The second edition, released in 1983, was presented in a cardboard box containing three booklets of rules, showing greatly improved presentation in comparison to "C&S1". The text is lighter and more concise and there is a tendency towards greater consistency in the organization of the rules. There are no fundamental mechanical changes as compared with C&S1; but multiple changes intended mostly to clarify or simplify some points in the rules. The medieval setting was clearly divided into three distinct periods: Early Feudal, High and Late Chivalric Feudal, each period having a distinct technology. For example: Heavy plate armor and two-handed swords only become available in Late Feudal (14th - 15th centuries). This avoids the anachronisms and gives a useful indication of technological advances at each period, allowing campaigns to be made more realistic; an ongoing concern to which the authors, Ed Simbalist and Wilf Backhaus, were very attached.