General thoughts and a general's musings.

[Cirein]

Hrm....

I have been playing TLR since the release of version 2.0...and I am quite impressed...I must say it has renewed my interest and love of the game in a way I had not thought possible. ^^;

Now...I have played a few factions and have some thoughts regarding each. Note...that I have not completed a campaign with any of them....

Sicily:
With an amazing starting location (in terms of conflict and fun things to fight, anywho) and a tough, but reasonable list of objective provinces, I had high hopes for the Sicilians. I was impressed further still by their list of amazing generals and easy access to an imposing economy. (well...if you don't dig yourself into a hole expanding too quickly)

A few turns passed and I discovered a few things rather...painfully. First among them...HOLY CRAP...I have accumulated 15-some odd generals, and they all suck! (with the exceptions of a few of the starting super-generals) These extra generals spawn constantly in Palermo, practicly usurping the governorship from whomever is appointed to lead it. This leads to an army of countless generals bodyguard wandering Italy, avoiding towns at all costs for fear of being appointed governor.

Sicily has very little in the way of...flavor. Their units are all bland...shared with other factions with the exception of Muslim Archers (now available to the others via merc outposts) and Norman Knights...which, to be perfectly honest, are useless. Their stats dismounted are identical to Templars or Hospitallers, and edge in slightly inferior when mounted...they are also available well after the knightly orders. Sicily needs help...desperately.

I was impressed with the number of small things added to Sicily...retinue members and traits that seem unique to them...kudos on those points.


Kievan Rus':
Oooh, my...I adore these guys.

Now...the Kievan Rus' start in an interesting position...surrounded with a comfortable buffer of trade-impairing independants. ^^; However...expanding in the Crimea works wonderfully...allowing for sea trade with the other Black Sea powers, and setting to take Constantinople when it is inevitably taken by Jihad. Orchestrating a grand alliance of the Orthodox is easy...all of the Orthodox powers seem to have a great need (and want) to hold together in the face of the warring Islamic and Catholic factions that wander through their lands (especially the Byzantines) Holding this together keeps peace a bit more easily...the AI seems to respect a desperate need of trade, and between Novgorod, Kiev, and the Byzantines, Eastern trade is split rather evenly from the West without the consent of the Orthodox.

Their units are wonderful, as is their access to mercs. No complaints save the annoying bugs with the musketeers.

I accidentally deleted my save with them...gyah. Started Hungary next.

Hungary:
I love them, yet I hate them.

Their start location leaves rather limited options for expanding without becoming overextended.... My first attempt was a drive to the black sea...taking Cluj, Campulung, Preslav, then finally Constantinople. (from the Egyptians) This left a string of exposed provinces that were easilly attacked, and difficult to reinforce. (due to the sheer length of the nation, by this point)

Units...well....
Transylvanian peasants should be available sooner. They are currently available from Taverns...which require a rather long time to produce...especially in a city such as Buda or Pest which need so much economic development first. Combined with Slav Levies, they would be very useful. (pin and crush, sort of thing) Their other units function well enough...in fact I am rather impressed by their roster, available mercs, and opponents. Their color scheme is dificult to look at though...it hurts my eyes. That obnoxious peach-orange/light green combo.

Poland:
I...love...Poland.

Now...their start location puts them at odds with opponents who (for the most part) will devour their poor souls should they make a misstep...and I like it this way. My early moves were to capture a handful of provinces on the Baltic...allowing for a slight edge in trade. Their starting generals are adequate, though their armies are...not.

The Dismounted Polish Nobles in particular...are a bit...awful. They are rather blatantly inferior to most things in their class and have little room to improve via upgrades. Polish cavalry are devestating as ever, though their late game tech is a bit on the lacking side. (not nearly so bad as Sicily or the Byzantines, however) Acquiring a chapter house of either type helps them greatly with their infantry weaknesses, however and they hold their own rather well.... I approve, overall. I do believe they need a bit of a reskin, however.


Take this is a write it...thoughts.
Both praise and suggestions...but I would love dearly to hear what the rest of you have to say regarding this, if any of my interpretations are incorrect or in need of revision, or even to discuss other factions.

Have at it, fellas.

[Cirein]

An additional thought....
At least with Poland and Hungary....

Their objectives are not listed for a long campaign on the status screen, nor are they revealed on the map.

I do not know if actually conpleting the objectives would finish the campaign, but it worries me a bit that they are not even listed outside of the list given when you select the faction for the campaign.

[Freedom]

That Sicilian family member overload thing is damn annoying, although it lets you have basically free heavy cavalry - granted, it is half-strength. As far as overextension goes, once you get to a certain number of territories, say, 15+, you start having areas in your middle where you can forego large defensive garrisons. An area especially like that is north africa if you are Moors and you still hold southern Iberia.