[HoneyBadger]

You know, speaking of praise where praise is due: I like the graphics. A lot of people don't seem to because they say they're dated. I've heard comments like: "graphics from 10 years ago" Yes, you can say they're dated, but they're pleasant to look at, and they serve their purpose, and it's an absolutely beautiful, amazing job for two programmers. And really, the battle effects are incredible. I'll slip a little criticism in here though: the turn screen, while you're waiting for the computer to calculate the battles. I really think it would be worthwile, and not too demanding, if-bare minimum-each nation got a separate skin here. I do like to think of the two "stone heads" on either side as busts of Kristoffer and Johan, but this really is one area of the game where you spend a lot of time looking at the screen and not doing anything, and it's the one area where the graphics disappoint me. If I ever get my scanner back from my dad, I'm planning to send Illwinter a whole bunch of illustrations to replace what's currently there, providing I can find the time. I'm also thinking a screen-saver type effect could be used there, where you'd see images from the "real world" of the game: living pillars standing guard before the underground and underwater gates of Atlantis, a sacrifice performed atop a ziggurat-temple of Mictlan, a mummified oracle bursting from it's crypt, the ghostly image of an ancient kracken in the depths, Call of Cthulhu style, etc. It shouldn't be too demanding, performance-wise, on a modern computer, and it should add something, imagination-wise, to the fun factor, especially if the images are from *your* nation that you're currently playing, which should cause a lot of people to want to play nations they normally wouldn't, just so they can see the pretty pictures. Maybe Illwinter could even hold a contest and host a gallery of fan art for the game, and the best images would go into upcoming patches? That way, you'd have something new that WE as a community add to the game, over time.