Isn't Early Access the best time to make huge redesigns?
I'm not just talking about balance changes, but adding, removing or redesigning multiple units per faction, etc.
If not now, during early access, when they are getting all this feedback, then when?
Shaking things up is one thing that might bring back some interest. For instance:
- Get rid of the scouts, no more dogs
- Change the tech tree of Vanguard, so you don't have to make two melee units (dogs and vanguard) before reaching your ranged unit. It's really strange that the futuristic human faction's first available units are melee units. Controlling exos feels way cooler than dogs or lancers
- Add variations of the Vulkan - it's one of the coolest looking units, but people have asked why it has hands and not built-in weapons? Maybe add variations where it holds different weapon types, or even give it the ability to switch between them. It would be a cool unique mechanic that sets the game apart.
- Change the Brute visual design - make it a menacing demon, not a two-headed warcraft 3-like ogre.
- Limit Morph Core movement speed if it's outside of a certain range of the HQ building, then adjusting the move speed would allow FG to balance the race's opening speed between patches
- Remove most creep camps and put several extremely difficult ones guarding expansions
Those are just examples, some of them you may disagree with, but my point is - now is the time to shake things up. They have nothing to lose, the number of players keeps dipping anyway. Playing it safe when the state is basically in a state of pre-alpha and doesn't even have the final tier of units, is pointless. Balance will get shaken up regardless, when they release the new tier of units. So might as well change up the things that players gave the most negative feedback for as well.