It also encourages activity. I found myself not really doing anything in YG1 because everybody had so much more Essence than I did that I didn't feel particularly safe with a low cap, and the only way that it would rise would be if I left it full for an extended period.
True, but in YG1, I think it was still a better philosophy to spend as much Essence as possible as often as possible. Well to be more specific, it was beneficial to do so if it involved actions that made you stronger.
Both games rewarded players who spent Essence in ways that empowered them. For example, in YG1, a player who spent lots Essence on their followers could expect significantly higher Essence income and then later on, higher caps. You might not immediately have as much capacity as someone who never did anything but, in effect, you would have more Essence to potentially spend from income and later on your caps would likely catch up to or exceed those who didn't spend anything.
I'd think of it like a person who only saves and a person who invests a lot and saves some. The first person might have more at first but the second potentially gets to spend more overall and if done right could probably surpass the first in time.
YG2 basically kept that system to a degree except it weakened the potential growth of the "saver" even more while further boosting the potential of the "investor". It's like a slightly more slanted version of the first system that's probably designed to push people to invest more while simultaneously being more forgiving of bad investments. By that, I mean capacity growth is more directly correlated to how much you spend regardless of how effectively you spend it. Oh and it's also kinder to newer characters in that they can grow faster than the older characters to catch up a bit.
That's true.
Also, I always find it hilarious when gods are like 'You want to do what to a few dozen of my tens of thousands of followers? Give them a survey?! HOW DARE YOU"
Maybe I'm biased by my hundreds of thousands of followers, though. I probably wouldn't want my Zhangzhi being messed with, after all.
It's not like I'm doing anything other than watching them, either. Just going, "Hey. Do this." Add watching how they do it.
It's likely related to paranoia. You don't know if that person doing the survey is potentially someone who might use the information against you later. It's like in a cold war scenario, if the other party was like, "Hey can we borrow some of your citizens for a quick survey? It's just for research purposes."
The paranoia is likely doubled for any secret creations. After all, they were created secretly for a reason.
Not particularly saying it's a right or wrong way of thinking. That's just my speculation as to the why.
I think I drone on a little too much sometimes.