self moving machines

after 20 years of self moving machines it’s about time to make it more realistic here a suggestion.
like the Bombard Cannon in aoe2

This would look super strange in an AoE game, I feel. I’d prefer if they kept the lumbering, giant nature of the existing catapults.

Amen to the premise but on further consideration I see a couple of minor problems:
You’d want to use the same art and just add an operator but such engines would require a couple of guys at least so it would be silly to see it only cost 1 population but to change that would change the balancing profoundly.
Alternatively you could shoehorn a couple of donkeys into harnesses in the front of the catapult frame (not that aoe3 way of transport mode where the horse disappears) and only have the 1 operator but then that operator would have to be the hulk to be able to reload as quickly as those rigs do. To gear down those winches enough for a single operator, the animators would have to add a bunch more frames so that the sprite never rests. its either winching or launching like in the Stronghold franchise. I for one would love it but I have no idea what that would cost. You might be able to get away with some of the same sound bytes but more than likely you’d have to add a bit to them. And then what kind of precedent does that set? do we have to see sailors operating the ships?
I guess it comes down to how much more are we as consumers willing to spend. I would certainly spend more for this added realism. They’d have to check with their sales projections and see how much more they’d have to charge.