As much as we love Assertive, and want him to make the AI better, the moment he gets hired he’ll probably be sucked into AoM and AoE3 will be the last thing on his mind.
Maybe I’m the crazy one, but don’t you think that doesn’t matter? If they hire him, the only thing that should matter to us is that they pay him well and let him work comfortably. Besides, if they hire him, nothing prevents him from improving the AI of this game as a hobby, assuming that he wants that, of course.
I appreciate all the kind words! As much as I’d love to do a little part-time improvement to 3DE’s AI, that’s probably the most I would even be interested in doing. I only play 2 games: AoE3:DE and WoL.
It’s only a loss if he decides he doesn’t want to do more stuff for AOE3 and I think that’s up to Assertive to decide, whether it’s because of Microsoft or because he’s tired of making mods, we can only wish him the best.
I also think we are making a storm in a glass of water, Assertive is still an active modder and given that Microsoft has been cutting staff lately, I doubt they will hire anyone in general. Even so, if it happens I’d be happy for him.