No. That's quite interesting. It's odd that they appear to be going the complete opposite direction but still lots of crunch.

It would be fun to create a "1970s retroclone" of Draw Steel. d20 attacks, hp, gp, traditional classes, exploration focus, etc. But keep the unique ideas at its heart, like amassing victories & attack/maneuver/move actions.

"ACs were low, so you hit more often, but armor gave you extra hp."

Start by just writing a bulleted list of what things are in each room. Not even full sentences. You'll fill them out later.

Don't fill them out later.

Two different groups of people? The ones who liked the idea adopted the game quickly. Latecomers find it artificial.

Some GMs may be using it as a lame gotcha moment to put the PCs in the dark. The rules literally say all light sources use the same timer. It's dumb.

Of course, there ARE bad routes where it's hard not to be noticed AND easy to confirm, but a good sneak wouldn't consider them. And you could invent a route where it's pretty easy to avoid being spotted AND hard to confirm if glimpsed, but a game needs challenge.

Change some pass/fail rolls to pass/pass-with-difficulty and some to pass-with-flying-colors/pass.

That’s crazy good art.

I was traumatized by finding out from The Six Million Dollar Man that Bigfoot was real but was a robot.😰

"Drain the lakes & rivers. I don't want to lose my place in line at the tire store."

Yep. They need to look at the current tires not only for the size and type but for things like "Does this person even need new tires or are they imagining it because they hear a clunking sound or because it's low on air?" & "Is there wear on one side, indicating the need for an alignment job?"

Castle town of Edinburgh c1581. Still fewer than 2000 residents.