Thanks for the perspective @Zanharim. If nothing else, I hope you realize that we hold player feedback to be of extreme importance. I can confidently say that IC is in no way “same old” in that regard.
As for your points themselves, I whole heartedly agree. We should not mistake toxicity as difficulty, which is one of IC’s worst faults.
This is possibly one of the biggest problems we have. Allowing players to “go undercover” shields them from the consequences of their actions.
This isn’t directly related to size imbalance though, so I’ve opened a thread here so we can discuss it further and with more focus.
Your other points all reflect a basic core problem with IC’s design in that once people get big, they don’t have to really work to sustain it.
Yes, there have to be winners and losers in any game, but losing shouldn’t be such a negative experience that it drives people away. To the contrary, losing should make players feel like they want to try again. There are a lot of ideas within this thread that are great starting points to help us achieve that.
I’m glad that your loyalty to your family is keeping you here, but if that’s the only thing keeping you here, then it’s worth considering the value of this discussion itself. Every player here has the ability to help shape the direction of game, and that’s not something that every game out there offers.
I’m not sure exactly when you left IC originally, but to many players (including me) who endured our years-long dark ages of our previous inactive owner, the mere fact that we care enough to ask players what they want is worth sticking around for.