Is it just me or are there way too many leader changes and generals in MTW? This is just a suggestion but why not make the faction leader YOU as the player? You would choose the name, picture and basic attributes of your leader at the start of the game and this leader would never die, unless killed in battle of course. This would eliminate the useless hassle of heirs and princesses. Plus you can truely identify with this leader and nurture him into a great ruler. Much like some popular role playing games where you learn to really appreciate the character you're building. This leader would be actively used for diplomancy and have a wide variety of powers currently in the hands of special units. Imagine another faction leader personally appearing before YOU to offer his daughter's hand in marriage. There are just too many impersonal special units that tend to clutter up the game as has been mentioned in many other posts. Keep in mind it IS a game and doesn't have to be 100% historically accurate, which it never will be anyway.
I also think a similar approach could be taken for generals. Currently there are just to many to keep track of. When you have half the map it can become a micro-management nightmare. Why not limit each faction to a maxium of 5 generals. Each general could rule over multiple provinces. Generals could be managed kinda like a baseball team owner (YOU) and the players (generals) where you can trade, upgrade, and financially wheel and deal them around...even offer them up for trade in some diplomatic mission.
Overall, the game would have a limited number of CONSISTENT leaders and generals so that you would grow to recognize each by name or picture and learn to identify with them in some tangible way. Generals would become the true strategic agents and would vastly influence (far greater than now) the game. Do you really care if one of your generals dies now? Why would you when there are countless others? What I liked about SG was that it seemed almost like a chess game where every move was significant. With so many similar units each move has less meaning. I love MTW but think it is lacking that familiarity factor along with the consistency of character development and association. Just my 2 cents.
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