I think you are making a lot of assumptions without having any concrete proof of what you are saying.
I was going to explain in details why I disagree with you, but then I understood I would have talked about stuff and people I got asked not to talk about.
So well, let's say only the future (and Relic) knows the answer to your concerns
We are talking of server side features that cost A LOT to be not only implemented but to stay in the game each month.
It is understandable that a little company like Relic with a 'little' game like COH2 cannot seriously develop features like those you're asking if they are not 1000% sure about "better than expected" results on launch. Blizzard is huge, Riot now is huge. Relic, even after years is still small, and THQ has still its problems, besides the fact it's going better now.
And it is in all honesty understandable also that they are trying to go "the safe way" to ensure COH2 sells well, they cannot accept, at this point in their history, a fail game that doesn't sell well. Also when you develop a game you think at finding a compromize between all the customers who could potentially buy the game, you cannot honestly make it only for pros or only for people who want to play it for fun.
Think at this please before criticizing a company for what they've done/they are doing. When I talked to Quinn he was CLEARLY aware of our requests and he would have loved to realize them all...if it was in his and Relic possibilities.
And he was sad, really sad, that we could have been disappointed if the observer mode would have not been released at launch. Give these guys a break, they are people like us afterall.
Why do you think they moved from a studio to another in Vancouver? Apart from our dreams and our requests there's the real life and the money. Let's work hard to help them getting a better game which sells well and I'm sure that then we'll get what we ask.
And again, we have no clue (unless you are IT Engineers or analysts) how much our requested features cost and how hard it would be to implement them on a server and let them run every month for years, nor we are analysts who can predict if the expenses are worth the effort.
Budwise and Seb, how much do they cost? Am I wrong or Budwise is specialized in this matter?! xD