Not the progression but the perks. And I'm not 100% certain, but Silverstag was something of a big deal back in 2013-2015, because it was one of the very few mods that didn't just strip the finish off Warband and lay a new coat of paint over the same mechanics but actually added a bunch of systems. Stuff like really detailed town management, wandering mercenary groups for hire, specialized/unique troops with certain requirements, somewhat transparent recruiting, automatic garrison recruitment, kingdom policies, etc.
Sound a bit similar?
What was shown in August of 2018 was essentially the same (judging by icons and placement) as what it was on release.
My personal feeling is that they laid out a first draft early, then went about focusing on the combat, performance and stability as their main priorities. Campaign stuff was backburner and they discovered -- oops! A bunch of perks refer to systems that had been changed: for example, look in Roguery at all the perks talking about how much easier it is to pay bribes, get offered bribes, intimidate people in conversations, etc. But you're only really forced to pay a bribe once very early in the game and most likely never need to ever again.
Hmmm yeah that does make sense then, there does certainly seem like a lot of useless stuff within the perks or underwhelming at the very least. Every time I see a preview from like 2-4 years ago it seems like the game was in a very similar state to what it is currently. I watched a video of a siege from like 2016 where it almost kinda looked better than it does now in game. AI appeared to be using siege equipment, climbing ladders, actually clashed well. There had to be a few hiccups somewhere along the way.
