Lords and Knights Staff, see below:
I really don't know where to start with the new update. The navigation, intuitive play, and user friendliness went out the door with the latest update. This goes beyond the normal learning curve of using a new interface. It definitely wasn't this difficult or frustrating when I initially learned the game 3+ years ago. I have yet to see any positive feedback on the latest update. That should be a good indicator that something is very wrong with the new version and not just a "learning curve" problem as I've seen you suggest. There are so many things that need to change for me to start regularly using the new version and I don't know that I'll be able to cover them all here. For now, I'll use the superior Xmas version.
There are a few places it now takes multiple clicks to preform functions that used to take 1 or 2. Where there used to be streamlined and condensed information, now a lot of scrolling is required to see information you want (i.e. The Keep - Bartering Silver/Copper). Some of the changes below may seem minor in the amount of time it will save, but it REALLY adds up the more castles you have so please don't discount them! You've created a great game that takes a lot of time to play, so it is imperative to offer streamlined and easy/intuitive play. In general, use the old version as an example of what the navigation should look like.
Critical Changes Needed:
-Eliminate buttons that fade in and out when scrolling up and down. This is confusing and makes little sense to me. I shouldn't have to scroll to the right part of the page to get the button I'm looking for. Cool concept, but the way it's implemented is inefficient for the user.
---'Complete all buildings' button: Fix its position to the right of the 'Current building upgrades' header.
---Have a fixed position for the 'Speed up transit' button.
-Add a button to allow for an incremental increase or decrease in the recruit number or resource number, in addition to the slider bar. The slide bar is good, but can be cumbersome when you want to get a specific number. The button was very useful in the old version and streamlines play. Typing in the number doesn't make it faster, but I'd be in favor of having each option (slider, button, and ability to type in a specific number).
-Revert back to previous version of Bartering for Copper/Silver, with the slider bar and the active readout of available resources on the left and the amount of resources being used to the right. Also with the fixed "Fill Up" button to the bottom right. The current way requires too much thinking (math) in terms of how many resources I have versus how much I'm using in the transport. This change alone will significantly save time (although still not enough to get me to use the new version).
-Default the 'Castle' view to the list of 'Current building upgrades'/'Buildings' page, as opposed to the graphical view of the castle. The list is where fast work in upgrading buildings is done. Maybe even give the user the option of which default view he/she would prefer on the 'Settings' page.
-Add a button to go straight to the the world map from the 'Castle' page and several other pages. This button existed in the old version, but not the new version for some reason. Not having this button just adds more navigation. I preferred the old version with the five buttons on the bottom. From there you could quickly navigate to several different things, including the map. At the very least, add the map up with 'Castle', 'Messages', and 'Alliance' at the top. Would be nice to get 'Profile' added up there too, but adding the three bar menu to the top left for all pages would accomplish this.
-Add a button to go straight to 'Troop overview'/'Troop movements' page from the castle 'Current building upgrades'/'Buildings' page. This button also existed in the old version, but not the new version. Again, not having this button just adds more navigation.
-Add the troop movement/transport time to the 'Troop overview'/'Troop movements' page. We should be able to navigate to this page, see all the incoming and outgoing transports/troop movements timing like the old version. This allows us to swipe from one castle to the next and quickly review timing of troops and any other transportation to or from our castles.
-Eliminate the back button (arrow pointing left). Androids come with a back button built in, so this button is redundant. Replace with the menu bar (triple bar)!
Non-critical, but VERY much desired, changes:
-PLEASE format the resource and available units display on the top of the castle and in the 'Summary' view back to showing the exact 4 or 5 digit amount. For example, 4,506, NOT 4.5k. 23,895, NOT 23.8k.
-Put borders around clickable buttons. This makes it more intuitive as to where to click. There are several areas where it took more time than it should to figure out where to click for a particular action.
-The 'Set as active castle'/'copy castle link'/'highlight castle' features now require you to click the desired castle, click the three dot menu and then click the feature you want. This only required two clicks in the old version. What value did this add? At the very least, move the three dot menu a bit left as you often have to tap a few times to access it because the app thinks you're trying to move the scroll bar.
-Move 'Forum threads' and 'Alliance feed' to the 'Alliance' page. Just makes sense to keep this all together.
Bug Fixes:
-The mass delete button does not delete any messages unless you select them individually.
Xmas version request:
-Please make the size of the troop image on the individual recruit page (when you're selecting the amount of Spearman to recruit) smaller. I shouldn't have to scroll down to select the number of units I'd like to select.
In conclusion, I understand the need to rebuild the app to allow for bigger things in the future, but why mess with the layout as much as you did? In terms of the layout, if it isn't broke, why fix it? A new sleek design I get. Remapping the pages as much as you did I don't understand. Please revert back to a similar layout/navigation as the previous version. There are likely more issues (attacking, defending, etc.), but this is what I've noticed in the last 24 hours. Thanks for your time and I look forward to your updates.