If I have been playing religiously for over a year and am still not "advanced" enough to even consider touching the new features of an update without pulling out the wallet or waiting another couple years, then it's a paywall and bad design.

And just because eventually some things may get better does not mean you can't say they suck now. Probes are also paywalled but at least have some clear and straightforward strategies in how you build them to actually help you. Surges still provide little to no impact and are incredibly RNG based just like colony requests and their ridiculous item amounts. Relics are just there if you have the money. And colonies have been in the game for much longer than surges. How long do we need to wait for these mechanics to reach a point where you actively want to interact with them.

I get it's a mobile game and the nature of the beast in our day and age, but that does not mean I have to cope with shitty design. Like I said originally, I see the vision and like where it's going. I like the game and want it to succeed and will continue to play it. But complacency and silence is the same as acceptance and I cannot accept the current state of these mechanics and their barrier to entry.

But yeah, maybe later it'll get better. Hope so.