My evaluation so far (feedback)

[PinkyDK]

So I played the current version of early access and so far I reached '77 and just took New York - Havent gotten any further but felt I had some pointers...

Difficulty:
I picked normal difficulty and I manage, but this feels like hard difficult in the strategic settings. Battles are fine but Im seriously under pressure all the time from invasions... (I picked default settings for that reinforcement option)

So far sea invasions and invasions from Canada seems to bring just a little bit too much force for me to handle... 6k troops early game causes a huge issue 3-4k troos would still be a challenge for my selected difficulty.

Economy:
I focused a lot on economy but Im also investing in construction all the time. Its a struggle - but mostly I cannot afford a navy and it ruins some of the game even if it might open up later in the game... Id like a look into rebalancing the navy upkeep and repair.

Recruitment:
My biggest problem in campaign and its a little annoying is to recruit enough people to keep units at least somewhat full - I upped the pay a lot and Im still in trouble. Having several baracks etc. On hard it ight be okay but I feel it annoys me and ruins my experience when units stay shattered for extended periods lacking recruits.
Also I had to get rid of most ships because they ate manpower like no tomorrow.

Navy:
Thought the Imperial presence is realistic I think its bad for the game to get clubbed so hard and insta-intercepted... I think gameplay-wise it would make sense to have smaller ships being difficult to catch with big ships/fleets. Make smaller ships useful for catching enemy traders and harass the enemy. And maybe get some smaller fun battles with smaller enemy ships seperated from the bigger fleets. Im sure this could be very fun for the gameplay without breaking the game or the historical underdog status.

UI: I need a big alert on screen if my navy or army gets engaged, so I can react and not suddenly just lose forgotten units...
I also need a small x on the messages so I can remove them without opening a window.
Also in-game I would like a seperate icon for mortar units

Research:
Research is very slow - And I like the long game aspect - but it feels like Im missing out and stuck with boring units for a LONG time...
Also I feel many of the small stuff research is waste of time and I just went for the better research items instead. I think it would be good for the research tree to put low tier equipment in the path of high tier equipment so you you have a natural progression at least for early stuff.
Also I feel every research item should give you something other than the research - Like everytime you researched 50% of something you get a choice and can select between 2-3 small rewards wich you will get when 90% done with the research.
Just small stuff that will soften the long waiting times and get the player immersed.
If you are researching a 4 pdr cannon perhaps you can pick between somre cobber, a couple of cannons or some ammunition and put a small story on the choice...

Units:
It took me a long time getting some unit variety and it was a little boring for a long time even though it might be realistic. I think perhaps Id like some more variety and/or ealuer access to at least low tier versions of new units.
*Militia outriders - early cavalry bad stats and small fragile units (perhaps 2 x 50 men)
*Artillery regiment - with up to 2 batteries and no access to elite infantry or skirmishers and perhaps moving slow like a supply unit.
*Also allow milita units more variety like having 2 skirmisher units
*Make indian mercenaries more available - maybe add a melee unit too
*Add other mercenaries like fur trappers (could be a fragile close and melee unit)

Marketplace:
Marketplace is great but it is lacking content a lot.
I do feel I need at least small steady availability of things in marketplace even if embargoed and not having many friends. At least when you research something it should become available...
Foreign rifles never gets into my units because I cannot replace lost ones - Like getting 100 Ferguson rifles... After a battle the unit will be permanently prevented from full strength. At least bring 10-15 of them on the market every week. The same with cannons and ressources - doesnt have to be much but at least a little.
Even 2-3 units of copper would be nice when under pressure :-)

Routing units:
On the strategic map it is very annoying to move militia from forts and cities to fight the enemy - then when you win the routing units scatter with super speed though your units and sudenly the go across the map conquering several cities and you cannot catch them until later when you get cavalry...

Gameplay reset-battle cheese:
When in the middle of a battles you can exit the battle for no consequences. Like if you enemy comes too close for comfort just exit battle - then you can initiate battle again and the enemy will have to advance on your lines again... Perhaps a timer for 30 seconds before a general or admiral can start a battle after having left one?

Starting areas:
I like how your start position in a battle reflects the map positions, however as a player its just annoying. Could you merge overlapping zones in combat or something?

Movement on the map:
The units trying to spread out is annoying. IMO they spread out too far and when I click a group of units and tell them to move somewhere their destinations are often FAR apart.
Especially when moving to a fort or city it gets annoying and the behavior has several times interrupted my capturing of a city they would scatter and not be close enough...

Thank you for reading if you made it this far...

[LordAtrox]

I would recommend putting it in the "Things you love, things you would add and things you hate"-thread pinned at the top.

[PinkyDK]

Will do - I just didnt really think it fit the theme... Thx