Nargott
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I disagree. In my opinion, development is 1.5-2 times faster than in the 5th installment: on the first day, you buy 1 hero + dwelling(s), and the units can be of a high level (e.g., a knight), and quite strong elementals provide significant help, and so on. The economy is easier to manage than in the 5th installment: resources are everywhere. Sometimes, there can be a bottleneck with rare resources, but the guarding is decent. Although, if you're lucky, you can start taking them towards the end of the first week...
Actually, I saw a review somewhere that explained in detail that you simply don't need to develop extensively. The main thing is to build a base+ (an enhanced basic unit, which is always not too far down the development tree), maybe a few elite units, and you can already finish the game if you maintain the appropriate pace. Although, with this approach, you lose some of the content, of course.
From a tactical point of view, they implemented many things that you yourself considered important (relatively low speeds, for example). Other things (like the ability for some ranged units to move before/after shooting, attacks from the flanks/rear, obstacles hindering shooting) cannot even be implemented in the 5th installment, and they are quite interesting.
And by the way, I'm not against 7-8 speed units - these speeds really add variety if they are not too common.
P.S. I refreshed my memory, looked at the unit tables. Okay, in principle, there are 7-8 speed units, but the vast majority of units have 5-6 speed, there are a few with 3-4, but almost all of them are ranged units (it's difficult to judge, since ranged attack is not indicated in the abilities). I was only looking at the speed stat. Of course, low speed for ranged units is not an indicator, since these units don't move much anyway.