I could be wrong, of course, and/or this could have been changed since I read this.

During the MP phase of beta MP had to be done thru their server (no LAN or players hosting), and for me syncing was so bad that after a few tries I gave up testing it (units would appear to move but not move, they'd 'skate' off the map, etc. -- truly untestable each time I tried).  I never saw much to indicate my experiences were unique (again I could be wrong) so I'm wondering how good a test MP got.

Add to the above that many game features weren't present and/or have been greatly changed since the beta MP test, and I'm wondering how MP will work. 

Given the crunch to get the game ready for release, and the above mentioned MP issues, my guess is that MP was in no condition for release, they didn't have time to work on it, and that's why it's not in now.  Statements that it would be added 'next week' (ie -- this week) were likely made when the mindset was that the release was more successful than it now appears, and given the size of Boogie's list I'd be surprised to see MP implemented in the foreseeable future (please to prove me wrong!  )

MP was disabled entirely in the beta in beta 3 and never turned back on. Beta 2 didn't have most of the game systems in yet, so from the public testers MP was basically not tested at all.

TBH at this point none of the friends I wanted to play MP with are remotely interested anymore. They see Civ 5 on the horizon and assume that it's MP will work within a week of launch.

I hear people complaining that they promised multiplayer and didn't deliver...

Why aren't you complaining about they promised a GAME and DIDN'T deliver?

Is it a good strategy game? No. There have been countless threads discussing combat, magic, research, and other topics showing why this game is currently a joke. And it is awful after 100 turns due to slowdown.

And yet there's still some people enjoying it anyway. "Good" is a subjective thing, and ultimately a playable game was delivered in one form or another.

"Multiplayer doesn't work" isn't. It's just a statement of fact. So they're not quite the same thing.

I can't remember ever encountering something quite like this for a box feature on a game that Brad said was "ready for release" before. It's rather disheartening.

What's that -- 'MPing'? 

The game was too unstable for him to beta test, so he's just now starting to play.  We each play SP while on voice comms, and I answer his  basic questions (the game is much easier/funner to learn when someone can answer the basic questions and offer basic pointers), and we both compare notes/strategies/discoveries.  It's kinda MP, and we've been having fun.  We both like the game and hope that we'll have real MP in the not-too-distant future.

The second guy I bought the game for has been too busy since release, but hopefully he'll join us soon.  There's a 4th who's got the game for MP, and if things continue to improve as they have been, a 5th will be made and offer he can't refuse...

Hopefully, after Civ5 loses a bit of it's shine/luster/newness, and Elemental's MP is in and stable, your friends will return.

Hmmm.... now I'm starting to wonder if Civ5 might lure away my buddies...  Ack

I was unaware til recently that Civ 5 will be very moddable(at least so the gamestop thing says, which is probably THE WORST spot to get information). If that's the case I'm shocked anyone would stay who is just a fan of TBS games. The only thing setting this really far apart is the environment, which really isn't too magical no matter how hard the title tries to make it seem so.

Civ 4 was extremely moddable. You had simple mods in the form of XML (like Elemental has), things like map scripts in python (Elemental will apparently have python scripts at some point for mods, but not sure if that'll allow map generation), and massive changes using compiled C++ with the SDK.

The last one was harder to use, but opens up a ton of power.

civ 5 will not die down lol....and a pre review is out and its getting rave reviews...its going to destroy lives...im not going to be upset about the state of elemental because i will have that coming at the end of the month i can play that until this where i would like it to be ..i can understand the people angry about multiplayer these are things that could have been helped with a delay of release...but at the same time...i think if it goes in right now....you will be just as mad because of everything that is stripped out compared to playing against ai....so either way SD cant win with you about it.

Then People would have been Mad because of the delay.  I don't think they could win for losing on that.

Stardock is being very cryptic about multiplayer in this game.  I think nobody has any idea when it will be in the game, how well it will work, or what features it will include.  All I know for sure is it will definitely be different somehow.

Last week they said it would be available this week, and earlier this week the in-game message, when clicking multiplayer, said "Later this week."  After the 1.07 update the in-game message says "We are looking for feedback on single-player before enabling multiplayer" (or something like that). 

As Nick says, multiplayer worked very poorly during its brief test in the beta.  Sounds like for those problems to be resolved, especially since the game is much more complex than it was back then, it will take a lot of work and a lot of time.  Even then, since it wouldn't have been available to the public, there could be a ton more bugs that need to be sorted out once it is enabled.

What will the game even have in it when it is enabled?  It probably won't have tactical battles.  It probably won't have quests.  The tech trees will be different, but who knows exactly how.  There will be no tactical spells to research, and instead there will be equivalent spells put in their place.

I am content to wait, but I can't help be curious as to why Stardock is being so obscure about multiplayer.

Just to say, Frogboy have said, last week, that MP is ready to go. But team need a rest. So they will enable it this week. Which is obviously not the case.

I still do not get it. Why they are changing MP experience, from SP. Would not it be better, to release it with same things as SP has, to make sure it is working  and then continue from there? Instead of changing rules even before people get the chance to decide what they want?

There is enough limitations already.

No random generated maps(seeds)

No Tactical battles

Different spells (If I understood properly in Master List thread)

Different Technology Trees

Limited Quests

And maybe others. It seems to me like a waste of time. Maybe you want to make it right stardock, and you try to bring us more balanced version of elemental. But this is going to take you, quiete long time. As single player has everything except any sense of balance.