The new ui is the worst thing to happen to the game since malay aged up 166%.
Now you have to click through multiple buttons to access the same place as before, and to make it even worse you have to wait for a fancy animation to complete in-between each page. In addition the new UI seems to not have been tested on lower end systems, as my computer which ran aoe2 perfectly before this update has occasional lagginess when navigating the UI due to the animations I presume.
The new civ pick screen is just bad, and is also an example of catering to new players, while screwing over existing ones. I understand and admire the intention of making civ bonuses more easy to decipher for new players, but forcing people who already know the civs, to use a new selector that covers the entire screen, and needs an animation and confirmation click once you select your civ is atrocious. In the old ui it took 2 seconds to pick my civ, and it could be easily switched out multiple times if it’s a teamgame and I’m discussing civs with my teammates still. Now it takes about 10-15 seconds to make a choice, assuming that the animation doesn’t lag, as it is oft to do.
Dev’s please make the new ui optional, and if that isn’t possible at the very least you need to get rid of these slow animations in-between each page. This is like forcing us to play with confirmation delete.