- More fief notables who compete with each other
(at least only when you interfene)
Then they don't compete with each other, and them competing with each other only favours the player on getting better troops and nothing else. It's an a okey system, but again, this is an anti-lore feature. Recruiting in Bannerlord is closer to buyer slaves than raising armies, and recruiting it's the same in all factions, so again, that "notables variety" truly means nothing to me, it's a very shallow feature.
- Civilian gear restrictions and back alley fights
This was invented by the Viking Conquest DLC, so technically we did have it in Warband. And here is worse, because is limited to what the game wants you to wear instead of just letting you wear what you want lol. In an RPG of choose your own place, you can't even choose your own clothes. But yeah, it is a small improvement, capes are cool and everyone agrees with that. (...they could be better though, but we're getting there, the only thing that is receiving all the money here is the art departament)
Back alley fights are a joke that serve no purpose, and they only exist because they featured it in a promo video. They were supposed to make you a gangster of some sort but the feature was either cut or "still working on it"
- Making caravans
- Delegating quests to companions
- Making clan parties
- Childbirth and death
- Smithing and its commissions
These are fine. Clan in general it's an alright addition, but it's too bad you can't start as a nobody without a clan like in Warband. You're a noble with a banner, want it or not.
Smithing is alright, but it's too bad you can't order something being made for you if you have the money to do so. What actual noble lords/kings were smiths and made their own swords??? History buffs refrain, if it happened twice of thrice i don't care.
You mean playing those awful minigames??? I don't know who actually takes the time to learn and play them, but I wouldn't spend a second in a system that doesn't take me anywhere than to get a small amount of denars in my pocket. Playing with lords is completely useless too.
More doable hideouts and their boss duels
As doable you mean, going as an archer and hitting a headshot on a sitting target, until you fight a big guy. Hideouts and bandits in general could have been great, instead hideouts are just very, very easy tasks, and repetitive too. To the point they're even boring to do.
- The ability to make real armies
Hmm, Warband had this. I would even say that in Warband you didn't have the "ability" you had to earn it in your faction, be good enough and become the marshall. Here, it's affected not by how well you perform in battle in general but by:
- The whole influence system (while still barebone, it's still a thing)
The influence system is the worst thing to ever happen to Bannerlord. The influence system is a complete piece of garbage, and I'm being nice here, and calm too. But the influence system is the worst piece of trash design to ever be thought for an RPG. Influence in no way, no place can be a currency. It's a dumb idea, and it shouldn't have had replaced reputation and right to rule. It's the example of the whole Bannelord issue: you have an okay feature that could have been expanded into, that could have been worked on and made better, and instead was replaced by a totally disruptive one in favour of being "simple" and "easy". I hope a mod destroys influence and we can play an actual game for once.
While they're dynamic, Bannerlord companions also have backstories. What's jarring is that they're drawn from a fixed set of backstories. Still, it's pretty much the same level of writing as companions in Warband.
Hmm, no, no it's not the same, and again, this is just like the reputation system: Warband has an okay system, Bannerlord decides to destroy it, put it in the trash and do something easy and simple. Companions sucks here, not only because they are called idk, "bobby the robber" and he robs!!! So the dumb player can understand that Bobby robs people get it! Intelligent writing right here fellas! 10/10 design--- but because they don't influence your game at all, in Warband they had complains, they didn't get along with other companions, they had something to say if you didn't act according to their ideology, and if the morale was low some would be eager to leave. Again, a system that could have been improved upon, by thousands, instead they gave us randoms that are just there to be clothed and sent to fight like a monkey, they're not companions, they're more like pets, and they live even less than you too! Literal pets. Hmm more like those tamagoochies, you even forget about them.
Edit: Don't we also get more writing on the lords? Many of the lords have written dialogues in the banner campaign and backstories in the encyclopedia.
Remember the flavor text post I've made, talking about how backstories and text is just flavor, unless they affect the gameplay? Yeah, that is what the post is about. Consider reading it's points.
Idk what your whole post was about, but it was fun responding to. Because truly, every addition in Bannerlord is either a complete ruin like influence, or it's "okay" to the point of elevating the game to Average. It's an average game, yes.