- One turn deaths for players and AI are possible.

- Monsters in Lairs don't rage on AI players like they do on Human.  No Fair!

- A lot of concerns I have about monsters is that some of the stronger ones that can sit on a lair spawn similarly dangerous things that can wander about  and this happens too soon for the early game.  (Specific example - Death Demon (big baddie)  spawning assasin demons (EEK! for the early game)  and umberdroths can spawn more ones that move about..  )

- Most games I have played was with 4-6 opponents on large random maps.  I am getting outbuilt by the midgame, the AI will have double the # of settlements and resource income   ..  I'm thinking save some AI stuff for challenging.  Sheesh.  

- AI still guilty of sending unescorted pioneers

- AI is dumb in regards to telling them to stay out of your territory.  They keep doing it turn after turn and they're ___ annoying.  They call you on going thru their territory.  Have the AI choose another route, give it a rest.  

- I've played around with a few of the Kingdoms and made a couple custom Sovereigns.  

- Wish for additional spell for 'summoners' so that its not so much of a early/short term gain and I don't regret not picking warlock instead.  Shadow wargs are pretty good but get torn apart easy on things rougher than bandits.  

- Knights of Asok are too powerful to mess with in early game.  They need to defend their castle or something, that way scouts can get past.  

- Played as a "Team" with an AI before mainly so I could be buddy-buddy with Procipinee and get some books.  She and I can infer that AI has horrible judgment on initial city location.  The city's grain and mats were average but on top of that she was greatly restricted on tiles no thanks to having chasms on both sides of her.  Sorry I don't have saves, that was several games ago.  

- A lot of really powerful stuff has level requirements on it, so I don't think anything I can get my hands on is OP.

- Seems like "Armor" is stronger in defense rating than Weapons are in "Attack ".  I feel that all weapons need a slight bump up - that is the base weapons for units researchable on the warfare tree.

- Magic weapons could be a tad stronger.  Let me clarify, the base weapons for units under the Magic tech tree.

You got the problem right but the suggestion to tone down aggressive AI expansion is terrible, I think. If pioneer spam is optimal then that is exactly what the AI should do. The solution is to tone down the benefits of pioneer spam for everyone so that it is no longer a dominating strategy. 

Interesting ideas!

Perhaps cities should have a Level of how interesting they are for monsters/beasts, why should a demon walk all the way to search for 40  people having a little camp in the forest?

200 undefended people are much more interesting...

Something like in Alpha Centauri/Planetfall where you are attacked much more likely when you act against Nature, kill forests and animals and so...

Perhaps animals/beasts should be afraid of fire, so you can have a firewall-spell, traps sounds also intersting to me, perhaps a church, temple of xy or mage guild to prevent you from assaults of more supernatural things, or illusion spells to make the monster go away...

Perhaps also the kind of your fraction/shards can be an influencing factor... Like animals do not attack Tarth, or demons do not attack the Death-affine fractions...

Occasional attacks by big twisted seem not to be unrealistic in such a world, especially when your city has become larger, famous and richer, but what speaks against a little story and warning around this incident?

"A huge troll has been seen close to your area, prepare your city..."

I do not understand these knights in the story of the game...why should they kill my Pioneers? No money, I do not expect them to have my pioneers for dinner, no fame... even fantays games could have a little bit logic and predictability, especially strategic ones. Customs duty for passing their territory would fit better.

1. General feedback on if you felt the monsters were a threat (were they too strong, too weak, or about right).

In the beggining monsters are fun with a number of monsters stronger than a starting Sov and some weaker so you can explore/level/loot. Soon however you get armor (loot or leather tech) and only the toughest monsters are a threat. With leather armor and weaponry I killed an earth elemental army with 3 groups of 3 troops and my Sov, no casulties. With leather armor most monsters can only do 1-3 dmg to you and you can build enough armored leather troops to destroy anything.

The only time monsters were really a threat after leather was when the AI woke up drakes/bone ogres by building outposts/cities and they attacked me.

2. General feedback on if you felt the AI players were a threat (were they too strong, too weak, or about right).

AI seemed more able to produce threatening armies and manged to win a couple of battles gainst me. Might be because of double inspiration and magic hammers on each city though.

I still saw way too many scouts with armies though. It seems the AI spends a lot of production on scouts. AI still was more annoying than threatening with outposts getting put up everywhere. Somehow when I wasn't looking an AI pioneer built a outpost 2 tiles from my capital, under my ZOC. Waves of pionners attempted to cross my ZOC to build outposts in tiny gaps in my ZOC and I wasted a lot of time threatening them to leave every turn. AI still builds horrible cities, even next to better tiles or shrill lords.

