Hey Arien -
There were 60+ comments in the forum, many many many hours, without a single response from the Empires and Puzzles team when I posted this.
Everyone who works in a customer service industry knows, that for every comment/complaint you get, there are 10 others who feel the same but donāt comment, and just deal with a bad experience and eventually find something else that makes them happy if alternatives exist, which in this case there is. My note is pretty basic, in that if people donāt like what is happening to them, move on to something better.
In eliminating a major portion of their user base, and not even putting it into their release notes they knew they would get backlash, they knew they were doing something sneaky. Businesses that go a day without responding to a crisis is something we read about in business school all the time surrounding failed companies. Perhaps proactively listing this in their upcoming release notes would allow for feedback prior to implementing such a drastic change, rather than being reactive.
I recognize that you have a valid point of view, and that there is no correct answer here. The underlying problem to all of this still exists, in that they listen to a few āseniorā points of view, which may seem valid from a business standpoint. Unfortunately, their view of the world will be skewed to only see the viewpoints of a select elite few, and not the other 100,000 players either playing, or coming in to the game. Their failure to announce this, and exclude it from their release notes shows a deliberate cover up.
While I know they have recently announced a partial remedy to the situation, the lack of response for so long has resulted in the heartbreak of many, including myself, who have mentally moved on. Iāve only been in the game a short time, the developers can see the hundreds I spent each week on the game, and I have left the game. My user name was Grinder, and I was one of Chuās Mercs, now called Chuās Retirement Home. I took my own advice and uninstalled the game, and feel a weight lifted from me. I wish those who remain the best of luck, and I hope they one day see a path to the ascension items they need. Be well.