Sorry, but I just *have* to say this. And I'm not aiming it at you, Phellan, honest. But I hear so much of these comments lately of "how come there are no wars, we never *do* anything...", usually combined with maudlin sentiments about the war islands.
Way back when, in the Good Old Days, back when there was all that marching around, and constant battles, do you remember what one of the most common complaints was? All that marching around and fighting. "All we ever do is march out, fight a battle, march home, march out, fight a battle, march home, time after time after time...."
Now I admit that the game focus has changed somewhat, from active conflict to maintenance. Definitely not good. We need more incentive for conflict, and more ability to sustain that conflict.
Just, be careful that the glasses you use to look at the past don't have too much of a rosy tint to them.
(Oh, and the war islands won't be coming back, either. Nor any other special-purpose island. Sorry.)
While I remember some people saying that combat could perhaps be made more exciting, and that war alone did not always suffice to create a fun environment, and that wars tended to be over too great distances and there was often more marching than fighting, I never heard anyone say that there was too much fighting.
