Yeah the game suffers from a lack of overall polish since so much focus and effort went into the base mechanics. In general I usually end up focusing on features and then using free assets to fill the gaps, so yes the visuals are only meant to be functional at least to the point the player can differentiate between British and Saxons soldiers. It was also partially kept simple so performance wouldn't get too horrible, its the same reason why shadow distance is so low and why soldiers turn into sprites once the camera is far enough away.
Though I feel I should point out all the animations, clothing, hair, armor and a good chunk of the weapons I made myself (which is why they look noticeably worse than the characters themselves).
The interface does need more explanation definitely, it was purposefully minimalistic both to limit scope and hopefully avoid confusing players. Unfortunately it generally seemed to completely fail at the latter for those unfamiliar with the Total War series, even with friends who do like RTS games. Speaking of which I assumed most people in this jam wouldn't be fans of RTS games, since games with lots of values and mechanics usually aren't jam-friendly. And the utilitarian controls and visuals make for a rather plain experience so don't feel the need to apologize, the thought went into the controls and making sure the game didn't break.
Thanks for the feedback and for playing!