Since Shogun I've not bothered playing the basic game.

Playing a heavily modded previous iteration with an AI that can siege, is inherently stable and has been crafted for years is better than one that's more pretty, more features - but not been really tested for how they all work together.

For a game like this having units that still won't fight on the tactical map is inexcusable. This is the whole point of the game! Great - naval combat... oh, but the AI is so weak that you can constantly thrash it due to its poor tactics. And so on.

After a few patches to get the basics sorted out, and the modding community to try to force some "I" into the AI I'll probably get it.

When is less of an issue as I like the last version when I get a chance to play.

For long term use, fewer, better balanced features are better. For the "Wow" factor and to bring in the punters a vast number of sort of worked out features will impress more in the review and shift more copies.