I posted this in a forum thread but I think it deserves a post of its own for your consideration. It's what I think would fix the multiple wars, the bankrupt kingdoms from continual declarations of war, the pointless switching of sides, the boring hordes of armies of tier 1 troops. A game that becomes more balanced, challenging and enjoyable from for the player.
1- The monetary compensation for peace is temporary and not infinite, it will be a percentage of the wealth that the clan receives from its fiefdoms, it will prevent impoverishing kingdoms and clans without fiefdoms. In addition to creating ridiculously weak kingdoms militarily
2- The kingdoms and the balance of war power will be calculated based on the war power of the parties in the kingdom. When they start losing parties and in the end they only have parties of level 1 soldiers, they will already be like defeated, they will not continue insisting.
3-If a kingdom declares war, attack. If a kingdom has been declared at war, it must go 100% defensive. If the balance of power is reversed and the defender outmatches the attacker, then the war strategy is reversed.
4-If the attacker loses on the offensive and when he goes on the defensive, he loses fiefdoms and has a low attack power, he will seek peace.
5-If the defender fails to defend himself, he loses fiefdoms and loses power in the parties, he will seek peace.
6-The kingdoms can make defensive pacts. A weak kingdom that is attacked can receive help from other kingdoms. The kingdoms that help in the war, will act defensively in the territory of the attacked kingdom. If the defensive kingdom becomes aggressive, the helping kingdoms will act as support, they cannot take fiefs from this war. The attacking kingdom will not attack the territory of the auxiliary kingdom since its war objective is the kingdom to which it declared war, if the attacked kingdom loses all its fiefdoms, the attacking kingdom will attack the territory of the auxiliary kingdoms, one by one, forcing them to abandon the war. The defensive kingdom, losing all its fiefdoms, will focus its forces on conquering ONE SINGLE OBJECTIVE, no massive looting. If he manages to reconquer a fiefdom, he will go defensive until the attacker loses power, or seek peace if he does not have the military power to even defend himself. All kingdoms participating in the war will go into truce upon completion, a multi-kingdom war in long games could cause extended periods of peace. By applying the defensive pact mechanic, the player could be at war against all other kingdoms, but objectively, it's just a war and not a multi-front war, where it is impossible for the player to even participate.
7- The fiefs that a kingdom seeks to conquer when it is in attack mode will always be objectives that are on its border lines and not a weakened fief in the middle of the enemy map, or on the other side of its border. Village pillages will be done when the attacker has no power to conquer a target without reducing his strength by starvation. The attacking kingdoms will plunder villages of the kingdoms that help in a war when they conquer the fiefdoms of the enemy that declared war, in order to force them to abandon the defensive pact, reducing the war force of the attacked kingdom, forcing it to surrender.
8- change of sides. The clans that leave the kingdoms, will not do it for money, but affinity, with their King and clan leaders. If they have several fiefdoms scattered around the map, they will seek to keep the ones that are most united and will abandon the distant ones. If his fiefdoms border a kingdom he likes, he will switch sides, if his fiefdoms do not border a kingdom he likes, he will declare independence. Deserters cannot switch sides if there is a truce between the realm they are in with the realm they want to go to, nor can they switch sides to a realm that is at war with their current realm by defensive pact, or vice versa. They can switch sides to the kingdom they are currently at war with. They can take advantage of their current kingdom being in a war to leave the kingdom independently. The changes of kingdoms and independences will be automatic declarations of war, as long as the vassal takes fiefs. The clans that become independent will seek peace, the kingdoms at war that lose a vassal by independence will seek peace, with the kingdom that is at war or with the deserting vassal. Kingdoms that are assisting in a defensive pact will abandon the pact if they suffer an independence intent at that time. Independent clans can become vassals when they border a sympathetic kingdom. And the kingdom can declare war on an independent clan when it is on its border, the independent clan can receive help from a sympathetic kingdom following the defensive pact mechanic.
I don't know anything about programming, but this doesn't look like something impossible to program in the current game.
1- The monetary compensation for peace is temporary and not infinite, it will be a percentage of the wealth that the clan receives from its fiefdoms, it will prevent impoverishing kingdoms and clans without fiefdoms. In addition to creating ridiculously weak kingdoms militarily
2- The kingdoms and the balance of war power will be calculated based on the war power of the parties in the kingdom. When they start losing parties and in the end they only have parties of level 1 soldiers, they will already be like defeated, they will not continue insisting.
3-If a kingdom declares war, attack. If a kingdom has been declared at war, it must go 100% defensive. If the balance of power is reversed and the defender outmatches the attacker, then the war strategy is reversed.
4-If the attacker loses on the offensive and when he goes on the defensive, he loses fiefdoms and has a low attack power, he will seek peace.
5-If the defender fails to defend himself, he loses fiefdoms and loses power in the parties, he will seek peace.
6-The kingdoms can make defensive pacts. A weak kingdom that is attacked can receive help from other kingdoms. The kingdoms that help in the war, will act defensively in the territory of the attacked kingdom. If the defensive kingdom becomes aggressive, the helping kingdoms will act as support, they cannot take fiefs from this war. The attacking kingdom will not attack the territory of the auxiliary kingdom since its war objective is the kingdom to which it declared war, if the attacked kingdom loses all its fiefdoms, the attacking kingdom will attack the territory of the auxiliary kingdoms, one by one, forcing them to abandon the war. The defensive kingdom, losing all its fiefdoms, will focus its forces on conquering ONE SINGLE OBJECTIVE, no massive looting. If he manages to reconquer a fiefdom, he will go defensive until the attacker loses power, or seek peace if he does not have the military power to even defend himself. All kingdoms participating in the war will go into truce upon completion, a multi-kingdom war in long games could cause extended periods of peace. By applying the defensive pact mechanic, the player could be at war against all other kingdoms, but objectively, it's just a war and not a multi-front war, where it is impossible for the player to even participate.
7- The fiefs that a kingdom seeks to conquer when it is in attack mode will always be objectives that are on its border lines and not a weakened fief in the middle of the enemy map, or on the other side of its border. Village pillages will be done when the attacker has no power to conquer a target without reducing his strength by starvation. The attacking kingdoms will plunder villages of the kingdoms that help in a war when they conquer the fiefdoms of the enemy that declared war, in order to force them to abandon the defensive pact, reducing the war force of the attacked kingdom, forcing it to surrender.
8- change of sides. The clans that leave the kingdoms, will not do it for money, but affinity, with their King and clan leaders. If they have several fiefdoms scattered around the map, they will seek to keep the ones that are most united and will abandon the distant ones. If his fiefdoms border a kingdom he likes, he will switch sides, if his fiefdoms do not border a kingdom he likes, he will declare independence. Deserters cannot switch sides if there is a truce between the realm they are in with the realm they want to go to, nor can they switch sides to a realm that is at war with their current realm by defensive pact, or vice versa. They can switch sides to the kingdom they are currently at war with. They can take advantage of their current kingdom being in a war to leave the kingdom independently. The changes of kingdoms and independences will be automatic declarations of war, as long as the vassal takes fiefs. The clans that become independent will seek peace, the kingdoms at war that lose a vassal by independence will seek peace, with the kingdom that is at war or with the deserting vassal. Kingdoms that are assisting in a defensive pact will abandon the pact if they suffer an independence intent at that time. Independent clans can become vassals when they border a sympathetic kingdom. And the kingdom can declare war on an independent clan when it is on its border, the independent clan can receive help from a sympathetic kingdom following the defensive pact mechanic.
I don't know anything about programming, but this doesn't look like something impossible to program in the current game.