First of all I'd like to say that this game is a very good effort from such a small team. I've always wanted this kind of game - an RTS or TBS centred on the struggle for hegemony in Greece.
I've played it now for a few hours and have been struck by the high difficulty level. In some ways I do like a challenge, but with this game I feel as though I'm in constant danger of being overrun. The AI seems to launch attacks where it knows I'm overstretched and when it knows I'm busy elsewhere. I might be embarking on a rare offensive, then zoom out to find that a single peltast unit has sneaked through my borders and taken an unwalled core polis unopposed. Not wanting to weaken my own attack, I withdraw a cavalry unit from frontier duty in the west and send it after the roving band of peltasts, with a view to recapturing the town. No sooner has the cavalry got a significant distance from the area it was guarding then Epirus raids it, capturing an unwalled town and burning the farms. At about the same time, Athens and Methone land a raiding party near Pella and pillage the countryside, so I dispatch units to drive them back into the sea.
I then return to my offensive to find that my men are retreating because, without me babysitting them, they have just stood around while being reduced by peltast fire. While it is true that peltasts were the bane of heavier units in Classical Greece, it almost feels unfair that the AI builds them in great blobs. They make great raiding units but unfortunately they are rather useless for the player because as Macedon a raiding strategy is ineffective.
Furthermore I have found that the GUI gives inadequate warning of enemy attacks. Often I find that I am forced to react after the enemy has begun causing damage.
With these gripes in mind I would like to make a few suggestions to the developers for future patches (I understand the AI is less brutal in the coming patch, though it is not available on Impulse yet):
1. Increase the population cap each town gives the player. At the moment I need too many units defending my borders to field a viable offensive army. Gold is never an issue, but population is. Historically the reverse was true.
2. Reduce multi-front wars by introducing a limited diplomatic system. You should at least be able to pay off other factions so they leave you alone for a while. If the game were less parochial (i.e. less restricted by the RPG-like objectives and not limited to Macedon) then a more accurate simulation of the nuances of Greek diplomacy might have been vital. As things stand however, limited options will suffice. At the moment it seems like Macedon vs The World, and this wasn't strictly true.
3. Unwalled towns with a garrison should not be captured so easily! All poleis had a strategic location from where the local garrison would fight during a siege. Having a town garrisoned by spearmen being taken by peltasts just because it doesn't have walls is rather galling. An "easier" siege meter should appear for unwalled, garrisoned towns, or the AI should automatically make the defenders sally out to meet invaders (perhaps if they enter the supply area of the town).
4. Units should not stand around idle if they are under attack. This is very important. If I'm unable to micromanage my troops because I'm occupied elsewhere, it's annoying to return to find them dead because they didn't react to an enemy attack. Units should attempt to engage enemy units in a certain circle around themselves. Perhaps there should be different aggression settings for your units - "Stand Ground", "Drive Off" and "Pursue". The middle option would mean that the unit would return to its initial location having forced the enemy to move away, while the latter would have the unit run after the enemy at top speed.
5. Some kind of obvious audio and/or visual warning should appear when the enemy enters your territory.
