Community is about respecting everyone's contribution,
I've respected her contribution. Redpower 2 was great back when it was a thing. The Big Bang Mod Concept doesn't work so well anymore, for a variety of reasons. Even relatively heavyweight mods like Thermal Expansion are much smaller than RP2 and
contribute to an ecosystem. The great irony is that Eloraam's design sense and dev style are most like another controversial figure in the community: Greg of Gregtech.
Greg's been having a ton of trouble maintaining his mod's balance in the face of a fleet of popular and upcoming mods because his big-bang style of design imposes a lot of restrictions on other mods in the pack, and greatly constrains the freedom of modpack maintainers hoping to achieve something akin to "balance."
RP2 is, even in 1.4.7, totally "unbalanced." Many things we expect it to do simply don't appear. Many things that other mods feel are expensive are utterly trivialized by RP2. It was only the exceptional quality of RP2 that let it pull these off at the time. But now, we have other mods with exceptionally cool machines, great art direction and a great velocity. Minefactory Reloaded and Thermal Expansion are shining examples of new leaders.
I feel the way about the MFR team and the TE team that I think you feel about Eloraam: I root for them and I have inexplicably devoted
a lot of my time to selling MFR. But if they stopped producing, I'd say, "So sad. What else can I use?"
Because, and this is key:
software is a process, not a product. It's different from a bridge, or a song, or even a car. It is expected as part of its very purpose to evolve and grow over time. If you can't provide that as a developer your best option is to open the source and ask for help.
not just discarding bits and pieces because someone else is doing something similar and catering to your 'needs' (wants) sooner.
I don't understand what you're saying, Enigmus. I've given Eloraam her due: Rp2 was ahead of its time. It's not so much now. When she releases something, I'll be excited to see it.
By the way...
just because you can mash together a half dozen other mods to achieve 95% of the functionality
This situation? "half a dozen mods?"
This is a better outcome. Why? Redpower 2 is an object lesson in why. An ecosystem is resilient and diverse, people can come and go, it can grow and shrink as the community demands; all without even trying. Eloraam hits busy months at the right time and suddenly RP2 is gone and everyone flips out.
I keep seeing a persistent disdain here for mixed mod solutions asserted without even the vaguest sense of irony. I think it's funny given where we are.