Not the dev or the dev's friend or anything I just like the game. Here's my point by point response.
- Upgrades decrease $/s because they increase the idle time. This allows the player to decide if they want to play the game active or idle.
- I agree with this one. I don't know what the answer is but it feels like the dev is trying to make you have to strategize and plan. I salute the idea but don't know that I agree with the execution. Maybe if the businesses were more diverse so there were obvious strategies to pursue.
- Skill tree has skills that focus on clicking for the same reason. Only 4 out of 22 skills require clicking so it's not like it's a lot.
- I have two responses to your last point. First, it's a web game it doesn't need to say anything. What did Adventure Capitalist say about capitalism? What did Idle Breakout say about.... break..ing...out? If you're looking for some philosophical message, typically speaking, idle games aren't where you want to look.
Secondly, "Is the game just supposed to make you feel good about making money?" I mean... yeah. Idle games leverage a feedback loop of dopamine getting released from the satisfaction of buying/progressing. The entire genre is built on clicking buttons to make numbers get bigger to click other buttons to make other numbers get bigger. For a lot of people this triggers the same satisfaction as purchasing things in real life and micro successes that smash that dopamine button in our brain. Some of the OG idles games (such as Idle Oil Tycoon) literally have no game mechanics besides buying things and waiting and lots of people loved them.
I'm not trying to just be a dick or anything, you took the time to provide your feedback and that's always appreciated by a dev I'm sure, you're also 100% entitled to your own opinion and you can tell me to pound sand and that's completely your right. I just thought I'd through out some counterpoints that might allow you to enjoy the game a bit more.
Either way, have a fantastic day my friend.