I have been a fan of games like this forever. Most recently Farthest Frontier was my only real option. Heard the hype, and figured I would try it out. Here are my thoughts on a playthrough, and some stuff I learned to make it easier.
TL/DR: it is EA. Stuff is not complete. So far it seems amazing, and the love and craft is evident. Happy I bought it early, and plan to continue to play/learn as it grows. If you don't want that,then don't buy it.
Things I found that you might feel helpful.
-Apples don't seem to ever get to the Marketplace, I will skip them for now (yes I waited 3 years, and they show up in the house, they just never seem to get picked up for Market)
-For Carrots, try for lot size of about .2 Morgen. Extra family space, and workshop space (obv).
-For artisans, I AVOID the extra space. I did not see if productivity goes up with more people, and this just locks 2 Families into one job, that you might want to pause at some point anyway, so they then contribute nothing.
-Only Carrots seem to care about lot size (apples might, but they don't work) so for everything else keep lot to min that gets you a workshop.
-I like the extra family space for everything but Artisans. Don't always build until needed, but the option is there. Again, no idea if it makes anything more productive, but avoiding sprawl helps with market access. Still not sure if I am right on this approach.
-Unless you turn off the Baron, you need to be killing bandit camps early. Militia with starting weapons is ok, even better to get Manor, so you have retinue. Bandits are the only (real) source of Influence. Tithe is too slow, and I found keeping up on food too hard to afford this tax. After killing their mans, make sure you go loot their base. This is your source of Treasury for Mercs or Retinue. Doing this strengthens you, and stops Baron claiming everything.
-You can add to retinue by clicking customize on the retinue BEFORE rally, and then it lets you buy more. Garrison tower boosts from 12-24. Retinue is super strong.
-Something weird happens with Hitching Posts . Be really careful. I had a dead ox, but it still used a stable slot. I tried deleting and moving, but it did not work. Reloading a save eventually got rid of it. Also weird is assigning oxen to Lumber or Farm. I am just going to avoid this assignment for now, for farms it does not help. For Lumber I think it is better to just have an unassigned one close.
-Farms only need people to plow, sow and harvest. I found 3 fields, with rotation so one is always fallow, +++ fertility works ok. Just fully assign the farmhouse for the key events in Fall (Harvest/Plow/Sow/Thresh) and have them do other stuff the rest of year. Set Thresh priority to low until the other stuff is done.
-Trade is essential. First purchases of an extra Ox and Carrots will tap you out. You need more. The Trade Development points up to Better Deal are almost mandatory in most of my plays. Surplus firewood will eventually get you to 25 so you can buy a trade route. Leather is typically easy to sell. I found Medieval Bitcoin (aka wooden parts) are the best longer term good. They take the same planks as shields, but produce much faster. You need a Joiner for shields anyway, and wooden parts mines money for you.
-Lots of micro is needed early for seasonal work. Eventually it gets better, but farms need a lot of micro so no avoiding overall
Make sure you enjoy the views and walk around in first person. I really enjoy the music and wandering around to appreciate what has been done.
