Why would anyone do that though? If I own ck2 with all the bells and whistles, why would I want to pay full price for ck3 which appears not to measure up.
It seems bizarre to defend ck3 by saying well of course on release it won't measure up to ck2. So I can spend a tidy amount of money to buy something that I can enjoy if I lower my expectations or I can continue to enjoy my previous purchase?
I have to agree with that.
This feeds into the whole "you have rose tinted glass" vs "I want something for my money" duel. And I think both are valid points of view.
But I do sincerely think that Paradox's DLC policy is somewhat abusive, Crusader Kings 2 came out almost 10 years ago.
Now granted, Paradox has been busy at work improving the game over these ten years, but as a consumer and player, I don't want to purchase a sequel and realise it's not as complete as the previous game was, and I'll have to wait 3-4 more years and dish out some 100+ more bucks or more before the game is as great as the predecessor was. That is just something I refuse to get used to.
The other major, perhaps more important dilemma is "pleasing the fans" vs "attracting new customers"
In my opnion one of the key to solving this equation is pinpointing, (including but nor limited to core gamepplay elements) what made players specifically resonate with the game game and improve it. Adding features and gameplay appealing to new players/casual while not sacrificing challenge.
Even smaller things that might be looking cumbersome to the new player can actually turn into endearing gameplay mechanics leaving a void when they are removed. (Like gathering levies for exemple, kind of frightening at first, but in fact integral to the game in CK 2) or something as stupid as the color tone (CK 2's palet was smooth and calming while CK 3's kinda hurt my eyes)
Small details can make a strong difference and are very hard to pinpoint, when I first fired CK 2 I was absolutely stunned by the possibility of choosing ANY ruler from 1066 to 1453 and watch the borders and rulers change while I moved the slider (Learned a whole lot of History too)
Now admittedly I've almost exclusively played 867 and 1066 starting dates in my 1500 hours of CK2, but I believe giving more incentives to play these dates (achievements, weekly challenges, community driven objectives) is a much better path than removing them.
It's a complicated relation between the game maker and the player and when you are on the crafter side I can easily glimpse how hard it can be to pinpoint those specific things that made you hit gold at some point.
Players on the other hand will have the infamous rose tinted glasses and tend to disliked anything that deviates from those specific, hard to describe things that made them connect to the game, the gold strike fleeting details that make you remember perfectly the rainy or maybe sunny day you first conquered and settled into England with Willy the bastard after that family dinner and that massive blunt.
Was it the dim light of dawn/calming clapping of rain on a gray day, the wine, the scent of your hot cousin who looks intensely in your eyes for more than 6 seconds, the blunt or something else that makes you remember this day some 8 years later. You can't tell but surely there must be something about this game that struck you when you won that throne, the high point of the day you still remember some 8 years ago. (My bet is that the music did some of it)
Games have to change, but game devs if they want to truely keep striking the hearts of their players and new ones to come need to find these chords that make their game special and memorable and preserve them.
Accessibility in gameplay is nice for new players, and new features are also great. But in my opinion, if any game wants to evolve it needs to find some core, even if elusive, elements that makes it great and enhance them, not squander them.
In terms of gameplay, I think one of the things that defined a good CK2 experience was the random and tenuous experience of managing a realm.
You start as Phillip Capet in CK 2, your realm is powerful, but Aquitaine, Flanders, Burgundy, and even the HRE can and will be at your throat and a simple flue can make the difference between a succesful life or a cursed existance depending on whom it strikes.
In comparison, CK 3 is just smooth sailing all along.