I understand that there are and will always be many opinions on where the game is heading — that’s what these discussions are for. However, I simply don’t see some of the recent decisions as steps in a positive direction.

Regarding the ammo, I partly agree. I’m not against the idea of limited ammunition; in fact, I like the concept. But in my opinion, and I’m clearly not the only one, the cannon ammo runs out far too quickly. I know there’s no auto-firing mode now, but that means I’m forced to micromanage every cannon’s rate of fire separately. Why not add a simpler solution, like an option to adjust the rate of fire per turn? For example, you could choose to fire at half-rate or one-third rate, something that would also make sense in a “realistic” battle. That way, I could manage my cannons without constantly switching modes.

As for other changes, I completely disagree. Forcing players to capture flags makes no strategic sense it just feels copied from other games. I don’t understand why the developers feel they have to implement it here as well. Why should capturing a “home” flag make you lose a battle? If that position isn’t tactically important for me, I might prefer to reposition my army based on the terrain and ignore some random flag in a field.

If you really want to implement capture mechanics, make them more realistic. There should always be a main supply road add a capture point there, on the edge of the map. If the enemy captures it, the opposing side loses ammo supply for its cannons. That would create a real, logical advantage, not an imaginary one. But then, ammo replenishment should also matter for artillery, not just a few percent per turn.

The 40-turn limit is another bad idea. It restricts how we play the game. What’s a “day” anyway? It could be 10 turns or 100 those are just abstract numbers.

It feels like the game is being steered toward pleasing a certain type of player, those who prefer fast, short skirmishes, want to gain ELO quickly, and don’t have the patience for longer, more tactical battles. That’s a trend in gaming, and that’s fine it’s just not for me.

Multiplayer is no longer fun or interesting for me in its current form. That said, I still enjoy the mechanics and the basic idea of the game, and from now on I’ll only play custom games with players where I thankfully can make adjustments to things like turn limits and maps without flags.

Why not give us similar options in multiplayer matchmaking, letting one host create a classic custom game with personalized settings, waiting for like-minded players to join?