No, I do not understand the concepts of design. Atleast, I have not studied it, I have next to no experience in designing and lots of experience in not following my own designs. I just suggest what I think is the best possible solution to the problem, and then wait to see if Illwinter reacts.
- The mod solution is overly complex to fix clams, but not overly complex to fix clams, ghost riders, wrathful skies, overpowered Caelum, false horror, freespawn spamming (vampire lords, contracts etc.)... Most big balance issues, castling excluded.
- The fact that users do not check if their mods work is just as bad as them not checking if the map they are using works. The difference is just in the size, and in the fact that mod can be corrected "on the fly" unlike maps. One could argue that modding tools are useless, because mods just "greatly increase probability of errors being compounded and these compounded errors being propagated".
- I don't understand why you bring version conflicts to this. The game doesn't check software (if that means Dominions) versions atm, and mods are marked with version number, so checking those conflicts should be as easy as checking Dominions versions.
The routines/agents/whatever problems are valid, and these mean lots more work for Illwinter, some more work for host and little time connected to the internet for those wanting to play a game using system.
I don't know if the idea is good enough to be added, but it surely is good enough to be suggested.
P.S. I couldn't get list to work on preview, but it shows right after posting. Is this normal?