Your own TW style game: What features would you like to see?

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

If you were to create your own TW style game, what features would be crucial for you? What do the hardcoded features of TW games lack, apart from functional diplomacy / AI intelligence?

Personally, I'd add the following features:

- founding settlements: the player can found settlements on his own and thus create new provinces. He can also destroy existing settlements thus eliminating the province, giving the soil to a neighbouring one

- technological progress: by building appropiate building (schools, temples), the player can amass "progress points" like in Civilization. When a given amount of points is reached, your faction could benefit from new / better units and buildings

- disloyalty: your nobles can revolt and form a faction to wipe you out (dunno if this is already implemented in M2TW). The bigger the empire, the more difficult to keep it together

[Antinous]

I would add the settlements like yo said.

2.) You can take control of ship battles like on land.

3.) Tons of new factions with special units.

[jirisys]

Realistic army sizes.

No more 20 stack max.

Multiple settlements on a region.

Ability to create settlements.

Realistic management mechanics (not ETW style, but a more comprehensive system without betraying the RTW system).

Realistic AI diplomacy.

Realistic AI tactics.

Unlimited factions.

SDK kit.

Unlimited units, buildings and whatnot.

Better trait system, scripts and ancillaries.

And that's just in the top of my head.

~Jirisys ()

[fomalhaut]

most importantly, the AI needs to keep account of losses and gains in real terms. If they lose their army, they should immediately sue for peace or at least step on the table, not send levies until their unnecessary death as a faction because they never ever accept peace. Except maybe for Rome with Hannibal and with Pyrrhus, most factions would be fighting for extra territorial gains or other reasons, not for the sake of their nation. losing their main force should at least stem them, humiliate them, end them as a powerful force outside of their region ala Athens invasion of Syrakuse

In Alpha Centauri there's a real sense of politicking at all times, while in RTW it's literally total war, never ending, purposeless conflict for the sake of it. No manipulating 3rd parties to help you, no solidifying alliances, nothing, just war. with everyone.

[Skullheadhq]

Centurio! You're back! Didn't see you in some time!

Anyway, here's my wishlist.

Succession crises: Multiple sons/pretenders fighting for power after your ruler dies.
Reputation system: If you conquer half the world, the rest will conspire against you to keep you down.
Political (senate) system with factions: one needs to acquire a majority there for your decisions or face destabilization when monarchy when going against the council's will.
Rebellious heirs: heirs could get impatient and start a civil war.
Multiplayer battles: the ability to fight a battle with one army with more players, one commands the centre, two others flanks and another one the cav.
Multiplayer campaign: self explaining

And much more, but don't come to mind right now.

[moonburn]

the true steeps without city´s if you had the nomadic trait all of your units would have 0 upkeep and all you had to do was to roam around putting troops on top of icons that meant catle or other important resources every autumm you would/could build forts to protect your troops for when winter arrives or loose 1/4 of your unprotected army and then spring arrives and you would restart attacking rebels or other steppes nomads use the resources gathered to recruit directly from the mercenary pool and keep at it until 1500 ac where gunpowder starts to cut you down

if you got tired of that life of loosing family members due to them not reaching the forts in time and having no more money to build a new one you could steppe out of the steeps and attack someone to take over their city´s and start your road into becoming a setled people

that would make playing a steppes faction very fun particulary setling forts all over to take control of grazzing grounds mines heards slaves furs traderoutes or extracting money from the setled people in the fringes of the steppes

also the hability to create colonies (make them permanent stone forts) and later on to pick a capital city from all the permanent stone forts in your province (something like for every region there´s x permanent stone forts inside a formula that would depend on space available like province y as 1300 square km´s then it can have 6 permanent stone forts even tough it only has 2 psf´s at the start and 1 capital province wich could be destituted and be turned into 1 psf traded for another one)

also the hability to use your army to ensure the loyalty of a few people without having to conquer them or destroy them would be nice athens didn´t had soldiers everywhere in it´s league it only had to flex it´s muscle or let 1 be destroyed/conquered by the spartans to put them all in check

this last one combined with the hability to create colonies could make for an extremly interesting gameplay of total politiche control of the world from 1 single city state and it´s 250 colonies scatered all over the world