These are my first impressions:

1. Sadly, diplomacy is still not as ideal. The -200 penalty on declaring war on allies has instead been increased to -350! It's still quite hard reasoning with the AI at times. On the plus side, the AI seems more willing to barter peace deals with you now, and won't drive itself to suicide...On turn 10 the Barbary States offered peace for 1700 gold.

2. The game has a new revamped feel. The main menu has received some minor changes. However, what's pleasant is the game music, which has been switched to classical music (for European nations at least I think), which I feel is more fitting as music of that era.

3. The game appears to be more stable this time...it doesn't lag as much and I've had no crashes in the battles I've fought so far.

I've only played about 12 turns into version 1.4, so everything I say here may or may not be entirely correct or complete. For example, I've not yet discovered if assisting a defending ally in a war against an attacking ally will cause the increased -350 diplomatic penalty to come into effect.

The above things are simply first impressions and are intended to give the reader a feel of what to expect.