My impression of Sorcerer King and 2 major suggestions not suggested yet.

So I'm just about to make the plunge and buy into the early access version (my first actually) but I'm doing so after watching a total of 3 lets plays (yes THREE! its all I could find lol)  While I have not purchased it as of this writing (I'll probably make take the leap before the sale ends...) I have come out with an impression of what I expected to see based off its selling points and what I found instead.

In theory I love what Sorcerer King promises with a smaller, tighter and more interactive experience then what I've seen before in the countless 4X games I've played (and I've played a lot like many of you.) I STILL have the poster that came out with AoW2 EBgames got when it was released (worked there at the time) AND I remember having the poster from Master of Magic when it was released taped inside my locker in highschool (nerd power! lol)

I've never purchased a early access game before (although I did purchase War of Magic Collectors when it was released - does that count lol?  Sorry bad joke) and haven't played FE for a long time.  I'm hoping that means as fans and early beta testers some of are feedback is heard...

First things first, this is my list of 2 observations made from somebody looking to BUY the game based on what I've read and viewed, what I expected and what I see it as now vs want/hope for.  That makes some kind of sense if you read it really slowly...I think....

1. First off love the new art style.  The landscape - its beautiful, lush.  Yes very beautiful and it makes me sick.  No seriously, I'm the Sorcerer King and I've just won the war, yet look at the land I've conquered!  Its unspoiled, untouched - wait is this the same place I waged bloody wars upon? That my evil (I look evil) influence spread?  Where I burned grand cities to the ground and saw the relics of wars dating to back the War of Magic?

Maybe I'm in the wrong place...could this be the new world?

I think this needs to be address if we are to believe the Sorcerer King ever fought a war here and won, one idea could be that it IS the new world.  A place where the FEW remaining shards are and where the defeated races escaped to it before or face enslavement by him.  Kind like if Sauron had conquered middle earth and then chased the elves west to the new world.

Otherwise I could NEVER tell wars had ever been waged here!  I think the map should be scattered with burned out structures meshed into the landscape, graveyards of the fallen, great burned fields, craters left by magic explosions, actually tile hazards that could damage troops to pass, skeletons of dead dragons, swamps of bubbling ooze was once a battlefield of elves...or toads...and so on.

I'm NOT talking about  explorable "ruins" either (thats obviously a given in a game like this) - I mean art assets dotted around the landscape to give it the look like a long magical war hand been waged and lost by many.  To make the world look "lived in".   I could never believe that the sorcerer king "healed" it either as he seeks its destruction unless you repaint him green and call him Mother Terra.

Otherwise without something to explain why the world looks untouched I find it hard to believe a war was ever fought here, honestly at this stage it looks like any other 4X untouched landscape, the only difference is that you only face one really strong opponent and it would be easier to believe your fighting a new enemy thats risen to conquer the new world - rather then won it already.  Which could work to!

2.  I somehow really doubt that a sorcerer king that just conquered the world is going to let you start building an empire of cities on his map,  I honestly was really disappointed that this wasn't rethought out with the theme of this title.  I really want to believe in the idea we are rising from the ashes to face off this a supreme leader that beat all the other wizards and I somehow doubt that say for reference again, Sauron would let elves build kingdoms all over his newly conquered kingdom after laying waste to their cities to begin with.

Obviously expansion is necessary. but since this is a new take on the 4X game, that a new take on city expansion is needed based on the games premise.   I think your central/starting location should be the only castle town and everything that follows be smaller and less notable to your enemies.  Maybe instead of new castle towns, we build villages - BUT keeping with the theme of the conquered kingdom these villages never grow beyond a certain size.  OR maybe each map is limited to build a certain amount of city types.  Maybe for example there are 4 types - castle towns, cities (trade centers, basically your castle keep without the castle) keeps (castles more for defense/solder training) and villages (good for farming/pop growth).  Each map size limits the amount you build.  so for example a small map is 1 of each.  Part of the reason is because war has waged such a heavily toll on the land it can't support growth like before.

As for population growth, perhaps refuges could be a part of city growth too.

Otherwise it just seems really unrealistic that you go about planting new massive castle towns all over the world map.  IF that is how things go (building castles unnoticed) - then I would REALLY like to see the Sorcerer King send out massive armies to wipe them off the face of his world - and early on - he succeeds.  Grow too big and get pounded.  He has the power - he would wield it - he's a dark sorcerer with a god complex, right?  He's not going to like you playing upstart.  Which would force you to first build small, then as you grow more powerful you take the risk of improving the cities infrastructure but risk getting the SK attention by doing so - so be prepared.

Really those are two things I was expecting too see based off its description and hoping to see and didn't find.

I think overall I'd like to see more influence of what its like to be living in the land ravaged by a magical war and now ruled by a god king who seeks its destruction.   Currently it looks nothing like that except in pictures of burned out villages.  The Sorcerer King seems a little silly too sending out gifts to recruit you instead of armies to wipe you off the map.  I suppose if he barely just won the war and needs to focus what remains of his army to capture the shards/crystals then I could see him trying to manipulate the remaining resistance to his side but if he is truly all powerful with a massive army he wouldn't even make the effort until much later.

I really like the idea of the "dungeon master" and how that plays into the game, but it would be nice if the Sorcerer King had more personality in the game both directly and indirectly - his names on the title after all.  The best villain's are the ones you get to know and despise - that you WANT to defeat because their such bad asses.   Otherwise victory feels kinda empty when it feels like your killing a puppet put up for you to smack down with your stick for the sake of hitting.

Well I hope something of that can be gleamed or it inspires somebody out there listening.  If nothing else its one view point of what this consumer was hoping to find in your game by what your descriptions, faqs and media portrayed to me.  Of what I think would really add some depth and put us into a world ruled by the Sorcerer King.  I think we need more then descriptions of it given by the games DM.  We need to be in it, see it and feel it to believe it.

I think at least initially more effort needs to be put into the visually to tell buyers that this is a world now ruled by the Sorcerer King, so when I click on a screenshot or see a video I see that world because right now it looks nothing like such a place.