Changes and phased implementations are always inconvenient, and especially so if you're running right on the ragged edge of what's possible with the current system. As a minimum you're going to have to find a new groove.
Four months ago, in mid-December, the InnoGames YouTube promo highlighted three upcoming features:
- Fairies, which we now have, although we only have the first half of Chapter VII
- Magic Academy, although we only have three vanilla spells, so far
- Provincial Tournaments, which were featured in the April video a few days ago
Fairies are "just another" guest race. The buildings are really nice, and the tech tree and buildings seem to be better tuned, but it's "old technology."
Magic Academies are the misfortune of the moment, so let's examine the BEST way to introduce a major paradigm shift.
- Write some transitional code, to ease the pain for existing users, and then throw it away in a few months when it's no longer needed
- Write clean code for how it's SUPPOSED to work, forevermore, and keep the jarring adjustments as simple (as bug free) as possible
The essential consideration is that transitional code is VERY difficult to write. And the folks who want to be unhappy about the paradigm shift are going to be unhappy about the paradigm shift whether you use the gradual method or the abrupt method. You can't win that battle. Overall, the abrupt method will cause far less TOTAL pain and it's far more efficient, for everybody.
As recent examples we DO have the Ancient Wonders and the Advanced Scouting paradigm shifts. The paradigm shift was optional for one release cycle, then it became mandatory. It's admittedly tough to keep your sense of humor while you're finding your new groove, but find it you must.
- Dragging it out just means that it will be longer before things can settle down again.
- Get in, Get out, Get on with it
I don't think that the Provincial Tournament will be a major paradigm shift. They're more on the order of "well it's about time."
- An extra 32 or so Relics per week will eliminate many of the current objections to the Magic Academy
- An extra 29 or so Knowledge Points per week will brighten up the tactical landscape for Ancient Wonders
- Hopefully the developers will do something remarkable about vacancies and the immigration algorithm, while they're doing some major surgery on the world map anyway, for the Provincial Tournaments, and Muf-Muf has implied just that.
Takeaway: Quick and Clean is the BEST way to introduce a major paradigm shift.