I've come to the conclusion that the main irritating factor in the game is the long lack of contact with the opponent. After all, in the SM, for the first week (and in reality, this is a very long time), you basically play a single-player game. And if both opponents go to take care of the resources in the second week, it becomes even more boring. I suggest considering the development of a template and rules that would allow for early contact and maintain balance between the factions. This will increase the spectacle and intensity of the games.
Play with the fixes. Play SM without RE when Rampart meets Dungeon :)
Play with Vik's template (cube-like)
PS. Here, I'm playing 8mm6 with Matrosov in the Bay Cup, and there are constant battles of weaklings, chain breaks, and other tests of resilience. True, the time is not so early, only 241 :))