I wanted to like it, but I spend more time afk than doing anything whenever I run a campaign. The game lacks flavor, player agency, and content. In particular the war system is totally unengaging and the player has little/no control over the outcome of a war. There is no attention paid to the varying development of regions, and as a result nations develop technology at the same rates and there is no value gained from the cost of labor being lesser in one region over another. Diplomacy is obtuse, and again the player has no agency, with the AI acting unpredictably, against it's own interests, and at times seemingly completely random.
The gameplay loop is thus -
1: queue up large quantity of buildings
2: select law you want passed
3: leave for 15 minutes
4: return and repeat 1-3.

I wanted to like it, but I spend more time afk than doing anything whenever I run a campaign. The game lacks flavor, player agency, and content. In particular the war system is totally unengaging and the player has little/no control over the outcome of a war. There is no attention paid to the varying development of regions, and as a result nations develop technology at the same rates and there is no value gained from the cost of labor being lesser in one region over another. Diplomacy is obtuse, and again the player has no agency, with the AI acting unpredictably, against it's own interests, and at times seemingly completely random. The gameplay loop is thus - 1: queue up large quantity of buildings 2: select law you want passed 3: leave for 15 minutes 4: return and repeat 1-3.