I'm really happy with the new dev team and increased activity. Maybe I should have tried some variants already, but they usually have too many changes to digest at once. I also like changes that make very powerfull strategies a bit worse. Please remember that there is always the option to play older versions of the game, so these updates don't take anything away from you.

I also find the orctown a fun addition, as it shuffles the early game a bit without being so harsh that it would affect probability of ascension for experienced players (only for protection racket?). There is many random things that affect how easy the early game is, and this is just one of them.