From the update area:
And here we go, the most controversial update is out. Upgrades disabled it gone, probably forever (unless I find different way how to make money). I did because I had to, not because I thought it was awesome idea. I would like it back as well, but it isn't going to happen.
While I do appreciate your honesty, in my opinion it's a little early in the games life to cash out, but that's just me. I think alienating a large portion of the player population, possibly causing many to leave forever, is in fact a good way to lose possible future income. The smaller the player base the less likely people are to enjoy the game, and thus they are less likely they are to purchase anything. Most people won't spend a dime on a game like this unless they find that they really enjoy it...which takes time. At the moment every experienced player has upgrades that give significant advantages in game, which is hardly fun for a new player who has none.
My two cents, the game has been heading this way since the caps were put in, but that's just my opinion. If you want more money Lopdo, make more features. I have already paid real money for lifetime premium. I would have paid more for the map editor upgrade also had the cap update not come out and made large maps semi pointless.
Introduce more races that do different things(won't mention specifics, ideas have already been mentioned). The dragon race is nice, but it's so pricey that it hardly seems worth it for an extra 5% offense or defense(assuming you have one of the new races).
There are tons of things you can do and implement that won't alienate the player base like you may have just done. And this is coming from a player who has plenty of upgrades and always plays on maps with upgrades enabled.