Well, for starters, Age authors shouldn't need to write their own Python and SDL, especially not for common tasks. Which as I say, they currently have to do even for things as simple as Linking Books and Journals. Another thing is a lack of primitives: you should be able to take a bunch of simple things and tie them into something more intricate. Not having primitives means that a lot of stuff winds up being redone for different Ages in Cyan's Ages, which results in bugs fixed in one place but not another. Another one is debugging: it's nice to be able to take a look at the log and see what is happening, whereas ResponderModifiers can be a black box from a debugging perspective. Another is the unclear (to Age authors) network syncing behavior; what state is it in and why is it not getting to the state it should, they wonder. Another big one is cross-platformness: some features don't work on all games (i.e. Pots and UU and Moulagain) and now the Age is accidentally specific to one game. (Some of the linking features are especially bad for this.) I've listed more reasons in the past, too.
Indeed, I was the one who originally documented how to use SDL and Python in fan Ages! (See my old tutorials for Blender.) (And I've implemented SDL and vault engines for Talcum, so I know the technical particulars.) I've paid close attention to the problems they have and why, and spent a lot of time thinking of the cleanest way I can conceive within the confines of Plasma. They may have some elegance to them (as I noticed in 2005), but I think that it is mostly illusory to us developers, especially when I talk to Age authors. (Of which I am also one :P)
Edit: It's less of a second system, as it is a library which makes use of certain parts of the old way, to provide a better way of doing things. Again, an Age can use both ways, as the author sees fit. Both coexist perfectly.
So in summary, I've used both methods to make Ages, and I find this method I've been working on to be much, much easier. And I think nearly everyone who uses both with an honest mind, will agree.
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