What ever the reason it is true that things are getting worse by the patch. Any developer who puts their head in the sand and believes their way is better than the majority of their player base, is heading for disaster no question. I find it hard to believe that any one would alienate their customers in that manner, read flags start to appear and all the wrong assumptions start to arise, some may be correct and some will not be. Either way it gives the wrong impression. While it was true that this game was fun to play that is fast disappearing, that inevitably means players not playing, reviews going bad (or not recovering) and people not buying.
The easy solution to this problem is to listen to the MAJORITY of your player base and act accordingly, this would improve your ratings and number of players online, together with word of mouth and more people buying = more revenue.
This is not rocket science it's common sense which at the moment is lacking.
It would also make things a little better if there was a logical reason for some decisions that have been made, although none can be seen.
Yes communication is worth a lot.
Yes taking note of your player base is important.
Unfortunately most posting here on the forums are essentially talking to themselves as no one at Grapeshot seams to read them, or if they do they ignore us.
Please, Please Grapeshot take a few moments and smell the roses!