Alright it's that time again, folks.
Inspired by the new screenshots I decided to make a thread where you can ask questions about the next version that the developers hopefully will answer. And if all you have to say is "It looks cool. Can't wait for it", then please post in the new screenshots thread.
So we have three new screenshots, and the only questions that come to my mind from them are about that new siege set. Do we have more castles to attack or can we attack enemy towns this time? Is the siege machinery just a fancy ladder, or is it something much mor cool? Or is this information classified? Oh and of course, when is the baby due? I don't need(want) an accurate date, but a rough estimation would be appreciated. Like "less than a month" or "in a few months"
Carry on.
What has been answered so far:
Hello,
I am afraid it's somewhat difficult to accurately answer some of those questions. I'll try to answer some of the basic ones. For others, you will have to wait for the new version and see it with your own eyes.
So we have three new screenshots, and the only questions that come to my mind from them are about that new siege set. Do we have more castles to attack or can we attack enemy towns this time? Is the siege machinery just a fancy ladder, or is it something much mor cool? Or is this information classified? Oh and of course, when is the baby due? I don't need(want) an accurate date, but a rough estimation would be appreciated. Like "less than a month" or "in a few months"
There are some new castles and we did a lot of work on improving the sieges. Town sieges are not implemented yet, but that's something we plan to do before the final version.
The new version should be ready sometime between two to eight weeks.
1) What improvements, if any, have been made to the world map?
2) What improvements, if any, have been made to the AI?
There are improvements in both departments but you'll need to wait for the new version to get the details.
Can we get three- and four-way battles?
Nope.
Are there any new units or further development of the factions?
We couldn't find the time to work on unit types and balance, so that is left to a future version. But we have put some serious work to the faction system. I hope most people will like the changes. 
will save files still work with 0.808 or will i have to start a whole new character ?
Sorry. You'll have to start a new character or import your old character.
Are there any new kind of quests/missions or storyline?
There's no storyline I am afraid, but there'll be some new quests.
Will we have a less buggy more usable particle effects system? That we can make flaming weapons and the suchlike with?
The particle systems have been improved but you may not be able to make flaming weapons.
Looks like an answer is forthcoming.
Indeed.
Will it sill be based calradia or will it be historical
It will be based on Calradia. We kind of gave up the "historical" idea.
Mine: how influential are the ideas in the suggestion boards to the improvement of the game?
Community input and suggestions have been extremely important for us in shaping the game.
We are trying to address the issues that the community is most interested in, and it'll be very exciting to see the response to the new version.
How many times will armagan have to go through the '15 new messages have been posted while you were typing' dialogue?
I think I have been caught in an infinite loop, but I might get out if I just type faster. 
Will DX9 shaders need to be turned on for the bump mapping and new particle effects?
You'll need DX9 shaders for bump mapping.
Will the bug with the dx9 shaders on Nvidia cards be fixed? 
I hope so. 
1) What's your favourite feature in the game that you got from the forums? In the forthcoming update?
I don't really have a favorite. I love them all equally much.
2) Have you tried any mods?
Not as many as I would like to. I have been playing Onin No Ran for some time and I absolutely love it.
3) Are we ever going to get more heroes?
Yes. Sort of.
4) Will the firearms proficiency still exist?
Firearms proficiency remains unchanged.
Will it be possible to add and customize different proficiencies for modders?
Sorry. No.
5) Is there any attempt being made to consolidate the era portrayed in the game, or is it still going to be a mish-mash of five or six centuries?
I guess we'll focus on sometime around 13th century
6) What's keeping secondary attacks out of the game? Time constraints? Is it just too difficult to put in the engine at this point?
Time constraints mostly. Don't forget we'll also have to code in the AI to successfully use and defend against them.
7) What is the capital of Assyria?
I have no idea. Try the historical discussion forum.
hey amagan will there be flags in the next version
Banners will be displayed on castles scenes and icons.
Are some of the files located in "data" (like flora_kinds.txt) going to be modular?
Yes.
How about animated scene props or animated melee weapons? Any support for that?
Sorry Raz. No.
We will have ragdoll physics someday? Or only in M&B 2?
No comment.
What about cloaks? will we ever get cloaks reacting to the wind and speed in the battles?
And skins, do we get a more varied choice of skins, (eye color, height,...)?
Nope.
The firearms seemed to be buggy when I worked with them. Specifically, the AI took a very long time to shoot, as if they were locking on or something (wasn't just long reload time). Will they work properly now? This is sort of important for firearms mods, but I may have been doing something wrong.
Yes. That should have been fixed.
Oh, and by very popular demand by perhaps all of the modders: "Will we be able to distinct troop types in mission_templates?" E.g., assign certain spawn points to archers only or let only certain troop types follow waypoints. Also, will archers and cavalry follow waypoints now? How about spawn radius in mission_templates?
Edit: And teleport? 
Most of those should be possible with the new version.
I am afraid I will have to go back to coding now. I haven't done any real work all day, whereas Daegoth almost finished implementing ........ Ooops. I almost let one out.
See you all later. Cheers.
Thanks for the questions. Since I don't want to give away too much I'll only answer some basic ones without giving away too much detail. 
is there any new weapons with any improvements?
Sorry. I don't we have anything new in this version.
Are there any updates to horse control and maneuverability in the next release? Specifically, will horse strafing be implemented? In the Fantasy Mod, HighElf gave the lizard mounts a maneuverability of ~20, and they finally maneuver more like a real horse. The gimped things that show up in the arenas are just painfully annoying to use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKTeUa8H704
I want to ride around like that.
Nice video Eogan. There are some changes to horse movement model and control but I am afraid we haven;t implemented strafing. But that's a great suggestion. I'll keep it in mind.
Also, in the screenshots, I saw wooden forts. Are stone castles still there? If so, have they been improved
to not have guys get stuck in the ladder?
There are stone castles as well. We have tried to improve sieges as much as we could.
will the civilions walk in towns like the screen shot
Leave the poor buggers alone.
Will there be heaps of awesomeness in the new version?
You bet!
Armagan, will you be able to kill people via triggers???
Yes. That'll be possible.
will shadows be rendered on trees?
We couldn't find a way to do that without causing artifacts on ATI cards.
Cheers!
