Has so much potential to be a brilliant game. Alas, the lack of research and economic continuity plague this game.
The customisable troops are a good start but there could be a better interface and proper military uniform rather than a few bits and pieces available otherwise I am pleased with the improvement as it has addressed the inexplicable acquirement of superior armour and weapons when troops leveled up in previous M&B versions.
The inventory system still needs to be addressed so that troops, horses and wagons are accountable for carrying goods and not a silly limited inventory there is now. For example your inventory is frequently filled up with clothes and shoes which weigh 1 pound (or rather unit of weight) but you can still have the same amount of inventory slots filled with Iron which weigh 40 units each. So in theory 1 man no horse can walk around with 680 units of iron and move faster than other unencumbered armies on the map.
I respect the fact that armour was probably quite expensive in the renaissance era but I hardly see how a pair of normal quality gloves costs 20 years of peasant wages. Not to mention a few grenades costing 576 years of peasant wages, of coarse depending on how good a merchant you are. The purpose is to accumulate a lot of money so you can then be rewarded with superior ordinances but the prices are just outrageously unrealistic.
You spend a lot of game time plundering, trading, robbing and when you have bought your next target item you start back all the way back at the bottom which is frustrating because things are so expensive and there is no continuity between trading and plundering.
Finally I will address the the obvious fact that that a march from The Crimeas to Estonia takes roughly 3 days in game. A journey that is approximately 1000 miles and generally takes an amy just under two months march to complete a similar journey. Its great that the developers have included a historical setting for the game but the logistics are seriously out of whack here.. seriously.
In conclusion I think the developers have done a very good job to simulate historical renaissance conflict but have sold themselves miles short of a realistic setting hence the pretentious judgement. The bonus is that modders are able to address key flaws and fix them to suit. I just wish the developers could have put in a little bit more effort to maybe adjust prices a little and make a better map.
My recommendation:
Don't play until a descent Mod has been released or you are willing to make a descent mod.