Originally Posted by CyanCentaur
Here's my list of fundamental play issues that need to be addressed in any sequel:
1) Expensive units are not worth the investment.
Elite units often can’t be retrained in captured cities. Their initial training generally requires two turns, without creating a unit that’s twice as effective. Elite units are not only more expensive to build and maintain, but require expensive infrastructure. Thus historic units such as Companion Cavalry or Sacred Band play no role whatsoever.
2) Cavalry has no effective counter.
Even pike phalanxes are easily disrupted by headlong charges. Armies built entirely of light cav (or chariots) can crush anything.
3) Seige engines are not worth building.
They appear too late in the game and move too slowly to bring on campaign.
4) Bandits are too prolific and too damaging.
And they have no counter.
5) Espionage is tedious, distracting, and endlessly annoying.
6) Naval battles are indecisive, and timewasting.
7) Battles are small and repetitive, never epic and decisive.
8) Defenders can win battle by running the clock down.
9) Hand-to-hand fighting is resolved too fast.
10) Units must be micromanaged in battle.
No simple orders such as "advance", or "guard the left flank".
11) Useful battle formations are unavailable.
Available formations are line-based, and easily flanked. Where are box formations, such as Alexander used at Gaugamela?
12) Land seige alone cuts supply to coastal cities.
Historically those cities would have been supplied by sea anyway.
13) Limited unit types such as cavalry are unlimited.
Hence the occasional bizarre appearance of all-cav macedonian armies.
14) Ports can be blockaded without defeating adjacent fleet.
15) Field fortifications are a deathtrap, not protection from surprise attack.
16) There is no effective defense vs bribery, and it can’t be disabled.
When fighting Romans the game turns into "Total Bribery", as they bribe one or more cities each turn.
17) Naval movement is too slow.
A powerful navy should reward players by speeding up their campaigns.
18) Enemy zone-of-control is ignored by fleeing armies.
If anything, fleeing armies/navies should disband if forced to flee through enemy ZOC.
19) No penalty for withdrawing from battle.
This is not only unrealistic but frustrating, particularly when the AI withdraws time after time, when they could have fled before the battle screen loaded.
20) Characters are too complicated.
There are really only a three attributes worth tracking: stars, acumen, and dread. Anything more complicates the game without making it funner. It’s a huge time-waster to wade through constantly evolving and lengthy lists of self-contradicting attributes and personnel. Every VnV should translate into one or more of the three basic attributes.
