Improvements & Wishlist for Rtk VII
The progress, features and improvements for the Romance series of games have been inconsistent so far. A well done feature in one game is suddenly dropped in favor of another in the next game. Perhaps Koei wanted to play around with new innovations but i don't feel kinda comfortable with it. Most software companies build new games upon the basis of features that made the previous game a hit by improving as well as implementing new features.

There seems to be a lack of focus on Koei's part. I found that the main flaws for the Rtk series of games are absence of a challenging AI. Too much emphasis is placed upon sheer brute force to win.

Below are some of my wishlist for the next Rtk game in line, Rtk VII. They are consolidated and built upon what i experienced from the past Rtk games. After which you can read about the opinions and wishlist of other Rtk players to get another perspective and the points i may have missed out.

Less emphasis on brute force
Part VI is a welcome change. Though it will nevertheless hold true to some extend. A large force may not necessarily guarantee you victory in part VI. Koei should try to give terrain, fatigue and morale more emphasis in the battle.

Improved character portraits
Quite a lot of improvement can be done up in this area. The character portraits from the role-playing game Baldur's Gate sure look impressive. Now if only Koei could achieve those standards......

No Time Limit for battles
The 30 days time limit is totally absurb and unrealistic and limit most strategies to means of securing a quick victory. Many actual historical battles last much longer than that. With unlimited time to conduct your battle, strategies such as fighting a prolonged battle to wear out your enemies food supply etc can be adopted much more effectively as well as forcing the player to consider the logistic aspects of the battle as well as reinforcement forces.

Terrain needs to be smooth and adjoining
What i mean by that is that the battlefield terrain for all adjacent territories/provinces are continuous thus allowing for scrolling. In short you should be able to scroll across the battlefield terrain for two territories or more. Consider this sceanrio: Woudn't it be great if you as the defender can repel the attackers and continue to give pursuit (into enemy territory) after the retreating forces right into where they came from? Not to mention a new decision to make. Do you pursue the retreating enemy or stay behind? For the attacker, that strategy can be used to trick with the defenders into leaving a small force behind in their key castle/s and launching your main assault force from another direction.

Such a circumstance could only be achieved with the ability to scroll two battlefields(attacker's and defender's). It will be a lot more satisfying to see your units move out from your own castles/forts and moving in different directions toward the objective in enemy terriitory. All Rtk games suffer from the problem whereby all your units are very confined in their initial positioning on the battlefield.

Simultaneous Attack
Best implemented in part III and V and historically Zhuge Liang employed this tactic with deadly results. No unit can survive an attack for long from attacks on his front, flanks and rear by two or more units.

Setting up camps on the battlefield
For historical and game sake. Units should be able to set up camps to facilitate a slight advantage in defense and as a place for the soldiers to rest to reduce fatigue more quickly. However the penalty should be the unit will be unable to set up camps if there are enemy units adjacent to it and maybe the process of taking up a turn to set it up as well as tearing it down before the unit regains its mobility.

Introduce Defense Investment
Defense investment should be reintroduce again in addition to the already present cultivation, land development and economy. Benefits of defense development are higher defense rating for the unit if it is in castles, forts and passes.

More strategy options for personal combat/duel
Koei has done well in part VI. Now hope they do it even better for part VII.

Logistics-Food supply
Food would add an interesting aspect to the game. So far Koei has either put the food supply for the entire army at the main unit which is usually the commanding general or in part VI, the camp. Perhaps Koei can put a limit on the amount of food an army can bring depending on its size? Then if the battle drags on, the player will be force to send another general/s to deliver the food supplies from one of the adjacent territories to the front. This way the defender will have to ensure that his food supply is not destroyed or intercepted by the attackers(more food for the attackers) while it is on its way. More strategies huh?

Fog-of-war
Only seen in part III but that is only to simulate the night. I'm not quite sure about the effects of fog-of war but its effect on battle is pretty significant.

Deputy Generals
In Rtk IV, we saw the introduction of having a second general tacking along for the battle. It would be a good idea in Rtk VII to have this feature implemented again. On top of that this is a good way for the deputy general to obtain experience for young and old generals alike and during personal combat if the general is killed or captured by the enemy the deputy can assume command of the unit.

