Blaine
Cis-Het Oppressor
This will be the first TW I don't buy shortly after release. I've finally learned my lesson.
I don't expect TW games to be perfect, but I expect a strategy layer that is more than an afterthought with one or two gimmicks that serve only to set the scene for tactical battles. If the strategy layer is a hamster wheel, there's little reason to care about the results of tactical battles.
Yeah, well, now you're just talking crazy talk!
I too wish for a marriage of the compleat 4X game with the compleat intricate tactical battlefield game. Just about every 4x game I've ever played abstracts/simplifies the tactical combat to some degree, whereas intricate squad or army tactics games typically have cursory or even nonexistent extra-tactical management and strategizing. I definitely agree that when commanding entire armies, a proper simulation of the overall strategy of the campaign is pretty important if you want to LARP Alexander.
Maybe mods will fix it if it's lacking. Still, it's enough for me if the strategic choices available are 1.) varied, 2.) present you with difficult and inobvious decisions, and 3.) the weight of those decisions have real impact.