That's one perspective. A flawed one, in my opinion. I have been on the Forum for going on 9 years. The Forum in all that time has in general reflected the state of the game. Yes, it has turned negative for the most part, but that reflects the state of the game, just like always. GBG has major flaws that members of top guilds ignore because they benefit from how it is. GE was fine until they introduced level 5 and at the same time nerfed the rewards on levels 1-4. PVP Arena is okay, although it seems like many people don't see it as worthwhile. With power creep in event buildings, the Settlements have lost their luster. GvG is going away, and those of us who have seen their recent track record with features don't hold out much hope that Quantum Incursions (Guild Raids) will be very good. What does that leave to be positive about? Better event buildings? Hardly. That's where power creep has almost completely changed this game. Look at experienced players' cities and note how few Build menu buildings there are. What does that mean? It means that this is only nominally a city building game, it is now mostly an event game. The city now is only a reflection of the player's level of participation (and spending) in events. Almost no strategy at all. As noted in another thread, the worth of many GBs that have always been part of a well developed city is now in question. With fewer worthwhile GBs to level up, Forge Points become much less valuable, where they were once the lifeblood of the game. Managing resources used to be a major part of the game, but no more. Coins, supplies, medals, are all so plentiful that inventories are overflowing. Goods, with the exception of Special Goods and the goods of the latest era, are no problem to get and stockpile.
TL;DR: What used to be a city building game has turned into an event game to the exclusion of almost everything else.