New players get the shaft

[BrinDarby]

If you try a test city, you have to morph into "Shultz"
to see how bad/good it is.... You have to pretend you
"know nothing", and play that way.

My guess is, more ppl than before, will hit CH5 and be :
OverScouted, OverExpansioned, out of goods, and out
of troops too. Thats if they stuck around long enough.
Hitting the slog in Ch3 to CH5, breaks alotta players,
that is without considerable fellowship shupport....

One reason req's for stuff in CH3 and below are as low
as they are, is because untill you hit 700% boost on ALL 3
of your boosted goods... playing is expensive. Starting CH4
the req's are such, that advancement speed decreases due
to... game balance used to match the old tech tree, and
last time I checked... Inno didn't go back and readjust like
1000+ buildings's stats and CH req's .... lol. ( 700% boost
takes more time that you think... lol )

I'll never understand the chg, cause I'll never get a 1on1
with someone who can explain it to me step/step.... heh.

 

[Rolling Hills]

When the new player changes were announced, I had a very negative reaction. Still, I had to wonder if maybe I was just reacting to change without understanding. So, I decided to play the new regime, and I find it to be an across-the-board improvement. It's not perfect, but I do think it is a carefully considered and well-planned attempt to make the game better. I commend the folks who worked on it.

Having to make some progress and research a tech for Neighbor Help and Fellowships, is a good thing. It reinforces their importance, gives the sense of discovery to them, and gives the player a very useful and easy goal to achieve.

The Magic Academy is one of the hearts of the game. It is arguably the most complicated building in the game. It takes time for a player to understand what it does and how it works. Introducing it early on is probably best, since players may need to kick it around for a bit before they can utilize it fully. Heck, I've been playing long enough to remember when the MA wasn't nearly so complicated. That big old building really felt like a giant paperweight back then.

The biggest improvement may be the completely changed initial quest process. The quests are now more beneficial, more varied, and better introduce the game. These are a terrific boon to new players now, much improved over the past. (I don't find the quests ideal by any means. I think there is too much leading-by-the-nose. I contend that the battle vs. bargain argument is a false one, and the quests lean hard on making this choice. Eight upgraded workshops is too much.)

IMHO, as a long-term player, I think the new players have a much better start to the game now.