Oh boy. Logging onto my ancient account for this.
Interesting development blog and I'm glad your all back at the studio after so long. That said - and skip my post if you don't want to hear criticism:
The fact you've made no mention whatsoever of improving the interaction between the player and the game world is saddening to me. What about feasts? Talking to lords? Diplomacy improvements? Actually having a reason to fight in the world? Heck, what about more unit variety on the overworld like adding manhunters? Instead all I ever see in every update are a singular focus on the battle system, your MP servers, and polishing existing mechanics.
That's not a bad thing, but what made Warband special wasn't just fancy battles. It was the interaction between the player and the world. That tied in with the battles made it special. But... do you guys even care about that, or is Bannerlord going to just be about battles? I wouldn't mind if you just said "we are planning on it" in regards to such things even if you take a few years to add and improve those features. Just some sort of acknowledgement that you'll do something would be nice. Even if you think feasts and the little things like talking to lords beyond "can I ask you something?" is useless and a waste of time, it was those "time wasters" and "useless features" that added that little spark of soul into Warband.
In regards to custom MP servers - I understand your multiplayer team has a "plan" and are sticking with it, but it might be time to call a meeting and put your foot down. The community has stated they want custom MP servers time and time again. Adding on to your own servers isn't going to fix the issue of a dead MP community. At this point... what do you have to lose just adding custom servers? I understand you want to wait until after the game is released. But truly, honestly, is that what the community needs to be revived? Or is the MP team paralyzed with indecision on all of the potential problems releasing the code for custom servers could cause now?
You have an immensely loyal fanbase. If you just threw down the gauntlet and added custom MP servers and hell - the full suite of modding tools, regardless of whether the game is "finished" or not - you would regain so many fans it isn't even funny and could really breathe new life into the MP and modding community. If your worried about "adding modding tools when core features are not yet finished" just add a disclaimer saying as such to any potential modders and go about your day. People already have to worry about updates breaking mods... what harm would adding full mod support cause?
Anyway, good luck with the game, and I hope development continues to pick up pace now that your back at your studio.
