Played a long 1.5.7 game, initially to try out a new character build. Upgraded to 1.5.8 (about 600 days in, I think), contributed to some bug reports, reverted to 1.5.7 and continued through to ~1500 days or so. Reasonably balanced and enjoyable to the point of establishing a kingdom (800-1000 days, using the main quest but triggering the 'conspiracy' stage close to 800). Initial expansion is then okay, but a little too easy if you're careful and micromanage. Then 1200-1500 the warring becomes too frequent and pulls you into snowballing the player kingdom. Recruit a few clans, and you're suddenly Calradia's superpower, if you have the patience to grind it out.
If it's supposed to be a multi-generational, strategic game, renown gain needs to be *much* slower (or a game startup option). It should be a second or third generation PC vying to become the leading power, not the initial starting character by my mid-late 30s.