Merging & Splitting of Units
If the deputy generals feature are implemented again, Koei should allow the merging and spiltting of units to make more full use of that. The deputy general can split from the main unit with another force and go somewhere to attack or defend. This offers a lot more unpredictability since you don't know exactly how many units the enemy will spilt up or combine. I guess the main use of combination is to merge a very small force with a larger force to prevent the smaller force's general from being captured or killed by the enemy.

Stacking of units
Can be both realistic and unrealistic. There is no stacking of units in Rtk II,III,VI and V. I feel it is a waste having a small force of around a few hundred men occupying a square on the battlefield. In part VI it is possible to lump several units into a square but occasionally it is kind of weird having a few hundred thousand men occupying that particular square alone. The benefits of stacking units together offer strength in numbers but more vulnerable to fire attacks since so many men are concentrated together in a small space.

Introduce unit fatigue
We have been controlling "robot" units for all the Rtk games so far. Unit fatigue should also play an important role in battle. Using a unit to keep moving and fighting will increase its fatigue level. A smaller "energized" force can then be evenly matched against it. Push a unit too hard and when the fatigue level drop to a low level, the unit's combat effectiveness should be severely impaired.

Introduce Blitzkrieg
The blitzkrieg ability which offers more mobility from part V should be brought back. Would prove very useful to move a unit fast to an objective/ target or to save something. Penalty would be increased fatigue and if the unit is in blitzkrieg mode for too long, the unit should "shut down" to simulate the weary and tireness of the soldiers.

Bring back unit formation from Part V?
As what i have mentioned in part V's brief description, certain formations are better suited for offense on certain terrains while others on defense. Not forgetting the naval formation and the formation that is optimised for speed and mobility.

Bring back forts and passes from Part V
Their strategic value cannot be understated. Bringing them back opens up more strategies for the player as well.

Prisoners of War
POWs in part VI can be exchanged back using food, gold and items. Would very much appreciate the added option of a one to one POW exchange. Exchange two for one POW if the captured officer is highly skilled.

Veteran & Elite troops
Troops that cannot be obtained from normal drafting. An experience attribute can be introduced for soldiers. Normal training can only achieve up to max training of 100. In order to exceed that, combat experience is required. I suggest making soldiers with experience level of 120 veterans and a value of 140 elite troops. Having veteran and elite troops make battles more fun and intriguing. Since they cannot be trained to that status players will be compelled to use them with caution in battles. To prevent this factor from unbalancing the game, Koei may perhaps limit the veteran and elite troops to a certain percentage of the total army size. Advantages of veteran and elite troops are obvious. They fight and defend better, have higher mobility and are less susceptible to fatigue and demoralisation.

City structure & Decision making
I am comfortable with the style of city structure and decision making in part VI. Major decisions such as diplomacy, and tactics can only be made in the capital city. The rest of your city can only execute the minor task like development and the building up of troops. Cut down a lot on micromanagement.

Retain the wide variety of traps
The devastating traps introduced in part VI must remain. These traps are much more powerful. Triggering fire traps in forested, plains will burst the surrounding areas with fire as well. Same as pitholes. Water traps along rivers and boulders on hills must be featured as well. Traps can reduce enemy morale quickly.

Retain geographical units
Mountain troops native to the mountainous regions of Shu, naval troops near the Yangtze river for Wu and cavalry troops at the centrals plain regions of Wei should be featured again in VII. Holding those territories allow access to these regional specific troop types which will you some edge when fighting on their specialise terrain.

Retain warlord titles and ranks for officers
A very nice innovation making its debut in part VI. Higher title/appointment for your warlord enable you to appoint your able and experienced officers to higher ranks. Higher ranking officers can have more troops under their command than lower ranking ones.

Reader Submitted Improvements & Wishlist for Rtk VII
No limit on no. of generals going to war - Alen Xu
There should be no limit to the number of generals that are in a condition to wage a war.

Council of advisors - Alen Xu
The ruler should form a council of advisors to seek advices on important matters like alliances and the primary strategies on waging a war or defending a city. This council should not only comprised of advisors. Generals should also be included! There should be a limit to this council. I suggest 5 advisors and 5 generals.

