some very good concerns brought up in this thread.
another consideration would be that the university researches are not small improvements.
some examples:
upgrading a mortar from level 5 to level 6 increases its damage by 6%. maxing out the 1st research available for the 1st leader (leonardo) increases mortar damage by 30%. i'm fairly sure from extrapolation that it would take (3) workers (55) days to research those (10) levels of that (1) research.
the first research in the leonardo tree that should really excite offensive-oriented players is at level 3: increasing the howitzer damage by up to 30%. that is hugely beneficial and something that nearly every player will want. however, it will take (5) workers (75) days to get that +30%. oh, and you'll have to use (3), then (4), workers and an additional (85) days to do all the prerequisite upgrades. so, assuming you're not using many hundreds of dollars in crowns, it will actually be (140) days—or nearly (5) months—until you see the first offensive benefit from the leonardo tree.
cheaters, war and 5*'ing:
as many have expressed, the players who will have all university research maxed will almost certainly be cheaters. the alternative is that a player has spent many, many thousands of dollars on crowns—which i'm just not convinced very many players are willing/able to do.
i'm all for a challenge in war. but, i'm actually not sure this "maxed university" player could even be 5*'d by a very skilled player who was taking a "keep-1-or-2-leaders-going" university research strategy.
i suppose time will tell because you'll be seeing these "maxed university" players in war and multiplayer soon enough. hopefully it is still possible to 5* them. otherwise, i fear that many players will get fed up and quit.
the cash-grab:
i have personally spent several hundred dollars on crowns since the release of the global age. primarily speeding up the time (never resources) on offensive buildings and armory upgrades. this makes me fairly uncomfortable. i haven't spent this money on crowns because i think it is a fair amount. i have done so because i see it as a worthwhile investment to support the game that i love. i'm sure many others have a similar experience/outlook.
i understand nexon/BHG needs to make money from this game. but to be honest, i think this is way too ambitious and transparent of a cash-grab.
it makes me lean closer to cutting my losses and quitting the game than to anxiously awaiting the date (5) months from now when my howitzers are stronger. if it becomes impossible to 5* maxed, or near-maxed, university bases then the decision to quit is essentially made for me.
citizens:
if the research time is absurd, the citizen requirements are beyond that.
if my extrapolation is correct, for the later research tiers (4 & 5) each research will require (6) & (7) workers, respectively.
while others have suggested adding in (1) additional house (or 2 citizens), that wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of the issue. (4) houses (or 8 citizens) is probably the lowest amount that would make a difference. i don't think it's overly greedy or unreasonable to want to be able to upgrade (2 or 3) 4-citizen buildings at once.
summary:
i can't come up with a reason for why this new feature would be implemented in this way and i'm not even sure how you can fix something that is starting off so wrong and off-base. it seems to be gathering nearly universal criticism from even the most loyal and contrarian of posters. hopefully nexon/BHG are listening in.
