Civ5.

I'm not saying everything he changes with Elemental will make it better. I'm saying I will not pass judgement based on Civ5.

I'm not saying that he won't do a great job on elemental. I'm saying that in my opinion he ruined the lastest installment of my favorite franchise and i'm still pissed about it. I bought elemental to get away from the sort of design decisions he made only for him to be  hired on to the game i bought to support a different design style. Its maddening I tell you. A lesson in the absurd.

And to be honest. Had this been announced prior to my purchase of elemental I wouldn't have bought it. Simply because the state of Civ V is what lead me to buy elemental.  I woulda just said F it i'll wait for a new paradox game.

Which is basically my point.. (or was before i got derailed in thought) the ill will (deserved or not) that people feel toward shafer for Civ V is now going to be felt by elemental. As the OP has demonstrated.

Ha.  Insanity reigns.  Neverwinter Nights would have failed, had it stood on its campaign alone.  What made it a success was that it was highly extensible and modifiable.

I'd agree with the campaign being awful, and seemingly tacked on, but Elemental itself is pretty fun in v1.1. 

Producing software in public large organizations is design by committee in the worst way; as a software designer most of my job is screaming at idiots with the money until one of us gives up.  When I do my job right, I win and interfaces that don't make people cry are released.  When I lose I try and get a sigma process attached to the project so we can chart the fail rate of their design decisions.  Most software that sucks is greenlit by money guys who don't care.  One of the things that makes SD so good is the money guy DOES care, and deeply.

I personally am ""meh" about Civ 5.  Combat is much improved and tactically interesting, larger systems are crippled, and the AI is brain dead.  First Civ I have abandoned from boredom in 2 weeks since I was 12.  And at this point I expect them to charge me for a DL additon Gengis Kahn that uses horses. 

Since there is evidence of great, good, and bad, let the man stand on the work he does in this game. 

which is what?

I have failed to find a cogent point in this discussion.  Brad and his team personally interviewed a qualified candidate with major experience.  They looked at his resume and portfolio, I am sure that their understanding of Jon's role with Civ5 is far greater than Rebelito's.  I'm also quite confident that their understanding of the needs of their company is much clearer than Rebelito's.

Here "Since there is evidence of great, good, and bad, let the man stand on the work he does in this game." is a cogent point.

So to the heart of the OP's beef...What's the dealio with Jon Shafer and Civ5?  Why did Jon leave Civ5 series for Elemental?  Was Jon not happy over there?  I am quiting my job of 16 years simply because I no longer enjoy it.  I no longer believe my management.  Actions speak louder than words, it does not take a rocket scientist to match actions to words and when they do or they don't match - draw your conclusions. 

I think the real deal is the reason Jon left and to the OP that just might be not for public consumption.  But hey now, I'm curious!  Any Drama involved?