Just wanted to say I like it. Feels more inviting and makes the world seem grand, immersive and social. That's all. :P

I agree! and I love the themesong!

Well, it's certainly more focused on Shai :)

Counterpoint, just my own aesthetic opinion, I don't like either the new music or montage. It is very jarring.  The previous music seemed to fit the game better, and outside of that had more depth and nuance.  And the new montage has assumed a very small scale point of view.  The immediately previous one was much grander and representative of the game and the characters in it.  Some previous montages focus more on townscapes and geography.  This latest one is from an ant's eye view of the world.

I can see where the small scale may seem more 'social' in some sense, and that small scale may seem 'immersive', but in day-to-day play those perspectives are almost never there (unless your camera is an a bad place), the game play is far different, and Shai encounters themselves are rather infrequent, bordering on the rare.

Just offered for balance, and not at all 'objective'. 

Fair enough.  And not just to be agreeable, I was excited when they brought the previous theme back.  I had switched the music back on mid season, and I as like "Yeah, they brought that song back from last Christmas!  Love that tune!"

I kinda like the storytelling montage.  Maybe I'm story-oriented, as I kinda indicate from my music rants.

Peace!