Somebody said:
It's not the craftsmanship that I dislike, it's the powerlevel. Something like this on a lower level (No Ancients, No universe-changing events) would be great stuff and I hope to see that.
Seconded.
The adventure itself is outstanding, far better than the original one IMHO, and has several particularly interesting and useful features (such as the NPC role-play tips and the many instances where players can get to use both common and rarer skills).
It also feels like a particularly cool sci-fi film or mini-series, and a bit like later-season Babylon 5 (which I like, though, IMHO, the first season was the best).
I'm just not sure that this will fit into my regular quasi-TNE trader/politics-sandbox campaign; while I like PCs influencing the setting, Secret of the Ancients deals with a VERY high power-level that is MUCH higher than that of my current campaign. It also seems like something that has to be run more or less exclusively, rather than, say, something you can easily mix with other adventures as you could do with CT's Twilight Peak.
But, nevertheless, I am impressed by the fact that Mongoose would be releasing something as extensive and as good as this for free. Thanks again to Mongoose!
Though, if this will keep the current quality level, I might be tempted to run this as a short-term, stand-alone campaign, and possibly even buy the hardback once it'll be out.
By the way, what is the recommended group size for this adventure? Would a smaller group work well with it?