Oh and twice the AI attacked me with single champions armed with clubs.

3. What difficulty did you play on?

Challanging on small map vs 4 kingdoms and kraxis

4. What faction/sovereign did you play (if you made a custom sovereigns, what traits did you pick)?

Yithril standard Sov

5. If you think the AI was too easy, what did you do to lead to your success.

Leather armor + Wither +Stoneskin + rediculous mana + unresistable spells and unlimited range makes me invincible to AI units and monsters. Please make strategic and mass spells resistible and give less mana per shard.

Casting wither/stoneskin anywhere on the map without worrying about mana or range lets my legions dominate every fight. My Sov who wasn't even a mage was casting wither/stoneskin on anything and everything across continents and against monsters immune to spells. Half of every turn was casting and managing enchanments.

AI champions (not Sov) seemed to lack purpose and just ran around with clubs getting murdered or hiding in cities from me.

AI attacked monsters it couldn't hope to destroy and lost whole armies at the same time it was fighting me.

I like your line of thought. If there were a cost for founding cities and a cost for building/maintaining outposts, a person would need an economy in order to expand. City Growth would become much more important. I would love to see the build speed/benefits of city improvements increase as it seems to  happen at a snail’s pace currently. I would also love to see more unique improvement benefits. 

My understanding is the next beta is supposed to address cities and I am hopeful we see cities and their improvements made more meaningful across the board and that there are city/outpost defense upgrade options and ZOC defenses/fortifications. (fits the ‘go big or go home’ mantra that is applied to other parts of the game. The cities should be powerful and unique as well)

Cities are soft at present and that is bad for all play styles.

• A player who wants less of a challenge wants their cities and ZOC to be well protected.
• A player who wants more of a challenge wishes the AI cities and ZOC were protected.

Other ideas to limit the strength of pioneer spam:

While I do think that pioneer spam will be reduced when vertical growth is made more important, I have a few other ideas related to it:

• Disallowing pioneers from being part of tactical combat. 

1. Prevents them being used as meat shields (Death Lash)
2. Prevents them being used as manna reserves/walking batteries (cull the weak).
3. Kraxis pioneers are stupidly good meat shields due to the armor boost and the AI prioritizing targets that are initially ‘soft’. Maybe pioneers should not have the blood trait applied?

• Removing the ability to use Cull the Weak on free units.

• I use pioneers as manna batteries/reserves (40 Manna per pioneer IF needed). This might be alright as it is a definite trade-off to harvest them.
• Militia troops are free manna and there is no trade off associated with Death Lashing them, followed by harvesting them up before tactical mode ends. Example:
1. I took a L1 city from the AI which had been parked next to a ton of monsters... 
2. The next turn, I was immediately attacked by three waves of monsters.
3. I harvested the lone militia each time which netted me 120 manna
• Now imagine if that was an L6 city, I would be up 240 manna per wave for a total of 720 manna. I think that is a bit overpowered and that it should not be usable on militia units (or that militia units dying should matter... does it matter? I never figured it did...)
• Also the description for cull the weak is wrong. It provides 40 manna and 0 HP (description states 40 manna + 40 HP)

• AI Centric pioneer issues/ideas:
• The AI appears to prioritize units based on softness (Defense and HP)
• I would love to see the AI prioritize on units capable of damaging it, using softness/CtH as a secondary part of the equation. Pioneers should never be a target unless they box the AI in or are the last unit remaining (or have Death Lash).
• The AI currently does not play fox / rabbit well (goes for a direct path as opposed to staying as near the center to entrap). Regeneration makes this matter as I can avoid/heal up while facing slower monsters.

I haven't been able to play any complete games (time and stability reasons) but I've tried a couple games on challenging/ hard, I generally played until I took over another faction or two before trying a different tactic.  Generally I'd say the AI is much improved, and it felt far more strategic (in having to choose what I built/ did).  Big step up on the balance and challenge factors lately, which makes it more fun.  It does, however, lack richness and variation, and somewhat dims a few of the gameplay aspects of FE.

Per the questions in the OP:

1: Monsters felt about right to me, some weak stuff that I couldn't steamroll anymore with one champ (had to spend a couple turns to heal or spend mana to win at the start), plus some really strong stuff that would be too tough to take down for a long time.  I think I would have liked a bit more exp for them, since even one sov in a stack +2x potential traits (so pretty focused strategy) still didn't feel powerful outside of drops before I had to fight other factions.  I liked that in one game that I mostly saw strong but slow things (ogres, etc) and another I was facing fast, dodgy stuff like stalkers.  Made me change up my equipment preferences early on.  I think for new players the monsters might feel overwhelming at the level they're at.

