Were those EAs also in development for over 8 years, and made by a fairly sizeable companies that had previous experiences to draw upon? And were those EAs also sequels to games that they don't actually differ all that much from? Not to mention, that did those EAs' predecessors have a wealth of mods that the devs could draw inspiration from? I could go on like that.
THIS. Exactly!
Don't get me wrong, Bannerlord is amazing and I love the game and all the improvements, but it does not change the fact that something is very wrong with the development.
I used to work in game dev for many years, and the production tempos here are clearly below any standards I know. And I can't imagine how the sequel to the game 8 years later can have a number of core features of the original game missing or broken?
The balance of political power wasn't an issue, not in 2007 when I got into MnB, nor up to now in Warband.. It is a problem in Bannerlord. Uncontrolled wars that make no sense, escaping lords popping up immediately with full armies, factions steamrolling the map..
The elementary trademark system of +- relationship was quite broken in April and is still not up to MnB standards.
The unit stats - the thing that is the easiest to fix and mod - are in chaos third month in a row.
All that's been working before (and more than for 10 years already) is naturally expected to be in 2nd game. And that is what makes people wonder.
As for new features, many are just placeholders. Like perks. Or, like, how coud you NOT know that the player's children would have insane levels and no stats? Children is one of the hugest new features!
I am still happy TW have released Early Access, it's much better to wait this way. But anyway I ended up stuck in my campaigns, wishing that some features were finished at least enough to try, when the moment is right. I used to play so much in old MnB and Warband, I'm scared to think how much. Yet I have only conquered the entire map like three times or so. It wasn't a matter of such a small time, even if the sieges were basically a crossbow joke. Now I am trying as I can to STALL my faction from conquering the whole map half the time. And even though the potential is enormous, I can't influence the inner politics and relations of the clans in the kingdom much. And it got even more broken in the latest stable patch..
So, TW better sort out their priorities, reevaluate pipelines and their team, and hire some top modders in.
The potential of this game is immeasurable. I can wait, but TW, you lose momentum with the new players, and it is sad.