I have played two 14 point games since that post and at some point will likely post another HUGE THING. I can see some of what Malloc is saying, not sure if I'd call it a crapshoot though. Someone on facebook tell him to bring his discussion here.
Gary Sax wrote: Malloc is dropping tons of thoughts on this on Facebook, btw.
tldr He's played it 4 times. He's iffy on it. Says it's too easy to do things, especially vp, which makes the game a crapshoot with a much lower skill dependence. Worth reading the full thoughts if you're friends with him on fb.
After two half games (time ran out both times with new players) I'd have to agree TI4 is a lot friendlier to gamers new to the TI experience and even to the Epic game experience, whether that's good or bad is relative to your ability to wrestle with and subdue the TI beast - the Mallocs of this world probably do find the playing field too level, most of the bumps and mountains are gone.
I'm glad that TI4 is more accessible to new players, because that inaccessibility of TI3 made for a very niche game that even I could only play once in a while, despite a dedicated local group.