Excuse me but i can't find it. Could you post the link please?
Anyhow, so far all i have seen from the world map is a seasons script (which is nice), and some talk about minor factions that we don't know what they will do (which is also nice). But what else..?
Warband had amazing mods that added tons of features (Diplomacy, ships and sea battles, Buying Land, Slavery, Bank script etc,). Taleworlds HUGE bet is to make the world map more fun to play than those mods made Warband (a decade-old game).
They should add more options in the war aspect than the simple trio: loot village - attack lords - siege holdings. We could blockade ports for example? Or make raiding possible anywhere in the countryside, not just in villages? Or make killing Lords possible, even with assassination attempts, and make a script for giving the possibility to the AI to appoint (spawn) new lords, to counter lord shortage in late game? Or make pacts with other Kingdoms to attack someone together?
They should add more quests that actually have an impact. Remember the quest when you follow the marshall and he tells you to bring him some cattle? It does nothing, like the majority of the quests. You just do them for xp, money and the heck of it, while it would be cool if your actions could affect the entire world. (For example, the "bring me cattle" quest from the Marshall, could raise the morale of the men, and so you would feel that you contribute more to the campaign, or the "Scout the following areas" could give you more REAL info regarding the enemy's defences)
It would be good to make economy matter more. If caravans don't come to a town because i am raiding them, the town should have less provisions if i siege it. Moreover, the enemy lords should be alarmed if no caravan reaches their town, and they should come hunt me. Also they could implement automatic trade routes (tell your chamberlain to send a caravan of goods to sell them in another town and make profit while you do something else)
It would be good to make borders matter. Borders should be respected and even crossing them without permission could be a cause of war. Pacts should exist for entering another kingdoms territory if you are a lord. If the enemy is hunting me, entering my kingdom should slow them down or make them return home, so we would avoid 9 stacks of enemy lords just strolling in your kingdom because they are hunting bandits.
I have heard something about ambushes, which would be cool. Also, they should make strategic positions on the world map MATTER. I pass by a castle on a mountain and i say "i should take it, it will be easy to defend it", and then i think again and say "idiot, i am not playing Total War. In Warband there is no bonus if you defend a castle on a mountain, it's as breachable as a castle in the plains". Terrain should matter, as well as hitting someone from behind in battles should deal more damage...
Also, make the AI think strategically. The thing i hated most was the illogical AI choices during the war. E.g. the Nords are at war with Sarranids and the Sultan decides to ride across the map to capture Wercheng - a city it's certain he won't be able to keep for more than 5 days - why? The AI should progress by capturing the holdings closer to their kingdom first, and advance progressively.
It would be good to introduce attrition, like in total war games, where even standing past the borders of hostile kingdoms would damage their economy. Also, bandit parties should cause attrition to the economy, should be able to attack villages and cause a drop in public order (if such a feature could be implemented).
--> What i am trying to say is that, firstly, the player should feel like his/her actions have an IMPACT in the world. It's OK to bring cattle to the army and acquire XP and relations, but it's a whole other level of immersion, for example, to bring cattle and save them from the attrition they are suffering, which kills 10 units every day. And secondly, it should feel like there is REAL strategy involved, not just numbers and slashing/bashing.
It's a difficult task, but it should be done, because if the world map is dull and repetitive like Warband's map was, then the game will not meet it's potential. The chance to create a unique game will be lost.
And the guys from Taleworlds deserve to create a game truly unique because they won over millions of fans without having a famous brand logo or thousands of dollars, only with their ideas and their hard work.
English, if you can manage it, works better than emoticons.
