In the spirit of things, then, some improving suggestions :
1. Attractive people. Sure some variety would be interesting - tall, petite, some fat, some plain, but on the whole appealing to the eye, especially the ladies to court, and companions.
2. "Dark age sparkle ". Much more expression of the striking ( and distinct ) Norse, Celtic, Anglo Saxon art and artisanship in weapons, armour, banners, decorated robes and clothes, jewellery, brooches, torcs, carved dragon heads on wooden beams of buildings etc - make the lived environment more rich and beautiful and detailed ( err on the side of overdoing things cf "realism ", show off artistically, the more beauty there is to enjoy the more there is to love about spending time in VC ).
3.Brittany and Frankish counties in the game. Bring the map south as far as the Loire ( not far ). A distinct Frankish culture ( eg heavy cavalry charging with spears -"lances", albeit not couched ) and a distinct Celtic Breton culture ( eg heavy cavalry with javelins, as "Frankish " horseman mercenaries are currently ). Paladins from the Carolingian court could be encountered eg companions, quests.
4. Music. Continue with more ancient music - folk tracks, much longer play list, eliminate the hangover tracks from Warband we have been hearing for years ( and that are anachronistic -sounding here ). A beautiful, evocative sound track will make it much more immersive. Any copyright issues can be dealt with by Taleworlds, surely.
5. Encountering more exotic things in the world - with trading and ( especially Viking ) raiding , Continental ( even Eastern ) arms and armours, bigger Frankish cavalry steeds, Moors ( and Slavs ) as traders and slaves and concubines, walrus ivory, etc, could crop up , all wonderous things to buy or loot or win on the battlefield.
6. More interesting companions to encounter, especially more women - mostly attractive, of course, some with quests - shield maidens, traders, pagan priestesses or nuns ( eg refugees from Viking raids ), whores, singers, dancers, spies, runaway princesses, runaway concubines, cooks, huntresses- trackers, milkmaids - there are a million stories out there.
7. Some Dane axes ( ie two handers ), some throwing axes. Some heirloom swords ( eg old spathas ), with names, and significantly better stats. You could win these special swords from generals on the battlefield.
8. Grey ie white, and black horses, as well as chestnut and bay or brown. The bigger Frankish mounts should be modelled c. 15 hands, the good British horse as galloways of 14.5 -15 hands. A prized Arabian steed might rarely turn up.
9.Welsh and Strathclyde Britons had a noble heavy cavalry culture, their uchelwyr simply should be mounted, and on good horses, a la the current " Frankish " horsemen mercenaries ( which more properly are the Breton style ). The Irish had no significant military horse culture until after the Norman settlement, and here should only have light horse ( non - noble ), and few.
10.Wolfhounds should roam the long halls, for more atmosphere eg at feasts. Valuable hounds ( or horses, falcons ) could be escorted to another lord as a quest , or stolen - why not ? Falcons could also been seen in long halls at feasts, and "castle" mews and stables could be visited eg for the quests.
11. While holding a feast, you could declare a Hunt. This could run like a battle, the "battlefield" would have a stag or a boar you would have to find, accompanied only by the generals at your feast. You would try to stalk it and then run or ride it down, with your own weapons equipped. You would have to be able to order the generals - nobles as per battle commands eg hold this position, charge, as required - for instance, as in some battles, you could go ahead alone and get behind the stag and flush it out towards an ambush. It could escape, but if killed ( by anyone ) your reputation and renown and relationship with attendees would be boosted significantly. A rare white hart successfully hunted would bring even greater fame and rewards.
12. Reintroduce "castellans" and "seneschalls" ( with appropriate Dark Age cultural titles) to ease management of your towns and "castles", especially re recruiting for garrisons, and treasury management.
13." Long" bows in Britain were a 12th century Welsh development, and should not be here. Bows (arrows ) should, nonetheless be upgraded for more decisive damage - if the target is not mailed. By the way, I doubt that there were bands of Finn archers travelling around 9th century Britain, or many Svear ( Swede ) warriors for that matter, but the more the merrier, as per Point 5 above.
14. In tournaments, it is much more immersive if you attend with your own gear - weapons and armour. Going back to just a random seax and in just a shirt feels like a nonsense for a gun general like yourself. Likewise your opponents should be "equipped up" with you, to make it some sort of contest ( and more colourful ). This is a very good feature of the great mod AD 1257, along with varying tournament formats from culture to culture...........
15. Which brings us to the battlefield. The devs really should be inspired by AD 1257, Dr Thomas is some modding genius, but I would think that mod etiquette allows one to show the way and others to follow, with attribution ( good ideas can hardly be copyrighted as IP so that they cannot be used by anyone else - they are just good development ideas, explored by someone, and the game culture advances ). So particular more immersive battlefield details could be :
a. Slow down the frenetic running and cantering, back to "normal ". Real fighting is not some whirling, giddy, swinging circus, but much more deliberate and considered and artful, especially ( but not only ) when facing off over shields, in mail, with heavy swords, spears, and axes ( shields are heavy too ).
b. You can pick up a weapon and / or shield from the battlefield to keep , and mount a horse to the same end. This is very immersive and interesting, looking around for prize drops, and would be a good way to acquire that famous heirloom sword of the opposing general, possession of which could buoy up your army morale, and boost your renown. An AD 1257 feature.
c.When defending a castle or city , missiles have unlimited replenishment. This works very well in AD 1257, and is realistic as armouries would be adequately equipped, resupplying the walls all day.
d. When you are knocked out fighting, you then respawn inside a random fighter in your own army, to continue the entertainment ( some of these battles take a long, long time ). Thus as a humble hirdsman you can heroically hold the breach, or as an archer snipe away for ages taking out many foes ( with head shots ! ), and not only is it a lot of fun to play in a different style for a while, but as the individual you can still make a battle - winning difference. When all your own guys are all "dead " you then just " float "as normal. The best feature of AD 1257 ?
e. If you personally knock out the opposing general in battle, you have a good chance of capturing him ( or her ? Why not the odd women general here and there - could be culturally appropriate at this time ). Even more incentive to seek him out and duel heroically man to man, in the spirit of the age ( and win his famous sword ).
f. Berserkers should appear in battle ( as a rare troop type) - make the most of the ? myth. Big men in bear skins, easily recognisable in the melee, high hit points, dealing high damage, ? with Dane axes ie two handers ( why not ? good image ). Norse and Dane armies only, none or one, or two at the most, in the retinue of a general.
16. Reduce the vertical elevations in the campaign map a little, some of those valleys are disconcertingly exaggerated gorges. No big hills ( and absolutely no battles in mountains ) in Denmark and the northern Frankish and Breton lands.
16. Finally, it has to be said that the devs need to take the time and have the professional pride to produce the cutting edge Mount and Blade experience that we all expect going in to 2015, to get the best out of what the graphics and engine can be coaxed to do. Get help from the Bannerlord team, if need be, for better coding and execution; you are all Taleworlds now, and this is a Taleworlds professional product, with some hard, talented acts to follow. For a simple example, lets see expert, beautiful modelling work - no puffy mail, bare arms that are weird looking, amateurish faces etc. Everyone knows instantly what looks great, what is innovative and fresh, what works, or what is not good enough, in 2015.
All of the above is just musing about trying to break through into a more fabulous, rich, fun, and totally immersive experience of the Dark Ages, the best possible on PC for now. We are tantalisingly close. It is about a time and place where we can relive hours and hours and hours.........................................
"I am here to deliver my demands "