Suggestions from deputy generals - Alen Xu
Deputy generals can provide some suggestions as to how the war should be wage. The deputy generals can also volunteer themselves for some tasks like ambush or surprise attack on a specific army.

Marriage - Alen Xu
The ability of the ruler to marry his daughter/son to the generals to guarantee eternal loyalty. Perhaps Koei can bring back the option of marriage to other warlords as well?

Delegation of duties - Alen Xu
The player should be able to delegate some of the administrative duties of some cities especially those that are far away to the governors. Alternatively, he can also group a few cities and delegate it to an officer. In this way, he could concentrate on other matters that are on hand.

An English version for Rtk VII - CZAR
The title says it. Very much appreciated and hope for in places outside Asia.

More generals from the novel especially Dian Wei's son Dian Man - CZAR
Will Koei be able to squeeze in some more officers?

More advise - CZAR
More people advising you, and more meetings between generals on various subjects that come up.

Duels getting personal - CZAR
If a certain General on the opposing side duels, then a general on your side that has a personal hatred for the other, will run out for the duel without your confirmation.

Multi Joint Attacks - CZAR
3 forces can attack 1...say Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Ma Teng all attack Dong Zhuo at the same time.

Duel between rulers - Trevor Lake
If there is a negotiation happening between two rulers and they just can't decide on terms or if even to decide an even battle, then there should be an option to have a duel between the rulers to decide the whole thing. They can't choose champions, they must do it themselves. Both rulers must agree to it, so as to prevent cheap victory. However, it does provide another use for dueling and a brand new way to settle things if you feel like it.

Fully controllable duels - Trevor Lake
Whenever you duel, you should have full control over what your guy does, right? If, by some miracle, KOEI had the room to put this in, they should allow the player to fully control the guy they use. They should have special moves for really good fighters, too. I know this might sound unrealistic, but I think it's a good suggestion just the same.

Make battles more involving - Trevor Lake
Whenever you perform tactics in battle, you should be able to do something to increase the chance of success. Should be different for different things. For example, you might have to press a button at some point, say, when you're trying to set a fire.

Fully controllable missions - Trevor Lake
If you wanted to send someone to set fire to a city or spy or whatever, you should be able to control your guy if you wanted as he did the mission. You could actually steal stuff from the enemies if you felt like it. If you originally wanted to set fire to a granery, but you have more time, you could set a whole city on fire! I can see Xun Yu standing outside the city admiring his work as the city burns, all excited and stuff, thinking to himself, "Damn, I'm good." I think the controllable missions would bring a new element to the game.

Realistic Geography - Henry Yuan
Remember back in the history how many ways Zhuge Liang attack from Hanzhong to Changan? In any rtk serious it can be done easily within 15 days which doesn't make any sense at all since it took him so long...... Therefore maps should be much bigger with more cities, castles which will make the battle from Hanzhong to Changan much harder. This will present players with many choices to decide upon which way he is going to go to attack the city. For example, Wei Yan decide the fast and short route but it is dangerous but Zhuge Liang who decided to make a big loop which is less prone to ambushes before he can reach to Changan. Lastly the geography should have a great effect on how your soldiers perform and the ambushes that can be employed in the battle.

Other uses of titles/ranks - Henry Yuan
Titles and ranks should perhaps offer some other advantages to the bestowed other than being able to command more soldiers in battle.

Aging process reflected in character portraits - Han Zhang
The character portraits should be improve in such way that people should have different portraits at different ages (the main ones at least). It's just pathetic playing the scenario (power up version) "Death of Liu Bei", and see Zhao Yun, age almost 70, with a portrait of a youth.

More challenging scenarios - Han Zhang
I think the short scenarios in RTK6 are far too easy. I mean the only 2 worthwhile missions are Ma Chao's revenge and Zhuge Dan's rebellion, which are still very easy: more challenging ones plz!!! Like battle of Mai (using Guan Yu, objective: re-install the Han Emperor).

Unrealistic Duels - Han Zhang
I think the duel in all RTK games are very unrealistic. First of all, the generaI should die when he loses a duel (of course, make it so that it's easier to run away when he's about to die). And if he lose a duel, but ran back alive, his army should lose morale, say by 30%. When he dies, his entire army shouldn't be captured automatically, but you can make it so it turns into a "mess" (hun-luan) mode for good, until a general with exceptionally high commanding ability to recruit these men before total annihilation.

