"I like the ability to directly change the living world around you through your actions."
YEEEEEEEES!
Since your claim to enjoy the sense of a living world, I'd like to say a few words on how important it is to avoid
magical safety nets. With magical safety nets I do not mean wizards and flames.
You mentioned that you gave the caravans the ability to "purchase pack animals". That could mean that the caravans will be able to spawn horses when they need them (admittedly in rare occasions), instead of relying on a village to breed them. This could be a
magical safety net, if there is no reasonable way of explaining how the merchants were able to get hold of the horses, or why they would loose money in exchange for them. Maybe you meant that caravans can go to a village and purchase pack animals, because that would be an awesome solution, and with regards to TaleWorlds being awesome, I must assume that your solution is amazing.
It's amazing to feel your actions have an impact on the world, and it's important that the world do not constantly fight against the player, trying to maintain status quo. Like, in Viking Conquest, you had these cities which always had very good prices for certain items, and it would never change. It would vary a tiny bit, but it would never actually change in a way that would force the player into taking a different trade rout. The game maintained the status quo, no matter how hard the player tried to change it. Even if we wiped out an entire enemy kingdom, they would simply have an uprising and reclaim some territory, making it impossible to ever rule the world.
To help you understand what I'm on about, imagine an extreme scenario, a world that would consume itself unless you manage to keep it running. A world, where NPC's could damage the food supply so much, that an entire kingdom would starve to death. Where all the lords could die in a war, resulting in their bloodlines entirely wiped out. That would be good. Very good. It makes the player a God, responsible for saving the world from utter chaos. That's a good position to be in, right? Control, power and responsibility. A sense of purpose, without any limits set by the game.
Now, imagine the opposite scenario, where the game would do anything to maintain status quo. The cities would live on, no matter what. The lords could kill each other, but not too many. The kingdoms would never be wiped out, because the world itself would protect them. In such a situation, the player is just useless, because it doesn't actually matter what the player does. The world will always stay the same. Isn't that rather a depressing task to give to the player?
»Increase reputation with this lord to get his trust so you could loose it over time, time that can be spent doing stuff to allow you to repeat the same thing over again«
- No thanks.
The best solution is probably a balance of the two, a world that actually can consume itself and die out, but where it is very unlikely that it would happen on its own, unless it's given a very long time span.
So the player can take control and be a good leader, create a kingdom that flourishes with a strong economy and high population, and thus being able to destroy the weak enemies, making managing economy a central part of being able to wage wars. Obviously, companions could be assigned these tasks, which automates it in a sense, to allow the player the freedom to play however he wants.
Or if a player is retarded and constantly fails to take power over any lands, he might think: to hell with it! So he gives up his previous plans and instead, he wreaks havoc on the the land, burning villages and raping peasants. Of course he becomes a public enemy, and the lords of the land eventually goes to great length to kill him off. But then, the player realises:
»hey wait, this kingdom is really weak now.. Why don't I just attack this weak spot now and finally get that power I've always wanted?«. And so now the player is a king! And it would never have happened if the world simulation was too rigid. But remember, the player was a retard, so he never realised that if he conquered burning lands, he would never be able to defend it. His citizens are starving and soon, his enemies overwhelm him. He's taken to the gallows to be executed for his crimes.
Sad story. Better luck next time, huh? Yeah. Maybe next time you'll learn to live virtuous and make friends, not enemies, so you can take the power and actually keep it. Or marry into a strong family. Or becoming the kings closest commander, and friend, then just **** stabbing him in the back! I don't know, just alternatives!
By the way, don't care about trying to get anything I've said implemented into the game, just release the it. It seems to be good enough as it is. You can always keep on developing the game after release, with DLCs to bring additional features to the simulation and eventually create an entirely realistic medieval simulation game. You know, people have been waiting for a long time because we truly believe in this game. We will keep on waiting, even after release.
BANNERLORD! YAAAY!
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