Well, first thing I will say is I am pretty impressed with how things are going so far. Despite my technical problem that prevents me from playing anyhow. >.<

That aside, onto my ideas! Note, I haven't been able to play through a full game yet but what I am suggesting may make the game more...alive.

1 - Camping: When you're anywhere on the map I suggest adding a camp button. Basically the unit hunkers down and you have a chance to talk with your companions or explore the immediate area a little. Ex: Say you choose camp while at a wheat field. The party erects a tent, and one of your champions might mention something about how ravaged the land is, and it makes them happy that some areas are still fertile enough to grow things like wheat. Ex 2: Camping at a spot where there are wild horses, you could be given an option to try to capture and tame one. Success depending on the champion's/sov's move rate/dex...something of that nature.  Or say you camp on an open piece of ground. Maybe one of your solders will talk about how training was rough. Camping alone may make the character muse about which direction they think their kingdom/empire should go.

I dunno how feasible this is, but if FE wants better RPG elements, you need more interaction with your underlings. Like...each champion should have some kind of personality. Say that an Altarian one has an impeccable sense of honor, and if you raze a village, he says 'I find your actions *deplorable* and refuse to follow you any longer!" then he hands you all his gear and leaves your party. 

2 - The Generation system - this isn't so much a suggestion but a question. Will it be re-introduced? It was one of my favorite features of WoM and it would make me very sad if it was left out. I realize it was imperfect...but I am sure the talented team you have could make it work. *crosses fingers*

3 - Sub-Cities - This one I haven't really ironed out everything but basically...you know how each major city in our world has suburbs. Well, why not in Elemental? Depending on where the city is placed, there would be a certain number of slots for these sub-cities I'm referring to. Now, there's a couple ways they could work. Like, say your subcity is a 4 panel square like the really large city buildings. And it's placed next to a gilder mine. You could set it as a mining colony and it would improve the amount of gilder acquired from the mine. Similiar ideas for other major resources. Or if there aren't any major resources around, you could place one and choose the function of the sub-city. Like, a scholar's hub...or, a tradesmans' quarter.

In doing this is prevents a couple things - building buildings in a line to encompass the 'wild' improvements so they're protected cause each sub-city should have it's own protective walls, and citizens there willing to protect it. Granted, not as many as the main city. Also, it makes the player feel more like they're running a kingdom, rather then just slapping buildings down with little concern about where they go. It allows specialization beyond what is already offered so in a very hostile map you may still survive without having to risk expanding a lot and leaving defenses thin.

That's all I've got for now...feel free to comment, I'd like to know if anyone else thinks these are good ideas. I realize most of them would be a lot more work, but...I do believe they would help make FE more successful. I'll post more when I finally get my game working again and have some time to brainstorm.