Make Development Cost Gold As Well

[cloudwasher]

There's been much hand wringing over how to balance out development and here's my suggestion: Keep the current +2% increase in power cost, but also make it cost base 30 gold per development with the gold cost increasing +2 for every level of development. This will stop the OPMs in the HRE from getting so ridiculously large by end game that they cant be annexed without costing 400-500 points per province. You will still be able to create the 100+ base provinces, it'll just cost you a boatload of gold. It seems odd to me that development can be achieved merely through exertion of ruler effort without any kind of financial capital being involved or needed.

 

[grumphie]

except that puts the limiter on gold. which you kmsotfo the time either have plenty off or cannot msis a thing.

it would make the AI either not devlop at all, bankrupt itself doing so, or be in a position where the gold cost doesnt matter in the first place.

if it cost time instead of just on-click it could help slow it down, but at the same time the posiibltiy to realistically develop something must remain. it's difficult to properly balance, but the old _5 system was way too restricitve, gold wouldnt make much sense in the actual effects it has.

 

[Fluffy_Fishy]

I'm not uncomfortable with the idea but I would be wary with how it might work for AI like grumphie.

 

[cloudwasher]

except that puts the limiter on gold. which you kmsotfo the time either have plenty off or cannot msis a thing.

it would make the AI either not devlop at all, bankrupt itself doing so, or be in a position where the gold cost doesnt matter in the first place.

This would could be solved very easily. Simply add a line of code so AI will not invest in development when in debt. As it stands right now, the smallest country and the largest country can develop at the same rate, which to me seems very unrealistic. Large nations with more resources should have more ability to develop than OPMs.

 

[lolada]

Agree, there's perfect sense that development should cost gold. Some scaling would be nice. Early game is already gold starved, so early development levels need to cost less. Later on there's more and more gold, so costs should be higher.

 

[grumphie]

This would could be solved very easily. Simply add a line of code so AI will not invest in development when in debt. As it stands right now, the smallest country and the largest country can develop at the same rate, which to me seems very unrealistic. Large nations with more resources should have more ability to develop than OPMs.

and that would mean going tall is killed again and wide empires get even more perks. developing is already really really expensive compared to expansion - if you link a meaningfull gold cost to it only ever blocks small nations from developing, not natiosn that have gold. if the AI was coded to just develop less and actually keep up with tech and ideas thst alone should mean provinces are much less developed. part of the problem is also that there are no real mana sinks - sure, you can go way over dip relations or hire a gazillion generals andsit on 3 stab all game long, but development is the only real thing you can keep throwing Mp at if youre almost capped. western OPM's(especially those in the empire) with even a slightly alright ruler will be far ahead in tech and capping their MP's if they can't develop.