As a roleplay server, I feel that forcing forts to include a certain number of “rooms” to be garrisoned could help with forts being entirely built as non-nonsensical deathtraps. Just some ideas: to require, x number of X sized rooms that are clear in function and not trapped, such as barracks, kitchens, storerooms, mess halls, map/planning rooms, armories, a gatehouse with x wide a pathway and access to allow for a sensible flow of troops and supplies. I also feel that adding a “standing structure” effect or something could help as well, if a structure existed for x number of weeks prior to the war, lets say 3, it gets a base benefit for garrison as well / cost reduction. I would also say that forts be separated into tiers based on size, for example 50x50x50 / 100x100x100, and so on, if a fort is of a certain size, it should succumb to a sizable increase in upkeep. Ultimately players should be left to build what they want in so far as meeting certain requirements and checkboxes, along with scaling upkeep based on size and time of building, all skewed towards encouraging rp’d forts with some history to them, and planning ahead, but still allowing for some flexibility if required at great cost.
A hardcap on defenders based on the fort at hand could also allow for leniency in defenses, as the numbers would be more skewed towards the attackers, instead of having massive lag inducing war claims for everything, in response, the cost of raising a larger army for attacks could have a scaling price on the upper limit as well, to encourage more of utilizing an army, instead of mustering every last single a player base can manage, which creates a very disabling mindset as both sides in a war attempt to garner as many fighters as possible for every fight, it could instead be focused on those that enjoy the fighting without feeling the need to drag everyone into the fray.
I’d also propose that some sort of running list of each nations standing forts should be public knowledge and readily viewed, as forts are the type of structure that would be common knowledge. If a nation has a fort that was newly built or have not been paying upkeep on, it must pay a logistics fee of however many weeks of the war have transpired for upkeep X 3 or something akin, a rather high cost to promote factions supplying forts earlier on in the war as the scope of things develop, without having to rush in from day one paying for all their forts. In addition to this fee, they would be required to wait an additional week for the fort to become active so some foresight is required. If a fort was not active, it could simply be bypassed and would be forced to remain inactive till the territory was retaken. This allows players in a faction to still freely build without being stopped by staff if they say, own a keep during war but their side is not paying upkeep, but prevents a fort being thrown up on a technicality before a war claim is posted. I would only truly police nonsensical traps, and gamey design such as unrealistic ways for entry to a fort, crazy pathways, narrow tunnels into forts that are supposed to house massive garrisons and keep them supplied.
I would also encourage that any fort/keep that is housed by players meeting a certain level activity and having some rp lore surrounding it from said players be given some sort of discount, to encourage people to rp around these structures during peacetime and give a reason to have lands assigned to vassal players, perhaps at certain levels of activity nearing 50% cost reduction or similar benefits.
I feel this is a good direction to go as it would become more clear on what is a fort and what isn’t at a given moment, allow players to still mostly build as they want besides policing traps and requiring some rooms to give backing to the rp claims these forts seem to want to make at times.
As far as siege equipment is considered, I feel what we have now is fine, I don’t like to bring realism into my lotc arguments, but if a defending force wants to sit inside its walls without sallying out, I feel they should deal with the consequences of such an action. We don’t have the time to sit and rp out a realistic siege, so allowing the rapid destruction of a fort with siege I feel finds a decent middle ground. However feel that rules concerning sieging and marching around forts and zones of control is beyond the scope of this feedback though.