I'll take your word for it, the game isn't very good at informing you what happens when the timers run out, so after failing a mission early because I didn't realise there was a timer I'm bent on not allowing then to run out. Ice noticed the enemies running away tend to bunch up in the last stage, but often they also try to escape the last stage which kind of limits the options to "kill those two units before they get away".

Still enjoying the game though.

might be better as a mmog on a mobile phone.

I don't think anyone other than Huawei can produce a phone good enough for it. But as it happens, those phones you won't be able to buy. :D

Timers are so loose they can be ignored, players do not strategize around them, they are not made a priority.
Streamers play on impossible, with the hardcore mode a line between them.
Only watched one guy failing a boss mission and another reporting he had failed one mission.

Timers do not press players into action, they do not structure their plans around achieving timer conditions, they do not care about hostages (save for a few missions with specific hostages and yet), do not care about civilians etc

When a timer gives 40 turns to complete a mission and players usually complete it in a 25,30 turns, a timer can be ignored.

Very different from board games that include timers that press players into action, plans are specifically drafted to keep in line with timers.

There aren't any 40 turn timers, the crucial ones are two-three turns. They don't matter once you got a leveled squad though, most encounters are cleared in that time from mid-game onward. I was considering lowering the difficulty in the beginning, now in the end game I'm glad I didn't.