I'm testing some possibilities and I'd like to know your opinions.

1. Zones of recruitment - "national" units will be recruitable with full strength (say 100 men per unit) only within the core provinces e.g.: elven units in Mirkwood, Lothlorien, Imladris. Adjacent provinces will produce the same unit but with 60 men and all other provinces 40 men unit. It'll simulate stretched supply lines and limited number of recruits in regions far away from homeland. Of course, you'll be able to merge all these small detachments into full, 100 men unit.
So, if you loose large part of your army far away from your homeland, you'll have 3 options:
  • wait for new units from your homeland
  • wait while building detachments and slowly reinforce your army.
  • recruit human mercenaries - much weaker but numerous.
This should force players to better prepare their campaigns and make the game harder. This should also help AI to keep its homelands.


2. Land trade routes - two options here:
  • simulate trade route via buildings with fixed income (like mines or cathedral) e.g.: if you control all (say 5) provinces that belongs to the trade route you'll be able to start building trading posts or caravanserais. Disadvantages: a) always the same income, b) if you loose one of the provinces you'll still get income from 4 others.

  • make fake sea that connects all 5 provinces, give provinces tradeable goods, ports, shipyard kind of building which will produce tradesmen/caravans. Tradesmen/caravans will work like ships. Disadvantages: possible fights between tradesmen/caravans, port icons inside provinces with no visible coast. Advantages: realistic and fluctuating income even if you control only one province.
I'll probably use this second option to make Anduin navigable (for normal ships) from Osgiliath to the sea but I'm not sure about full inland trade routes.

I think about 4 trade routes:
- from Blue Mountains to Shire and Bree
- kind of Silk Road from Khand, through Harad to the coast - Umbar or further to Gondor (maybe Pelargir)
- From Rohan, through the Undeeps ford to Rhovanion
- river trade route from provinces along the Anduin Vale, through portage way at Sarn Gebir to Osgiliath.



Let me know what you think. All suggestions and ideas are warmly welcomed!