I was just wondering about multiplayer...

Yeah it does sound kind of like a crossover between homeworld and voyages.

Or "revamp" for that matter.  (or maybe that's G.K.'s buzzword, haha)

We really only talked about multiple levels within the context that level two was gladiatorial, but there's still much more to be revealed about Hubworld which might explain things a bit more. For now, the roadmap does the best job of explaining what's next (+/- three months, mind you).

From the roadmap:

• Players will have the ability to progress up through successive Hubworld levels.
  
• Each group of four gods earns the right to progress up a Hubworld level.
  
• One god from each Hubworld will be voted up to the next Hubworld where they will meet three other gods, each drawn from different Hubworlds in the same way.
  
• Gameplay changes dramatically between levels. For example, in a higher level Hubworld, each player’s Followers will trade blows in Gladiatorial-style combat.

It still makes no sense.  Either all 4 go up or not.  If the representative goes up to the next level and gets 3 other "chosen ones" what do the 3 not chosen get when they go up the level? 

It still sounds like Hubworld is a series of throwaway experiences as you progress up a ladder that may or may not require you to defeat the three other opponents you encounter.  I played that trivial and simplistic pseudo-pvp from the 1.x days.  It was mediocre at best and sort of simplistic to boot.  There's all this talk of new offensive god powers but I wonder which "level" you finally get that tornado power.  How long is it in progression before you unlock that meteor that's been lurking in and out of the code base for months?

When I see something so vague it appears to contradict itself, it sets me on edge.  I'm not even going to dignify gladiatorial style combat until I see an inkling of what that's supposed to mean.  It all sounds like "hey, let's put a mini-fighting game in for variety." 

My guess is play will go something like this:

4 players will queue up for a Hubworld match. 
They are all plopped down on a fresh map for whatever level they're playing and they sprint to accomplish whatever objectives they need to win. 
The winner will move up a level. 
The rest can queue up for a new match and try again. 
Each level has a different objective and power set so they are all different. 
Nothing that a player does in Hubworld carries over (apart from win/loss).


If that's how it's going to be, it'd make sense to not have chatting.  What gets me is that it goes completely counter to every interview PM made where he brought up player interaction.  If a level has concrete goals, we all know exactly how players are going to react when they meet each other.  There's no questioning what they'll do.  It's all based on the level objectives.  If the objective is to be last man standing, then death and destruction ensue.  No surprises, no mystery, and no way people are going to enjoy it in the long term.  It feels like being led by the nose.