First of all, I understand that you have to commit a difficult balancing act in BlueByte. On the one hand want to make it the fan of the original settlers right to appeal to other new buyers. The former are used to complex and challenging economic cycles, the latter looking for (allegedly) to get you started. However, the strategy to commit here a "happy medium" does not satisfy the two groups, as shown by other reviews here.
The challenge with the settlers 1-4 was to create complex production chains and optimize. In order to make a loaf of bread was the circulation eg "wheat -> mill -> Flour + fountain -> Water = bread.". By cleverly placing the plants could be create perfect economic systems over time. The intermediates were moving along a road network, so that they had a direct feedback on the functioning of the economy. This watch at work has always been an incredibly satisfying gaming experience, making the game even more exciting also made during repeated endless game. We have loved the settlers so !!
Remained of it is in the example, the "supply chain", "wheat -> Bread". For all other production chains (eg. Steel processing), the same has happened. Worse Since all goods go directly into the warehouse and are retrieved from this, does not even come the feeling of "the wheat is now being brought to the bakery" on. The transport system is the awesome transparent, given way intransparent warehouse in the truest sense of the word. To counter this lack of transparency, one has appeared for a very overweight compared to its predecessors interface that more like "World of Warcraft" recalls. Doubtful.
The second major point of criticism is the lack of adjustment of the building. One has eg. The resource "Wild" and this will be used for food and clothing production, so there is no way to specify the exact relationship. But those who say, for example. An abundance of food has no clothes, nothing else remains but the Butchers demolish again. Here also is completely missing the feeling of being able to control its own economy and somehow influence.
I also found some game concepts somewhat incomprehensible. If you have set a goal to build a city, then why is there no residential buildings? The there were already in the settlers 4. Why is there no copper, iron and steel processing more, but bizarre industries such as brooms and soap? What you have a mobile hero when in the missions often the only survival strategy "einigeln" and this consequently spends 99% of the emissions on the marketplace?
What I would suggest here is that you in the next part has a choice of different levels of difficulty. Just as often, the modes 'Arcade' and 'Simulation' is at car racing games, you could make an appealing game so even with the settlers for both of these target groups. For some, a challenging economy, for other real-time strategy á la "C & C". I hope that this idea will be considered - an alternative I can not see without the settlers to be something like playing no settlers fan more.