Map & Scenario Editor - Han Zhang
Koei should add a map editor, where you can edit your own map, create your own scenario, and short scenarios.

Spying out the battlefield prior to invasion - Han Zhang
It would be handy if you can spy out the battlefields before you invade. Though the spying can be done with a fake invasion (ie, invade with 100 man, no food), but that'd waste a month and it's extremely annoying. So in RTK7, it'd be good if you can spy out the battlefields and enemy fortress battleground.

Guan Yu's war ability should equal Zhang Fei's - Han Zhang
I never really understood why Guan Yu has a lower war ability than Zhang Fei. I mean Guan Yu killed a lot more famous generals in duels than Zhang Fei, like Hua Xiong, Yan Liang, Wen Chou etc.

Option of playing as barbarian tribe - Keith Bitting
Koei should let us have the option of playing as one of the barbarian tribes to add a bit more variety to the game.

More tactics to Alliances - Keith Bitting
The AI is good at making alliances but most of them are of no use because unlike in real history you can't get troops from them or anything of value. This needs to be rectified. During joint attacks or defense involving the computer, the player should be able to issue the computer ally with a somewhat generic order/strategy like concentrate attacks on the enemy commander unit, fight a prolong battle by avoiding engagement with the enemy to wear out the enemy food supplies, target a particular enemy unit to destroy/capture it or block a particular passageway to prevent the enemy from advancing through This will allow you to adopt another kind of strategy to complement the computer's or adopt the same one as the computer's thereby doubling the effectiveness or firepower.

Artificial Intelligence - Thomas Woods
One of the weakest areas of the series has been the computer having poor AI. There's one point where i could just walk over computer controlled provinces with ease (In part 3 my friend could defeat Yuan Shao's main province within the first few turns by starving him. The computer just sat there and did nothing until its food was too low, by then it was too late to do anything about it.) For games with two or more players i think an opposing player should have the option of controlling the computer armies during a battle. If there is more than one opposing player, the one with the highest hostility gets to play against the attacker. This would greatly increase the difficulty of the game, making it more fun for everybody, and would take away that boring wait for your friend/s to finish his battle.

Greater Emphasis on Advisors in Battle - William Chan
The Advisors have absolutely no significance except giving the same 5 quotes every year(in RTK IV, just 2). Characters such as Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, and Zhou Yu, should be kicking ass in battle against all comers. Instead, they are relegated to PLOT or RECRUITING duty. I know they can't increase their war ability, but at least give them extra strategies that warriors and other lesser advisors/strategists won't have. Also, their plots should work 95 to 100% of the time (esp Zhuge Liang) against anyone.

For Certain Advisors, Give Ability to Invoke Stars - William Chan
As in the novel, certain advisors would read the stars for predictions such as death, victory, and other things. I think this ability should be given to specific people, such as Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang, so that they would consult the stars if they need to know their enemies weakest moment or when they should do this or that.

Generals Should Reflect Their Abilities or Historic Personalities - William Chan
One part that I didn't like about the previous RTKs was that their was no interaction between the user and his generals. I think that each general should interract(at least the famous ones) more with the ruler as well as with his fellow generals. For example, it would be cool if Lu Bu and Wang Yun plotted on their own, Li Ru warns you during the next month of the assassination plot, and then all of sudden, you die the following month. There wouldn't be a need for another user to use PLOT against you to cause it, it just happens on its own. Also, when they talk, they should have some of their own quotes, rather than the same 6 or 7 quotes that everyone uses. One final thing is their reaction to your commands. They should react if you put them on farming duty or something they don't feel they are capable or like to do.

Marriage to Female Generals or Random Ladies of Royalty - William Chan
You and your generals should be allowed to marry female generals (that you created of course) or choose a lady from a fellow generals family or random woman from the city as your wife. Then you can have children(depending on how much time you spend with her just like in Genghis Khan 2) to succeed you or help you in your quest.

