Regarding RGOs
NOTE: Long post ahead.
Now, this was an area that I really, really,
really would like to see having an overhaul.
The "one-province-one-resource" system has it's merits, of course. It is simple and straightforward - hardly can cause a mess.
But... you are playing country X, and you want to develop a textile industry. Country X is located on or has a region which has the proper climate and soil for the growth of cotton. But in Vicky that means absolutely
nothing; if it has grain, it will produce grain, period. No changes allowed.
IMHO, this is worth a redesign. As the empires grew and expanded, they would select which crops their colonies would grow, often supplanting other products more essential to the native populations - coffee, sugar, spices and rubber are very good examples.
My first idea would be to allow the player to choose which products he wants to develop in his domains (as long as he/she meets the necessary requirements such as proper land and climate), giving an even greater wealth of economic choices and gameplay. And that having the assorted effects on the populace, such as the aristocrats getting a MIL reduction due to the government developing cash crops, for example.
This would require a more sophisticated system regarding the game's geography, no doubt (such as to determine the RGO value considering land type/quality, climate and other factors... after all, a pasture that has 5.0 value could decrease or increase value if it is repurposed for a crop) - but I sincerely believe that would give great gameplay returns.
"But what about the minerals? Surely, you can't just decide which ones to produce... they are inherent to the land!"
That would be my second idea.
Since the player can't decide "hey let's start producing coal here", I do propose a "region"* based mineral industry.
What? Yeah... For example, Rhineland has PLENTY of high grade coal and iron, so in the Rhineland "region" they would be a natural choice - plus both industries could be developed since there is a sizeable population to work at the mines and factories.
But since I love to complicate things, let's go to region Y that doesn't have a lot of people, thus obliging us which resource we need to prioritize. Region Y has two choices of mineral resources (1 and 2) at a start, and with the technological progression, a later one (let's put oil for the sake of argument). The player, needing more of the resource 1 at the start due to lack of efficiency and undeveloped industry, puts a focus in the extraction of resource 1. Later on, due to expansion or any other motive, it can shift production to resource 2, while allowing some production of resource 1. But then region Y is now the only region which has oil in his domain, and PLENTY of it to boot! So now he puts all focus on oil production due to the importance of this new resource.
Why this? Once again, to better reflect some economic dynamics and provide more gameplay options.
So how it would be managed?
Personally, something akin to the factory overview in a region would do it. You choose which crops you want to grow in that region, what resources should be explored and the people do the rest. I would say even to merge the overview with it, by providing efficiency bonuses to the factories that utilize the RGO - coal and iron proving a bonus to steel production and so on.
Hey, I noticed that you always refer to the player. What about the capitalists? How does your system correlate to it?
There are already plenty of ideas regarding a new system for the capis, such as a profit-minded thinking and building railroads with a focus on pure efficiency, for example. What I do have considered in regards to these ideas is that the capis would need an "ownership" system - essentially organizing and dividing privately owned from state owned factories, thus giving reason for capis taking an active interest to develop their investments in the area through building railroads, expanding the industry, enhancing RGOs, etc. autonomously.
Another point - enhancing them how?
I do believe that mere "expansion" was a bit too much abstract (and let's not forget the insta-worldwide enhancing inventions such as "Clean Coal" that turns Prussia into a beast), so, my idea in this regard is to make them upgradeable in a different fashion - allowing also aristos to be autonomous with their property. Say, the Aristo upgrades his property by creating tenancies that turn the farmers more productive for example. Instead of just expanding them, the RGOs go through upgrades, potentially increasing their base value as well. Also important is that their "upgradeability" should be differentiated depending where they are located - bringing mechanized agriculture to Africa should have a hefty cost.
If you read this far, thank you very much for the consideration. It is appreciated.
-----------
* - I use the term region in quotes because I do not know how they are going to be called. In this case, I refer to the group of provinces that would normally be inserted in a state according to Vicky.
