I just find it sad that you think that Anslem is the only general that needs fixing wrt the Observatory. I guess you still don't have people testing this stuff? It's a real simple test, I'll even tell you how to do it (in my career I have several times led a team of testers for a software product, so I feel qualified to have a stab at this): Note: this test assumes some familiarity by the person performing the test with the game and the game mechanics!
1. Activate the Observatory - for the sake of the test, activate using the detailed star chart - expected result is that travel time should be reduced by 75%
2. Start an adv - any adv will do
3. Click "send Army" on adv tab and select a general - note the travel time displayed e.g. 15min (we have no idea whether Obs changes this time at this point of the game or not at this step since we have never seen the Observatory work for ANY general, so lets just assume that the time is the "before Observatory time" )
4. start a stopwatch and click the tick button to actually send the general
5. Time how long it actually takes the generals to arrive at the adv (do this by watching the adv and when the general lands stop the stopwatch)
6. Get a calculator and work out the % of actual travel time versus the time from step 3 - if the Observatory is working then the value should be 25% (travel time has been reduced by 75%). Note that the time it takes for the general to actually start traveling i.e. the time to "unland" and walk to the nearest storehouse may cause some slight adjustment to be made to this calculation - so look for a reasonable approximate 25% of the 15min
Repeat Steps 1 - 6 for each of the other travel times shown in the Observatory i.e. reduce travel time by 25% and 50%, substituting the selected % travel time reduction for the "75%" value specified in Steps 1 - 6.
I hereby give BB permission to use this test procedure and treat it like their own - although no care or responsibility by the author is assumed for any damages etc that may result from using this procedure e.g. insanity from trying to get the Observatory to actually work......
But if the best you can do with this change is Anslem, then we'll just have to accept it. Any idea whether you are going to do the rest of the generals supported by the game? and when they might be fixed? Do you think you'll do them all in one go or maybe roll them out on a sequential basis? If the later, over what time frame?
P.S. This is what I would accept as a very basic/minimal test procedure, it should be expanded to include such variables as: is the general skilled or not? Quarter Masters (skilled and unskilled), QuarterMaster Claus (skilled and unskilled) etc etc
Actually you don't need to do all that. When you start the obs and then the adv, the times it shows on the send army are already the reduced times. But those don't matter. Once you go to the adv you just open star and hover over the general and it will tell you what their arrival time actually is. No stopwatch needed.
For me, everyone but the QM had their regular travel time (as in normal without obs bonus) and the QM had the reduced time. However while those with the reduced time actually arrived faster, they then suffered from the constant rebuilding bug as soon as they landed and it lasted until they would have normally arrived. It is as though they game only sped up the time till i could see them but not the time until I could use them.
Actually, you do need the stopwatch :-) It is not unknown for the displayed times in the game to be, well, for want of a better word, wrong :-) Witness the times that the RPH states things such as manuscripts will be built - no idea whether it has been fixed, but it used to be demonstratively wrong. But it was never something that overly concerned me - I mean it is what it is. Other than possibly affecting some RL planning, it doesn't really matter.
You stated that Gen Anslem would now work with the Normal Star Chart from the Observatory. In my experience, the Observatory does not decrease the travel time to any adventure for any General. So, why just focus on Gen. Anslem?
Why BB does things the way you do doesnt always make sense to us players. We are not programmers and don't see the problems and work behind the scenes.
We just want the game to go smoothly. I can't imagine the issues involved in constsntly adding new code to an old program. I'm sure BB will get most of the big issues worked out eventually.