was about to suggest almost exactly same idea as plazek one in this thread
http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,21567.0.html but he beat me to it anyways im gonna post this here, i think its the only way for strategus being fun experience for everyone involved in it
- change the design from one guy big army to the many small standalone armies
- number of troops capped (like 25 basic), faction leader (+1 troop per one member of faction) and owners of village, castle, town got a little more than your average player
- player need to hire troops and equip them by themselvs (no transfer avaible for those)
- in battle those tickets and equipment are only available to the guy that made them (no one will waste his tickets and equip)
- implement some sort of grouping/following feature where all those small armies are automaticly summed up when being attacked by similiar force
- remove stopping moving army when attacked, it continues its travel and the battle will take place normally, if its lost it dissapears from strategus map for 3-4 days after that it teleports close to faction leader
- player have to be near location of the battle to be able to join it (not exactly the same place but if there was a circle around a place of battle, something like the distance between two villages)
- AI bots defending the AI villages/castles/towns, so its the same effort to get them for everyone and people wont be able to get 3 defenders by talking people into not signing up for defense
- lower the prices of equip so that people can use their classes, make hiring troops harder
- implement some official tables telling which faction is at war with who, who's allied with who etc.
- implement something like bandit lair (
http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,11407.0.html), a camp that would have small % of hiring troops but would enable clanless, factionless people to create danger for already established factions, or role play as bandits
i know devs got their vision of strategus and are making all of it for their own pleasure of creation, but i think the strategus thing isnt going in the right direction, so devs if any one you is reading this threat it like a friendly suggestion if anything ;p and i know its probably shit loads of work but maybe its not.. one might wish