What I gather from this thread: what ought to be is not always what it is.

We all would like to have fun competitive games, but since we are playing with thousands of other people different than us, it will not work, as that approach collides with SE's philosophy.

For more or less competitive challenges there is Crystalline Conflict. I played FL for about 3 years before quitting. In my experience it's always been about 5-10 people trying to carry an entire alliance and it gets old and boring pretty quickly because it's like trying to herd cats and guide them towards a goal.

And then there's the botting issue, and then the "I just wanna vibe" crowd, then the "I just want to hang out with friends" crowd... lmao

Since everyone gets a participation medal at the end of it, there are literally no incentives to improve, unlike in CC, which comnes with its own set of problems as well.

Very unfortunate.

Thank you, SE, I guess.