Is that they don’t realize people want a game like WC3 or SC2 except at least resembling balance, not something completely different but still RTS. The AoE4 design is just not good or fun, similar to how the overwhelming majority think that an RTS where you don’t need to do manual harvesting, deal with a black minimap or only select 12 units because the devs unironically think it prevents deathballing is better than an RTS where you do have to do those things.
It’s not that people want a completely different game, it’s that they want terran to have a chance against zerg. Nobody wants to watch maru outplay reynor 10 times over and still predictably lose while casters try their hardest to make it seem like it’s somewhat close or that maru has a fighting chance. Even in games where terran was successful in dealing damage and had an amazing early game, it still looked completely hopeless after zerg massed up to the ling bane ultra a-move comp after being left alone for a minute. Zerg needs to be beatable in order for the game to succeed. Mech is completely undoable because even if your 200/200 maxed out army is extremely strong against ground, all the zerg needs to do is take the map easily, drone up, and counter your army with SH, neural, ultras, mass viper, ultra viper, even mass ling bane if you don’t have enough hellbats. Killing 40 workers means NOTHING if you didn’t end the game and let them tech up into swarmhosts. Nobody wants to watch more ZvZ it’s so dull just like playing protoss. If you have bad balance in a game then winning can’t be satisfying because it’s so easy and doesn’t feel challenging at all. If the game wasn’t completely imbalanced… the ladder would be way different and maru + clem + byun + the other terrans wouldn’t have been stomped by zerg. If pool first roach wasn’t completely overpowered (because you can drone up behind it and get yourself into a winning position literally just by doing it, regardless of how your opponent responds) people wouldn’t do it… but it clearly is, so they do. Same with TvT tank drop rush which can win the game instantly unless you have 300 apm and perfect ping while your opponent’s micro and skill just don’t matter when the strategy hands them a free win automatically. But instead we get a ladder where everyone does the most disgustingly abusive strategy designed to beat players who are better than them, in every matchup. How is the game better because a probe can harass your scv while it’s building the barracks, then on top of it you have to worry about cheeses that are literally so low counterplay when they take place that it proves people who balance games don’t know anything about it, pros who play the most underpowered race would do a way better job. Z and P cheeses objectively can end the game. Terran can’t do any cheese in TvZ or TvP and end the game because if you play properly you are utterly unkillable as protoss and nearly unkillable as zerg.
It’s not esports, chat, tournaments, promotion of the game, clans, co-op, singleplayer, 4v4, 3v3, 2v2, bad ways to lose (there are but that’s just part of imbalance) that made the game die, it’s just balance.
