Reductions

[Frost, colonel]

I played SPQR for about 6 months, and at first changing to EB is hard going regarding the tight budget and long build times(some ports take 60 turns and cost an arm and a leg, I wonder if anyone has built one?). In fact SPQR tends to spoil the player into being use to a simpler, free moving game.
I do find one aspect of SPQR which helps with EB when playing as the richer factions, and that is LT nagging us to leave the AI to build for a more rewarding game later. EB it's self just makes you play a slower game giving the AI more time(depending on who you play to some extent) The AI also gets the extra helpful jump start of it's instantly built govement buildings, which can slow us down nicely.

I made the effort to detach myself from SPQR when I started with EB and now get along with it fine, although it takes getting use to as a slower, very deliberate paced game. And you certainly have to be a good player to grow as poorer factions, ie: bringing the Sweboz to military and economic power is no small task!

[cmlax999]

My own thoughts on recruitment of troops, 0 turn recruitment time is ridiculously unrealistic, unless it is the poorly equipped and trained militia types. Anyone could go through and just give their townspeople weapons and form them into units (see Russians in 1941 for an example, out of time period I know, but the most basic example I can think of), but those troops would also suck and likely get their ass kicked. Hell, spartans training started pretty much from the time they could walk to be as badass as they were. So if it were up to me I would have all of the militia and the most basic barbarian units have 0 recruitment time (so that as a last ditch effort you can buy some time while you raise a real army if you are under assault) but keep the rest of the units recruitment time where it is.

Well Republican Rome fielded all militia armies. I would think it so great if you could 0-turn recruit a legion, and to represent the effect of agricultural neglect (from farmer-soldiers being away) the upkeep would be very high, and could get progressively higher. Preferably they could be disbanded back to their city to give back the population lost. The only problem is the retention of veterancy.

[Scazar]

Well by militia I don't mean non-professional units, I apologize for any miscommunication. I mean ghetto units of barely trained and poorly equipped people. Like Shield, Spear, Helmet, go fight someone.