*shrug* That's not really a concern of mine. Kids play these games. Kids don't have the patience to sort through trade tallies, or even read unit cards. They want knights and battles ? They can have them instantly, if that's what's fun to them. More... I was about to say "smart", but that's not it : more patient folks like you and me, we can always tweak the way the game works, or step away from the Easy Way, as that's what's fun to us.

And the diplo *does* work if you really know it through and through, can interpret the meaning and mechanisms behind the apparent senselessness etc... Even more so in 1.2 (where allies become frendlier overtime, and requirement for trusted allies have been lowered, and relations are really factored in AI decisions etc...). If interests do not conflict, it's very doable to keep as many as half a dozen nations at your side at all times, and not just "not attacking you" allies either. It's not perfect, and it can certainly be made better, but it's... functionnal. Simple, sure. Unimaginative by definition. But not "broken".