I'm pretty sure that I don't just speak for myself when I say that I plan to play with a custom Sov and a custom faction.

Now, I was looking at the various features of the customization, and came to a conclusion - creating a Sov and a faction is really bland, boring, dull, and, well, unfun.

Some of the features seem to be totally pointless. Don't get me wrong - i use Egalitarian on my playthroughs. I get the advanced arms/armors. I may even grab Tutors and Loremasters sometimes. But overall...everything seems to be a complete waste.

For example - we spend a point just to have a variety of units. That doesn't seem right to me. One, it's wasting a point - variety is nifty, but not game changing. Furthermore, everything is just set in stone, to a degree: my faction is the exact same as everyone elses, minus a few boni. I was looking back at GalCiv2 days, when ships could be ID'd by their appearance. Or when factions seemed...distinct. Even before Twilight of the Arnor and the individual trees, when everyone had, basically, the same techs to draw on, they still felt unique.

Regarding just the Sovereign:

• Specializations in Styles: Warrior-type Sovereign should not simply be defined by the weapons they wield. In such a case, my mage-type can don the same equipment and still be effective. Perhaps instead give the option to further define backgrounds. Some people are more comfortable with a type of weapon - a longsword, a claymore, a spear, an axe, perhaps a shield - and gains a bonus from adhering to that style. Preferring smaller weapons could give a bonus to attack speed, or unlock a special ability. Favoring a claymore increases the damage of that weapon. Now we have less bland characters, if only slightly.
• Improved Magic: Some characters favor magic types. The one I usually use prefers summoning spells. The Fallen seem to favor, mainly, damaging spells. Why not let us select one 'type' of magic to totally favor, making those spells more useful to our character? Favoring summoning magic yields quicker learning, cheaper casts, certain specialty summons, and/or improves the summoned creature's stats. Favoring elemental magic improves that type by a certain way - fire becomes more damaging, ice spells slow down nearby enemies, earth magic improves allied defense, air magic improves ally speed. Favoring Enchantment spells could increase the potency of enchantments by 50%. These would be much like the "Super Abilities" from GalCiv2
• Give more points to define a character, and let us select some starting spells, too. This way, characters could customize further the spells they enter the world with, or perhaps they'll simply ignore spells entirely, start off with nothing but greater stats, improved weapons, or improved abilities.
• The current abilities seem weak to me. Pointless, really. For one thing, the Sovereign is the head of a nation of survivors - there should be an automatic boost to morale when he's in the army. Further, these abilities shouldn't just be confined to the Sovereign, but impact the area, too. I usually take Meditative or Brilliant, for the constant flow of Spell or Research points. These have long-term effects. Something ought be done to make abilities less of a chore to fit in, more of a nifty benefit. I do recommend that the anti-abilities remain as hindrances.

Regarding just the Faction:

• Faction abilities seem next to pointless. I'd really like to see these expanded, perhaps so that it's more like it was in GalCiv2 - we can customize features more, such as attack, defense, whatever.
• Add a new panel - society. This would let us customize our nations in terms of what our people are getting into. There are several 'paths' open for each option, and several options. Each option has both pros and cons already built in. Everything has a 'default' option that gives no benefit, but also no weakness.

MILITARY - Required Military Service (+% faster training speed, -% item boni [more troops = faster training, but weapons, etc, have a lessened quality]), Lawful Militias (-% faster training speed, all cities gain an invisible militia [soldiers are fewer in your cities, taking longer to recruit, but the lightly armed militia keep your cities safe regardless]), Aspiring Knighthood (+% item boni, -% faster training speed [Only the best weapons and arms for your soldiers are produced, and all soldiers are trained to use them right]), Militari Magi (+% more gold cost, all units can heal themselves one/battle [Your alchemists and potion makers produce fine healing salves for your troops, but such salves are very costly])

SOCIAL - Egalitarian (Men and women soldiers; +% faster training speed [Drawing on all resources, you draft men and women into your service]), Ancient Roles (Men soldiers; +% production for all cities [While the women and the skilled work your cities, the young and the brash fight your battles]), Proud Nobility (+% production, -1 prestige/level [The nobility handle much of your day-to-day tasks, running businesses of their own - but cruel nobles don't make life easier for refugees]), All Are Welcome (+% housing boni, -% gold income [You devote many resources to helping those who enter your cities willingly, but keeping everyone safe takes a great toll.])

ECONOMY - Free Market (+% gold income, -% other income [In a free market, gold flows easily - but other resources are sold to make up for that.]), Trade Partnerships (-% gold income, +% other income [Traders keep resources and workers moving, but they demand a high price for their work.]), Piracy (+% loot after each battle, -% gold income [Your money comes not from trade, but from war. To keep yourself rich, you have to destroy your competition.]), Brigandry (-% diplomatic relations, gain money/turn for each non-owned faction unit in your territory [Some call you a brigand, but who cares? If they're in your land, they have to pay - in gold, or in blood])

BELIEFS - Monotheism (-% to gold income, can build one Great Temple/city, increasing defense and magic resistance of all units in that city [Even as their allies die around them, your soldiers are inspired by the Great Temple, and feel as if they can shrug off any blow.]) Polytheism (-Prestige, units can be produced with a Sacred Symbol which confers the power "Blessing" increasing a random stat by 0-100% [Many people feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of deities in your cities, but soldiers clutch to their symbols tightly, calling upon great powers to perform miracles]), Atheism (+% gold income, + morale [Those who fight under your banner serve you without hindrance, and without the fetters of unknown powers]) Deification (-diplomacy, all units gain the "Faith" power when produced with Sovereigns' Sigil, which restores mana to the Sovereign or spellcasting-enabled champions, once per battle [Viewed and treated as a living god, a saint, or a prophet, most other factions view you with disgust. But your people's faith actually blesses you with a vast reserve of mana, making some wonder if you truly are a god amongst mortal man.])

Whee...that was interesting. Lemme know what y'all think!

-N