English have Ribauldequins, which the Malians lack. It is suppoused to be the equal of the Culverin, which although strong, it is much more situational than the Culverin, which is an upgraded springald that becomes very useful at late game.
French get access to both through their landmark. But, otherwise, civilizations get either one or the other–some get neither, and some have their own siege.
Usually you can claim Historical accuracy matters. Or coolness factor. But, AoE4 seems to have gone for apparent balance over either, civilizations that lack these two units either make up for it with their own siege units, or with a very different playstyle like mongols. The french get a special landmark to acquire a better version of both. English fall under the category of having either Culverin or Ribauldequin for balance purposes over historical reasons or just coolness factor.
I don’t think you can really claim siege needs a rework as water did. While ships exist in their own little battlefield on the map, Siege can always be dealt with through other means (albeit less efficiently). That lesser efficiency is usually made up by other factors of that civilization, and so, can be balanced together to make up for it.
The reason water had to be dealt with the way it did, was because of this great disconnect in game play. They were originally designed with the idea that a civilizations economical or technological bonuses would balance out the weaknesses in water–and although true (and still is), that did not translate as strongly as it should have because many benefits like stronger land units, simply could not be translated into the battle in water. This is why a measure was taken to more directly figure out the water rock-paper-scissor situation.
Siege on the other hand does have much more happening than simply siege itself. It exists in the ecosystem along with knights, man at arms and many other units that can contribute in destroying or guiding them. For instance, the Ribauldequin, while a more situational unit, it is unparalleled at guarding other siege from melee units, shredding anything that comes close. That is your strength by having it accessable. Of course this means you need to overcompensate with the lack of Culverins by creating even more springalds, but that means if your opponent is unable to deal with your springald massing, they will be forced to deal with your siege with their melee units–at which point, your Ribauldequin would keep them safe and lead you into victory.
Everything has a trade of. I understand your frustration, but I think you’ve arrived at conclusion that isn’t necessary. Try to look into what benefits your civilization has instead of looking into arbitrary reasonings like historical accuracy, and try to capitalize on those benefits against your opponent. And hey, if you like the Culverin that much… play a civilization with one.
