What happens when you conquer a nation, ie if a coalition takes Paris and conquers the French Republic?
Do they just disappear for good and you annex their lands?
If so, I'm not interested. I don't want to paint the map my colour and then get a 'you've won' message.
Can I release conquered territories as vassals? Can I overthrow a republic and restore the monarchy or vice versa?
I'd really like someone in the know to answer these questions, and if I'm happy with the answer I'll happily pre-order the game.
I loved elements of Empire, but the diplomatic AI was absolutely absurd, and there didn't appear to be any way for me to reconstruct my territories as I wanted them. If I'm Bourbon France and I conquer the Netherlands, I don't want to keep them, I want to release them as a Dutch puppet state (monarchy, of course) and let them look after themselves as long as they remain an integral part of my alliance.
How does this sort of thing play out in Napoléon? France had plenty of satellite states, so I assume the diplomatic side of things has been heavily reworked.