Quoting shadowtongue, reply 119There are fine options out there if this is your thing, I don't see what Elemental or FE would have to offer for MP that would be any better than anything else honestly, and specifically better than games designed for MP from the start.
I think you greatly overestimate or exaggerate the number of 4x TBS games that are "designed for MP from the start."
I may or I may not, but the point remains. What is it about Elemental or FE that would make MP superior to existing games which are either designed for, or cater primarilly to MP?
Even games such as AoW or HoMM which are not specifically MP, though do have specific maps created to cater to MP games. Yes, modders and map makers can and will do the same for Elemental, but again, what is it about Elemental which makes it 'superior' to those games for MP specifically?
Then you can just take a look at Dominons 3 if you want a real fantasy TBS geared almost entirely towards MP. I'm sure there are others, not the least including FFH. Hell there's even a way to play MoM against other people (I think there is anyway). There's Battle for Wesnoth as well.
Now we can state that Elemental does or has things which these other games do not, but I think the larger point is that one thing Elemental does not have, and appears will not have, is the kind of MP people here are asking for. So yes, ask for whatever you want, but I simply have a hard time understanding what it is about these games which makes people clammor so much for MP. And I say that as a person who does play MP, just that I have no interest in playing Elemental MP, because it seems clear from what Brad is saying that whatever the MP is going to wind up, it's not really going to be much of a focus.
So I go back to the same stance I had during the GC2 development. Screw MP, focus on SP, and at some point when the product is mature, if it makes business sense, open up MP or sell an MP expansion, or whatever.