2: AI felt like a threat, the biggest bump being to the champion units, which seemed much healthier and better equipped.  The normal stacks weren't all that tough, mostly because my stacks always had a champion along, which was a difference maker.

3: Hard and Challenging.

4: Kraxis, to try something new to me.

5: My two longest games:  In one, I tried a city spam technique and a two champ army, my success was mostly due to a weak AI near me that I could take down fast.  Also Inspiration+ Meditation (+ Enchanted hammers on my builder cities) and a slightly lower tax seemed to get me ahead warfare wise; even though the AI was sending a lot more stacks, my units had better stuff.  Second game I hit a 5/4 starter spot, and went for a one big city tactic, and made several armies of champ + 3 normals.  Some good equipment drops helped, and a nearby River Drake that the AI seemed to love suiciding against (it was near a bottleneck of land that connected my area with my enemy).  Saw at least 9-10 armies attack the thing before getting to me, never took it down more than 30% of its health.  I just  went an extra square around to make sure I didn't annoy it, and attacked their cities instead.  So more luck than skill on that one

I really like the new AI, but it feels like it really only knows one tactic - to expand and zerg rush.  Which is good in a way; its what really works in the game right now, and its what good players were doing to win easily.  But it made me feel like I was getting surrounded if I didn't do the same, and that the initial factions vs the world section was much shorter/less defined.  In .912 I could quest and fight monsters for a good while, and have lots of land to see before I had to really push to expand or fight a faction.  In .913 I mostly felt like I had to rush to explore and kill things, and build pioneers fast, because I'd soon find a large civ with a much larger econ and score. In my one city game I had entire AI armies of 6-7 full stacks roll past me about 30-40 turns in, systematically wiping out all the weak enemies /champs/etc left in my area, even walking through my borders and continuing to wipe everything clean like a swarm of locusts.  I guess I could have warned them off diplomatically, but at that point I really didn't want a full scale war, I wanted to scout.  And with everything picked clean, and everyone yelling the second I moved a single unit in their borders, about all I could do was camp down and build up to fight the AI that was everywhere.

So I feel like the AI is hard right now (and that's good and adds a lot of strategy), but its not yet rich in depth or really bringing out some of the interesting gameplay aspects of FE that make it so different.  Still I know the game is a ways out, so seeing something like this gives me a lot of hope that tough but varied AI's will see the light of day, and that as economic changes come to FE, that more of that fighting the world before fighting one another aspect can really shine through.

0.913  quick observations difficulty on normal, not up to speed yet for harder levels

AI seems to decent job of expanding, last game still early less than 100 turns Pariden had six settlements and was probably on its way to being a powerhouse.

Monsters don't seem to be overpowered near start locations.   After about a half a dozen restarts have not seen any Umberdarths, Demons, or overpowering units close to cities.   Drakes are also not nearby.  Monster stacks seem more active and make for a real intersting game.

I was thinking about the feeling some people have that there is little room to maneuvre in this game because of choke points, and also because monsters are aware of us and we are aware of them, which makes the game map feel small and cramped at times.  Wouldnt it be better if we didnt KNOW where the monsters were, and they didnt know where we are? I know its late in the game design process, but it isnt too late. Maybe it would be easy to implement. I dont know, but hear me out...

This idea will make each square you enter seem like a larger place, a more real place, and it will make the game map feel much bigger.  You enter the square and recieve a warning such as: " You see the splinters of damaged trees" which is a warning that a bear or other mauler monster in the square. It is like the warning you get about the Inn or dungeon, only it would happen for unseen monsters.  Oh, and Inns and such would be invisible too unless you already found them or they are within your Kingdom. Anyway with monsters...  Your options are to turn back(in which case nothing happens but that square is obviously a 'no go' for you) , or rush through the square, or track the monster and battle it(expends one more movement point).

The monster also has options and reaction checks. It can ignore/not notice you. It can try to find you, in which case it will now be permanently seen as it chases you and rampages through your territory. In which case you only have yourself to blame. Oh I like that alot. I love it when my destruction is from my own hubris and stupidity. Well i dont LIKE my own destruction, but if it has to happen, i prefer to be hoisted upon my own petard. Doesnt everybody?

An undisturbed monster camp(especially the type that quickly breed new generations)  will spawn more monsters and eventually a party of them will emerge and rampage whether you leave them alone or not.  The game already seems to have that dynamic. the number in each unit of course goes up over time, and the unit number also increases. best of all, I would also like to see different rampaging monsters combine armies.  Shamans stay in back, Ogres to the front... Charge!

