As the game is currently designed, Western tech nations have a technological head start almost from day one. Historically speaking however, they didn't really start surging way ahead of the rest of the world until a couple of centuries later. At the moment, 1500's Europe is already a fair bit ahead of say, 1500's Asia, while historically speaking, the difference wasn't nearly as extreme (yet).
The solution proposed, is having tech groups penalty values less static.
Basically, have the tech penalties start out as lower values, and slowly tick up as time goes by (at a variable rate per tech group, not necessarily linear). The exact numbers will have to undergo a lot of testing, but the general idea is say, having Anatolian tech start off with little or no penalty, but if left unmodernized for too long (centuries), begin straying into "sick man of Europe" territory as the tech penalty gets higher and higher, overtaking its original 25% and leaving the nation practically stagnant.
Less developed groups, like in sub-saharan Africa, should start out with a moderate penalty to begin with (though a lower one then they have now), that again, ticks up as time goes by.
New world natives should have it backwards. Start out with a massive penalty that starts ticking down once they make old world contact (maybe after a massive one time penalty to reflect catching old world plagues, though I can understand skipping that; entirely realistic old world diseases would make them unplayable).
The idea is to cement late game European dominance, as it historically happened at a time we'd consider "late game", while giving RoTW a fighting chance if they encounter Europeans early on (as they historically had).
It would also make modernization easier if done early, which makes sense, seeing as there ought to be fewer gaps to bridge.
The solution proposed, is having tech groups penalty values less static.
Basically, have the tech penalties start out as lower values, and slowly tick up as time goes by (at a variable rate per tech group, not necessarily linear). The exact numbers will have to undergo a lot of testing, but the general idea is say, having Anatolian tech start off with little or no penalty, but if left unmodernized for too long (centuries), begin straying into "sick man of Europe" territory as the tech penalty gets higher and higher, overtaking its original 25% and leaving the nation practically stagnant.
Less developed groups, like in sub-saharan Africa, should start out with a moderate penalty to begin with (though a lower one then they have now), that again, ticks up as time goes by.
New world natives should have it backwards. Start out with a massive penalty that starts ticking down once they make old world contact (maybe after a massive one time penalty to reflect catching old world plagues, though I can understand skipping that; entirely realistic old world diseases would make them unplayable).
The idea is to cement late game European dominance, as it historically happened at a time we'd consider "late game", while giving RoTW a fighting chance if they encounter Europeans early on (as they historically had).
It would also make modernization easier if done early, which makes sense, seeing as there ought to be fewer gaps to bridge.
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