As many of us know, Stellaris 2.0 just dropped a few days ago along with the 'Apocalypse' DLC.

Their review scores are steadily tanking. For the first time in long time, recent reviews have settled into the 'Mixed' range.

I, for one, am not bashing the changes. In my opinion they were needed and I think the game is better because of it. A great many fans of the game say the same. It's not perfect, but it is a giant step in the right direction.

However, the gameplay has been drastically changed because of it. It doesn't play the same as it did when it was first released and old methods simply do not work anymore. Many game mechanics were greatly altered and some were simply done away with. As you can also imagine, it has enraged a great deal of longtime fans. Some of the negative reviews I've read are well-defined and explained but a great many are simply angry gamers who've had a chip since this radical change was announced months ago and were merely waiting for their opportunity to bash the update when it released.

I know this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but I would like to encourage Brad and his developers to not be dissuaded from making changes to GalCiv 3 because, if Stellaris is the example, radical changes to established gameplay will generally cause gamers to lose their minds and sabotage your game via reviews. If you have to gut a mechanic to make it perform better then do so. Gamers always know what they want but developers know what can actually be done.

I know it's easy to say "don't let the lackluster reviews get you down" but, seriously...don't let the lackluster reviews get you down. Keep your focus because this game is indeed getting better and better.

Yes, listen to the gamers and especially your fans but don't be hesitant to implement what you think will make your game better. Because if there is one constant in the universe it's that today's gamers will bitch about it if you change it even it it was meant to improve the overall betterment of said game.

My $.02