As the title says. When I, as a non-Western nation a century or two into the game, want to reform but cannot because I find myself too advanced, I need to blink a few times. Why on Earth is it that I, an advanced and progressive empire, cannot reform and refine my ways of thinking (and more importantly, gain access to more advanced units) while the small pile of junk next to me still stuck in the Dark Ages gets to reform, giving better tech progression AND military and letting them eventually outprogress me?
I understand of course that you need to be sufficiently behind so you cannot westernize right away, but I'd rather see that limit go down, so while you start out needing to be 8 techs behind, as time goes by you'd only need 7 and 6 etc. techs and eventually you can westernize courtesy irrespective of tech level. Otherwise you can easily get a situation like the above paragraph, which more often than not results in me giving a random western neighbour the required tech, then westernizing and resetting the AI nation's tech.
Alternatively, and probably easier to do, provide less advanced tech groups with equally strong lategame units. Then, either they keep up with the West technologically and can get to use similarly powerful units, or they eventually fall back and realize the need to modernize their institutions (and if they fall back technologically, they also find themselves unable to use the advanced units, go figure).
Another thing about units, is that when you do westernize you get western-named and flavoured units regardless of who you are. It might just be me but recruiting Latin Hussars doesn't suit me as appropriate for Japan. Or the Ottomans. Or the Inca. Or.. well, you get the point. I'd like to keep units with at least somewhat appropriate regional flavour even after I do Westernize. Granted this isn't the largest of problems with the lategame infantry (named more for tactics) and cannons (named for cannon type) but it's still a thing.
Regardless, the unit names is less important; the issues with the Westernization mechanics is what i want to highlight here as very annoying to deal with.
I understand of course that you need to be sufficiently behind so you cannot westernize right away, but I'd rather see that limit go down, so while you start out needing to be 8 techs behind, as time goes by you'd only need 7 and 6 etc. techs and eventually you can westernize courtesy irrespective of tech level. Otherwise you can easily get a situation like the above paragraph, which more often than not results in me giving a random western neighbour the required tech, then westernizing and resetting the AI nation's tech.
Alternatively, and probably easier to do, provide less advanced tech groups with equally strong lategame units. Then, either they keep up with the West technologically and can get to use similarly powerful units, or they eventually fall back and realize the need to modernize their institutions (and if they fall back technologically, they also find themselves unable to use the advanced units, go figure).
Another thing about units, is that when you do westernize you get western-named and flavoured units regardless of who you are. It might just be me but recruiting Latin Hussars doesn't suit me as appropriate for Japan. Or the Ottomans. Or the Inca. Or.. well, you get the point. I'd like to keep units with at least somewhat appropriate regional flavour even after I do Westernize. Granted this isn't the largest of problems with the lategame infantry (named more for tactics) and cannons (named for cannon type) but it's still a thing.
Regardless, the unit names is less important; the issues with the Westernization mechanics is what i want to highlight here as very annoying to deal with.
