Thank you — this is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to get from this post.
What really caught my attention is your point about tangible visual progress. The entire idea behind Gilded Dominion is starting with almost nothing as a Laborer and slowly building wealth, property, businesses and social status until you reach Elite. I think you're right that I need to make the player actually see and feel that transformation, rather than mostly watching numbers increase.
I also really like the suggestion about stronger visual hierarchy and recognizable icons for the core systems. I'm currently rethinking part of the game's visual direction as well, so this is actually very good timing.
And your point about cognitive overload is especially useful for the first 10–15 minutes. I'm already working on a guided onboarding system, and I'll keep this in mind while refining it.
Really appreciate you taking the time to analyze it from a UI/UX perspective. Feedback like this is incredibly valuable during Alpha