Here's a list of some changes that I've noticed
- A new faction was added, the Sarranid Sultunate.
- The map and faction positions have changed.
- There are new political options, for example
- If you create your own faction, you have the option of recruiting enemy lords
- Marriage, which works differently if you are a male or female.
- Combat has changed slightly. However, it is difficult to notice unless compared side-to-side. This affects things such as swinging animations and projectile accuracy.
- Individual arrows, bolts, and throwing weapons can now be picked up off the environment if they miss the enemy.
- It is more difficult to hit enemies from horseback.
- In my opinion, the combat is worse. Swinging your weapon is no longer as quick or as intuitive as the original. They probably made these changes to balance the multiplayer mode.
- The graphics are now better, though still nowhere near that of games with large development costs.
- There is support for custom single player battles, where you can choose the two factions and Cavalry/Infantry/Archer ratios as well as the map and game type (battle and siege).
As a side note, the multiplayer mode is quite fun and I suggest you try it at least once.
To create your own kingdom, you must conquer a castle, any castle. First, you have to begin a war with an existing kingdom. For this, you could try attacking caravan or pillaging villages until you are under 0 relationship with the kingdom. Then, you can start attacking castle and cities.
IIRC, you can also , if you are a vassal to a kingdom, start a rebellion. You have to ask to be given a land, and, if refused, challenge the king and start a rebellion.. If you are wife to a lord of a kingdom, you can also ask him to join you in rebellion, thus starting with some land.
Once you have your castle, you can start giving titles to your companions. When you do this, he will quit your party and patrol around the village, castle or town you gave him, until you give him another order. You also have to put garrisons in your castle and town, otherwise you'll lose them very quickly.
Best Answer
In the unmodded game, you can still rejoin a different faction or support a claimant in order to end your current faction. However, there isn't a way to return to being unaffiliated. You probably just need to make peace and raise your standing with one faction until they offer you the chance to become a mercenary again.