Hi ducomors!
Thank you for your feedback. The reasoning behind adding strict timers in specific missions was twofold. First, I wanted to stress efficiency over optimization on those levels. Much like in timed turn-based games like bullet chess or real-time strategy games like Starcraft, the constraint on the players ability to make and execute decisions forces the player to prioritize their actions, sometimes sacrificing less important actions due to the scarcity of time. Some turns you won't be able to make all of the actions, or perhaps the correct actions, that you would like to make - and that's okay. None of the missions require a specific set of actions to achieve victory, and even unoptimized paths can win each level. Some of the missions have no timer (or an inconsequential one) and those are the missions for which the players' ability to optimize their strategy is most stressed. Second, I wanted the feeling of being rushed to immerse the player in the feeling that they are fighting a cyber battle in real time against a powerful hacker - despite the turn based combat system.
All that said, I definitely agree that the timer does not create that target experience on levels where new mods are introduced. You absolutely hit the nail on the head there. Perhaps in a future iteration a display can be added pre-mission showing and explaining the mods that will be introduced to the player long before any timer is introduced. And, for those turn-based strategy gamers that truly despise timers, an option to suppress time constraints could also be added.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a well-thought out review! I am glad that you enjoy the game outside of the timer system.