The dev team so many years after the release of EU4 still hasnt understood that any mechanic that depends on a resource you dont obtain from any strategic choice, but from just sheer luck based on the random stats of a random character is just not fun. It cannot be fun, since it doesnt involve any organic long term strategy so you can decide what kind of country you want to shape and follow through adapting that strategy. No, you just wait for a good character with good stats, wait for mana to pile up, click a button and two years later you'll have a bonus. Always a bonus, just a number (when they have a pop mechanic. It seems like a sin to me). Does this allow to make more money while staying small? Yes. Does this make it fun and make you want to stay small instead of go blobbing? No, not at all. 1.1 its just the same as 1.0.3. Waiting for pops to grow and mana to pile up (mind you, there are cool mechanics like pilling up growth bonuses and raiding that make playing tall slightly fun. But instead of going deeper on that, they decide to go down the EU4 path of stacking mana to click a bonus to get a modifier. Not fun at all). So I dont see, on this side of the game, people coming back to I:R when they can stick to EU4 which is pretty much the same.
All of this is funny because other dev teams in the company have come up with cool pop and tall mechanics. Not only dev teams like Stellaris, but also mods like Meiou and Taxes.
But instead of following the successful path, they make the same mistakes as EU4. That way and based on player numbers, people seem to prefer the original and stick to EU4. Its your company and your game, but...*shrug*.
Lets hope the character side of the game gets much more better than this because as of now tall play remains the same. Youll just be able to make more money. Which isnt fun per se if you dont have anything to do with it.
