Just wanted to thank the Brytenwalda team for a fantastic game. It's extremely buggy (I can only play about 30-45 minutes before a CTD) but I am sure the devs will fix it soon thanks to community feedback and want to point out the epicness of what has been accomplished:
1. A serious storyline that makes this mod substantially more than just a switcheroo of items, new settings and fancy features (sorry WF&S, you were fun, but that's all you ever were)
2. A world that has come alive - completely believable localities, cultures, costumes, kids running around, villagers whittling, lovable and detestable personalities (I love that we can choose our own character's temperament and use it in dialogues
3. A historical setting that perfectly fits the dynamic of constant (random) warfare that Caladria required but this time with an added degree of coherence and plausibility
4. A weaponry culture and combat system that is intensely immersive and makes many styles of play equally valid (for the first time ever going into battle without a horse can be a sound tactical option)
Overall, in a gaming community where modders regularly redefine the meaning of an awesome mod, this one really does merit the extra bucks (with the timely release of bug fix patches) and so far my first impression is that Viking Conquest represents the APEX of the M&B experience.
P.S. It has been fun swinging from ship to ship but I do hope the devs of Caribbean! hold themselves to the standard of providing rich, deep, new content above and beyond "more features" as the Brytenwalda team has done here. Kudos!!!