Anyway, make my Kingdom feel bigger by making each square a little mysterious. Make the map feel bigger by making some(most?) monsters hidden so i can get around them more easily and this will solve the chokepoint problem. But add extra monster sting back into the midgame(where it belongs) by having monsters cause MORE trouble later by rampaging in bigger units, and even different monsters teaming up into real armies if they rampage into the same square. Ignore them all too long and your entire Kingdom is in danger. I wonder if quests to find a tough monster could be made with only a vague clue("there is a dragon in the swamp to the west") but as usual, you dont know where the dragon is until you stumble on the right square after weeks of wandering around. Now I deserve the uber war hammer just for my patience of marching an army in the swamp for so long. 

The whole thing works together and i wonder if the game already has the capability to do it. I know a game cant do everything, but Kael asked and this is my answer to him.

Should the monsters be able to completely wipe out all the Kingdoms and Empires if they are ignored by everyone for too long? Yes. i think so. "Nobody wins" is definitely an option that quarrelisome Kingdoms and Empores deserve.

Now talk to me, fellow gamers, modders, and game designers!

I played as Kraxis on a small map with 3 challenging AIs. The world difficulty was set to hard. I had a lot of fun playing this version, great work!

In regards to monsters I felt that is was too easy to destroy the lairs of a lot of monsters. It also felt like it was too easy to expand early game. There was no real versus the environment phase. Just a mad rush to claim as much land as possible before the AI. Maybe spawn more wandering monsters right off the start so you can't just spam pioneers. Also making lair guarding monsters attack units that are right beside them on the higher world difficulties would be nice. Some monsters like Assassin Demons and Umberdroths should really only start spawning after a time limit, or have a much clearer wandering radius.

The AI was fairly easy to beat. It's main flaw was that it simply didn't use armor correctly on its troops. It had good weapons but rarely used armor except for the occasional Spearmaiden. I just used a few groups of Kraxis' special heavy spearmen in leather armor  to dominate swarms of Tarth's unarmored units. I then teched to Blacksmiths and got the special spears and shields. The problem was that I was easily able to level and upgrade those spearmen until they were uber tough so over the course of the war I got tougher not weaker. The AI has to be able to knock out some of my troops but it didn't have the killing power or tactics. Also it still throws some armies at me without champion support which is very risky in this game.

It's tactics also didn't help. In tactical combat the AI still allows me first strike. If they have more movement then me they really shouldn't be moving into my attack range. They should stop just outside my range and then attack next turn.

After defeating Tarth I won by demanding the surrender of the two other AIs. I had 150 faction power and the next toughest Paridan had around 90. Roseln was the last AI. I may attach a save later when I find a easy way to do it.

I also had that strange message where, at the start of the game, one faction died. I think, like the Rust Golems in the water, that the faction spawned in the ocean and drowned.

1. In the early game, the monsters were a threat, especially the big ones like roaming Deadly dragons and Strong army groups. The early game is a lot of fun because of it, but in the late game the challenge from nature sort of dies down and less of the world becomes 'forbidden.' Still, I love how a Deadly rover can prevent early colonisation of certain areas. A real reward for the vanquisher!

2. The AI wasn't really a threat. This is weird since I'm not a brilliant strategist--I focus on the quests and the single characters forever and play the game like it is D&D Birthright. In my current game, I curb stomped my first faction using fireballs, allied with a weak Tarth, and am levelling Gilder with... you guessed it.... fireballs. This isn't the problem, though. The problem is that, despite all the open space and all the open land and their vast idling armies, the AI isn't expanding beyond two cities each. Meanwhile, I have 12 cities. Granted, their cities are all much more sophisticated than mine, but I have more resources and more bases from which to spawn troops. All Gilder does is build world achievements, and all Tarth does is look at Gilder. Something's not right there.

3. Normal

4. I made my own faction based on Wraths. Mainly did this for appearance. Sovereign has Fire ++, Diplomacy, Staff of Souls, then some research booster traits. You can see it in my attached.

5. Main group: Fireballing Sovereign, Healer/Growth caster, Tough as Nails Melee Hero, Hard Hitting (50 damage fire axe) Melee Hero, a group of archers I got from a quest (these guys are the real reason for my early success; they act twice at the beginning of combat, which means I can reduce threats). 

6. The only thing I can't beat are the Dragonlord and his Deadly Dragons. However, if I curbstomp or Ally with Gilder (by throwing money at them. I have a boatload), I win the game. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37552984/New.EleSav