So this is, as far as I can tell, a pretty spectacular Work, especially assuming that there is only one Person behind it. The Civilization Gameplay Mechanics are really well done and balanced, and the Game can provide you with content for Hours. one of the very few Games out there where Gameplay is just as much a Factor for me as Content.
The Issues I have with the Game are mostly nothing new, and have been pointed out a Lot already:
1. The amount of images/content is, in Relation to the Amount of Playtime it requires, pretty low, and largely repetitive.
2. Kind of contradicting what I just said above about the Gameplay, the Balancing runs into some serious issues in the late Game, starting with the Beginning of Chapter 2, but especially when arriving on the Pirate Islands, and after beating the Game: As a Completionist, and to find all available Content, I wanted to conquer all Maps entirely after finishing the Storyline(s), and got my Ass handed to me by basic Enemies like Wingstalkers and Bandits when trying to complete the first Map. In Addition to that, the corrupted elves, as well as the Demonic Pirate Warlord were also not remotely fun and required countless attempts during which I was usually spamming powers rather than using my Army (And skipping Turns to Save up the Faith Required to it). The Fact that the Pirate Warlord Reconquered a Tile almost every Turn made this Part especially annoying. I think I conquered every Tile on his Island at least six Times. In Addition to that, Population Growth overtook Food Production at some Point while I was busy conquering the Pirate Islands, and my Food, which had been stockpiling in the Millions before vanished and I had to stop population Growth Completely to stop my Whole Empire from collapsing. I came to a Point where I could barely build Farms and Windmills fast enough to keep up with the rising Demand every Turn.
Related Sidenote: Sucks to lose half your Army in one Turn without anything to do about it, because your gold income turns negative bc of the Events at the Start of Chapter 2, and you have basically no Possibility to turn it around in one Turn. and the Amount you lose in Income doesnt even seem to be predictable.
Another small Issue that I find just.. weird: You have to start a new Game, including Character Creation, before you can load a Save.
Why?
Make Saves (from file) load-able from the Starting screen. Pretty Please.
Or at least add the Option to randomly create a Character (as is possible if you want to start Chapter 2, but not Chapter 1)
Finally: Maybe thats just me, but I find the blackjack game in Tortuga just annoying. Its too luck-based to make you lose a Point of Progress every Time you lose a Game, especially when its a Total of 4-12 (IIRC) Games to see all Images, and the Opponent can always insta-win.
None of these issues are horrible, and none of them are unexpected. They just need to be rebalanced and tweaked. Adding more Images even into existing Events is also probably not that hard to do - I would even go so far and personally prefer fleshing out the existing Content over larger Story Updates. The Balancing definitely needs to be adressed, I have the Feeling that otherwise this will make the Game Balance snowball out of Control in future Story Chapters.
Overall, despite the Criticism: This Game deserves a solid four Star Rating, what stands between the Game and the fifth Star is merely the tedious cost-Benefit Relation of the Gameplay, especially in the later Stages.