There isn't a lot of benefit in playing multiplayer anymore as a long time player at the robotic level. Farming is unnecessary as the manufactory is so slow relative to resource collections. My gold, food and oil are always at max so there is minimal reason to play except in wars. If some of the upgrardes, like walls, didn't require materials I'd play more often. It's hard to believe that the design team would update a game to make it less likely for us to log in and play.