Lighthope

Those are called alliances. lol But yeah, the AI really doesn't use them to advantage. And it would certainly add a layer to diplomacy. Your ally certainly wouldn't join the opposing side (unless he were bribed).

So how about the AI recognizing an emerging threat? Currently, I am roll stomping kingdom after kingdom. You'd think the other countries would realize that I have half the world and am eventually coming for them. Maybe they might want to think about banding together for their own protection?

To shore bombard what? The docks? The good stuff is too far inland for any canon to reach. I guess blockading could be used. Not sure how though. Stops trade in that province? Wouldn't stop it from generating funds since money can travel over land.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a sea battle.

Definitely not looking to micromanage. We're not talking Civ III or Lords of the Realm I. (Though LotR I was a cracking good game!) In its original form, maybe it was too simple. This is why I greatly look forward to KoH2. First-offs are always "Let's see what we can do" while first sequels are always "Now let's do what we always wanted to do." So I think KoH2 is going to be the game they always wanted to do the first time but couldn't. And it will also benefit from all the lessons they learned from the first one. I just wanted to bring up the diplomacy thing again because its something we haven't heard much about. Maybe in the next Developer Diary maybe, huh? *hint hint*

So been playing KoH again after a break. What I have found, and I think others have noted this as well, is that there is precious little need to make any kind of agreements. Every request for a trade agreement, break relations, attack a country, or even go on a crusade is automatically denied by me with little consequence. Sure, maybe the other guy may think a little less of me, or maybe even the Pope excommunicates me. But I don't care. It really doesn't seem to affect anything. I just go merrily on my way. It's come to the point where I even start ignoring the messages they send me. Just right click on them and gone. Just take my two armies and roll stomp every other country. Of course, if I want to make things interesting, I attack the Papacy. That tends to get on everyone's bad side. Then I have armies coming from everywhere like ants. Other than that, though... Definitely looking forward to KoH2. It will fill a hole that Total War has left since they abandoned the medieval period. But decidedly want more depth in KoH2.

I had a Marshal in prison who managed to become the new king. What a man!!! And he even got married! Boy, talk about those women who love prisoners!

Do we need yet ANOTHER Turkish language thread? This is starting to look like spam.

I'm really in the middle about this. It would certainly require a change in strategy, but historically generals (marshals) could come from anywhere. Again, a different strategy. You know what? Okay, I'll go along with both of these IF they were selectable options rather than the only way to play.

That moment when you declare war on a country, only to find out that three other countries are his allies and suddenly declare war on you. Oops... Maybe next time I'll remember to check the map first.

Okay, for KoH2, we're introducing a new rule: Company logo bumpers can't last longer than five seconds. That Paradox logo on the Steam version eats up more than THIRTY seconds! When that thing runs, I go and grab dinner. Anything that lasts over five seconds has to be interruptible.

Princesses could make good spies. Or they can be married to one of your Marshals, the result being their group doesn't cost any gold or they get an extra buff. I'm sure we can think of more things to be done with them, but something needs to be done with them. As of now, all my princesses have to look forward to is being an old maid and joining a convent! (M2:TW reference)

Is there anything that can be done about princesses? In KoH, they are nothing but a liability. Sure, they may get you a little loyalty from the marriage, but when your king dies, you have a chance to either lose some of your land or cause major problems if you don't give away your land. I know historically princesses were used exactly as they are used in KoH. But I never, ever marry my princesses off. Just too much headache. Can we do something about princesses so they are more useful? In Medieval II: Total War, they can be used to ensure loyalty of a general or used as diplomats (not useful in KoH since you don't need those).

I think we can generally assume that someone who is fully starred is a cardinal.

That is a strategic decision you have to make.

No. Having them occupy a slot makes you decide whether or not it is better to keep them in prison or get rid of them. If they were stored in a separate place, it takes away some of the strategy involved.

Knights of Honour just went on sale on Steam. $2.49

Oh, so aging is an option now. That makes things interesting.

I don't listen to the streams. The Dev Diaries on the message board are just fine. Wish they'd reply more often so we know we are being heard.

I disagree with this part. A new knight should just be a generic knight. Skills are learned through experience. I found nothing wrong with having a Knight start out with zero stars.

DLC needs more than that to justify paying money for it. We're talking new maps, new units, new rules, etc. So, you know what, I may change my mind on specialized units. I could accept them in a DLC IF that DLC came with a lot of other stuff. If a DLC only had specialized units, that would be a No Sale for me.

I'd like specialized units, but I wouldn't pay for them. They should come part of the base game.

My guess is that it hasn't even hit Alpha yet.

So Steam is currently saying KoH2 has a 2020 expected release date. Nah. But what is the current thinking on a release time?

Oh yeah. I remember playing a mod or two.