income? ...what's that? I've seen no such marvellous thing as an ...income in my game!
I'm playing Austria, it's (only) 1621 and I'm at -1,2million thalers and going (down) strong
... I don't bother looking the finances sheet, I've only ever built a market in Vienna and a jousting field in Aachen (in the first turn), after which I don't even bother looking at my cities any more. I'm reduced to fight with whatever armies I had at the start, and whatever armies spawn for me...
All I can therefore say is that the new economy is no fun! It's a trauma! So, I'm not going to praise the new economy systems, or say I'm glad for it. I definitely prefer the old model! But I refuse to cheat or give up... because the battles are so DAMN GOOD!
!!! (when they do occur, as the economy has hamstrung most all factions to a halt) [and yeah, I know how to mod the old economy back (more or less), but that would be like cheating too! So, I'm not doing it now]
Hey... Now that I think about it, my current campaign with Austria doesn't feel like a "total war" game at all any more, it rather feels like I'm playing "myth" (you know, "the fallen lords", "soulblighter", "the wolf age"), where you get a fixed size force and try to get through each battle with minimal (or zero) losses - otherwise you could kiss your campaign goodbye!
So, two thumbs up for everyone who's re-living the good old days of "myth" (the pain and the fun of great fixed-force battles) on the m2:tw engine, courtesy of the 1648 mod team
PS: don't talk to me about building up at the beginning... even if I disband every unit I have, I still have a LOT of generals (who now have an upkeep) and most cities in the red - perhaps if I allowed half my empire to slip away I and loaded all generals in a boat (on a one way trip, if you get my meaning
) I might manage... BUT THIS IS NOT HISTORICALLY CORRECT (not appropriate - it's also like cheating in a way no serious power of those days would act ... and it spoils the feeling for me
)