Finding Random Unknown Generals in Cities - William Chan
Another Genghis Khan 2 option I liked was that you could find random generals,. as many as you liked. I think this helps a lot when you are starting out and have 2 generals to start with.(of course, they won't be of high ability cuz they are unknown, but if the mode is Fictional, let the higher abilities reign!!)

Less emphasis on power of weapons - Geoffery Chin
Place less emphasis on the power of swords. Guan Yu's sword is the greatest in the novel, but Koei makes it the least powerful. Also, Zhang Fei scared the s--- out of Lu Bu until the day he was beheaded. In ROTK IV, Lu Bu has a war of 107, whereas Zhang Fei had only 104. Sure, Lu Bu held off Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, but keep in mind that as a team, you must look after each other, too.

Realistic War Abilties - Geoffery Chin
I have questioned why Cao Cao has such a huge war ability. He was a coward who fled from Zhang Fei (who had 20 soldiers), Ma Chao, Dong Zhou, Lu Bu, and several others. He has had limited, if not any, dueling experience. If anything, he was a Machiavellian general who organized troops superbly and handled logistics well. Liu Bei, on the other hand, has been mentioned more times in the novel as having personally commanded troops than Cao Cao. He should have a war ability at least equal to Cao Cao's.

Here is what I believe should be the War Abilities:

War Ability	Person	Remarks
99	Guan Yu	This guy is the God of War. Undefeated in duels.
100	Zhang Fei	Undefeated. Only general who could destroy Lu Bu one on one.
99	Zhao Yun	Undefeated. Killed 100 + soldiers while holding an infant.
97	Huang Zhong	"Defeated" once by Guan Yu. His old age makes him vulnerable.
99	Ma Chao	Undefeated. Fought Zhang Fei and Xu Zhu until his hands bled.
93	Xiahou Dun	He lost a bloody eye. Survived against Guan Yu.
97	Xu Chu	He held against Ma Chao for a long time.
96	Zhang He	Fought and survived a series of duels against Zhang Fei.
90	Xu Huang	Was almost killed several times; once from Wen Chou
100	Lu Bu	Perfection incarnate. Only Zhang Fei could challenge him.
80	Cao Cao	Scared by Dong Zhou, even though he was sleeping.
80	Liu Bei	Survived encounter with Lu Bu.
92	Sun Jian	With his father swam across river and killed bunch of armed pirates.
95	Sun Ce	Dueled Taishi Ci.
95	Taishi Ci	Dueled Sun Ce.
80	Sun Quan	More of executive officer.
88	Dong Zhuo	Tub of Lard.
97	Dian Wei	Killed 20+ ambushing archers with his hands. He was armorless.
89	Zhou Cang	Can carry 1000 pounds. Defeated by Zhao Yun.
75+	Xu Shu	Considered expert swordsman.
85+	Guan Ping	Had his share of kills. Survived against Pang De.
96	Pang De	Made Guan Yu sweat a little bit.
92	Guan Xing	Had competition with Zhang Bao concerning kills.
93	Zhang Bao	Just slightly stronger than his blood brother Guan Xing.
94	Wei Yan	Tough guy.
90	Ma Dai	Came from illustrous Ma family. Helped Zhao Yun in expeditions.
94	Gan Ning	Tough guy. Killed Ling Cao. Great pirate.
94	Hua Xiong	Made the Alliance shake with fear...until they met Lord Guan.
75+	Cheng Pu	Part of Fabulous Quintet. Sun Jian was leader.
80	Zu Mao	Part of Fabulous Quintet. Sacrificed life for Sun Jian.
75	Han Dang	Part of Fabulous Quintet.
80	Huang Gai	Part of Fabulous Quintet. Survived a royal beating by Zhou Yu.
85+	Guan Suo	Not mentioned in novel much.

Character's ability levels should change over time like when they age - Alex Mitthivong
For a bit of realism, a character's abilities should fluctuate a bit as they grow up.

Alliance with the tribes - Alex Mitthivong
An alliance with the tribes will allow a joint invasion with the tribes at which the special abilties of their barbarian troops could be tapped to good use against the enemy.

When duelling, if opponent is knocked off of his/her own horse,they should continue to fight on foot. - Alex Mitthivong
For more enjoyment as well as historical sake. A fine example is Taishi Ci vs Sun Ce; the fight rages on even after falling off their horses.