How did you deal with the problems of Proto-Zapotec tonal reconstruction? Which one have you followed? The list of commands and a reference to their reconstruction would be nice to see.

About point 16, i do agree we need to make use of the spying mechanics. Currently it is never used since not much players train merchants. I would suggest expanding the list of bribable units. I understand that its more logic to bribe a merchant than a soldier but we need, in my opinion, to find a way to make this work.

I mostly agree with you. The risk of making cavalry costs more is getting less early rushs while having no effect on calvalry spam in end game. Since one can use corrals and adding +25 food cost will not have a big enough impact on a fully developed economy.

Hello, I am the one who had first ported over the standalone Zapotec mod for Empires Ascendant from 0.26 to 0.27.  Recently, I had not only ported over to 0.28, but also finalized all the unfinished aspects, such as missing progression actor/templates for the mercs and the zapotec scout units.  Yes, even the lack of cavalry is not an impediment anymore, though you'll have to try it yourself or have someone else try it against you to see what I mean . For those who wish to try it: https://github.com/Yet-Again-He/0ad_zapoteca_0.28 As fun as playing the mod has been, that is not the point of this post.  In finishing the mod, I had also finished an ambitious goal for it, one still incomplete for even some of the base 0ad factions: I made a voice pack for it.  It is a full voice pack made with real people for the basic commands as well as alternate phrases for some of them.  As a result of this, two ideas have come into my head. 1.):  I can submit the audio for the Delenda Est mod so that their Zapotec faction (the original foundation for the standalone) can have voices. 2.): As far as I am aware, the zapotec faction is complete and designed for full integration into standard gameplay, even down to having edited duplicates of various json files so that I am not making unnecessary original technologies/auras.  This means that theoretically, the Zapotecs could be added with minimal fuss into Empires Ascendant. So I wish to ask.  Who do I talk to about potentially adding the voice pack for Delenda Est, and who can I talk to about the possibility of Zapotecs for the base game?

The units are already more expensive than their infantry counterparts, just much better. Both champion and CS cav take a while to mass up, but their pop efficiency is very strong. Making them cost more will just delay things somewhat. I would prefer to nerf the unit itself (i.e. speed).