First, I understand that the game is in early access and that taleworld want to cooperate with its fan base to create the best mount and blade experience they could After taking some time to experience the game and at the same time ignoring the small bugs and crash that were addressed by other players here is what I think of the game in a grand scale of things
Pros
1) the game looks stunning and the graphics are great
2) The combat while in need is a lot of balance is a solid base to build upon
3) most of the good features of Warband are still here or improved upon
4) the map is big and very diverse instead of the barren warband map
5) the AI in the open field battles is good and is sure to improve further
6) the devas responds and bug fixing is admirable and inspiring
7) the new Quest while still minimal show much greater diversity than Warband
6 ) the clan system turned out to be better than expected
9) while the game economy is still barebone its a step in the right direction
10) the lawmaking and more complex settlement management is a huge step in the right direction
11) Minor factions are a good addition if the were expanded with questlines plots and intrigues
Cons / Suggestions
1) the diplomacy while improved is currently lacking in complexity and depth I would but it as a less developed version of Warband diplomacy mod I think it could be expanded by adding plots, intrigues, and rebellions for internal affairs and trade packs non-aggrestion alliances and coalitions plus dynastical marriages
2) the grand strategy of faction while very realistic it is not balanced as victories armies were usually stoped by attrition and logistics I think taleworld could improve the strategy by making auto calculated battles have more attrition and sieges have even more attrition (which they historically were)
3) While the army creation mechanic is very creative and good I think it should be tweaked to be more dynamic as I have seen armies wait near a besieged settlements without any action I think these should be solved by a similar way to Warband in that if a different army are in a close radius they should act as a single unit even if there was no army formed
4) settlements should be relivable without the need to break the enemy siege I think this was discussed in a dev blog but it seems to be limited to the player or not implemented
5) Companions should be more options, interaction, and stories as well as the ability to marry from the companions and notables for players who roleplay as bandits or merchants
6 ) Siege AI must be improved and defending a settlement should be easier and attacking one should be much more costly (the current kill rate of sieges is 1.5 attacker death for every one defender I think it should be changed to 3 at least )
9) castles are very disappointing I expected we will have notable with special quest and high tiers and noble troops recruitments in every castle
10) the Aserai troop recruitment is completely broken for some reason we can't recruit the lowest tier troops which completely locked the mamluks troop trees
11) there is no clear way to recruit mercenaries and minor faction troops as well as faction noble troops I again think notables in castles would be the best way to recruit noble troops and make castles more alive
12) Finally, I think noncombat activities are very lacking in the game there are no bard songs to learn no activities in taverns other than board games no travelers book merchants manhunters etc also did I miss it or are Feasts gone as well it was in one of the best features in Warband and never in my wildest dream expected it to be removed
In brief, the game is good and solid but the lacking in the strategic gameplay and civilian gameplay which was expected because these features are hard to test with a limited team which is why early access is needed so everyone be vocal your feedback it will make the game the best that it can be and this is our chance to help Taleworld build the best mount and blade experience
Im sorry and i dont want to be a negative nancy... but they are not a "limited team". They have at least 90 employees if you check their linked in, and wikipedia shows they had 102 employees at 2016. This is no longer a small team.
I understand building a new engine takes a massive effort. But if you look at the gamescom footage from a few years back and look at whats actually improved in key features since then, it is meager. It feels hollow, and tbh it feels like they expect the modders to fill their world.
Also, a LOT of the issues we ran into would have been exposed and long before solved if actual testers would have tested this. It doesnt feel like there has been an alpha test at all, in terms of balancing, pathing of AI, encounters, missing tips/tricks and hints (there is NO hint that you have to press N to see your encyclopedia, nor is there an UI button for it) and other issues.
Again, i am not saying the devs been fishing their nose these past few years, just that for the amount of people they have employed it feels really really bare bones.