Re: lowering the battle sizes. No. I probably need to see if there is a way to get that variable, and if so, fix that, for folks who can't handle big fights. I do not know if that's possible or not.
Caravans: hmm. I thought they were still happening. They may have been broken by something I changed in the economic code near the end, though. I will look at that.
I have definitely fixed the bug with garrisons and initial troops being weird. That was really annoying to hunt down.
Also, I have fixed all of the weapon lengths (there are probably a few errors left, but all of the new swords, etc. are right).
I have added variation to the stats for all the swords, axes, greatswords and a few other things, put a minor nerf on greatswords and two-handed axes. So, more variation in price and performance. I don't promise that it's all perfectly balanced, ofc, but now there is a lot of choice.
I lowered the accuracy of throwing weapons so that it roughly matches archery (I guess that won't make people who want to be sniper-archers happy, but if you want to snipe, buy a crossbow, it's how it worked IRL).
I checked the Looter code, and fixed their generation- I'd forgotten that they were supposed to get some different mixes of troops on Normal. You will find that Looters are a bit harder to push over in Normal and Mommy now (but they still aren't too rough).
One teeny change will, unfortunately, screw around with savegames- I added a missing RR_Razor sword and moved another weapon that was mis-classed. So please bear in mind that you will want to Export your characters. I am very sorry if that means you've lost a nascent empire, but I want to get all of these nasty savegame-breaking bugs found and killed right away, instead of screwing people over after they've played for a week or more, so please be patient with me on this, I will try not to do it again. In that same vein, I will probably add a bunch of dummy / cloned Troops now, so that I can add some new Mercenaries later on.
BTW, do people like the Female Irregulars? Should I make a male variation (with traditional equipment, of course)?