One major failing of the EU engine is how it models advances in technology. In one of its most marked differences from the original boardgame, EU adopted the "CIV / CIV II" model of technology advance by making it a function of government investment. In EU especially, a player will frequently devote nearly 100% of his government revenue to technology research so as to avoid inflation penalties.
That's a complete miss. No government has EVER made Research & Development such a high priority. Maybe 5% revenue (max) goes to such things. Most technology advances take place in the private sector.
A government can promote a CREATIVE environment that accelerates technology change. The best way to do that is to challenge those whose interests are invested in the existing way of doing things, preventing them from blocking change. Such a policy, of course, angers those who profit from things the way they are, and promotes unrest. Frequently those that are profiting from the existing system are aristocrats and merchants, whose wealth and position make them dangerous people to antagonize.
Rather than spending wads of cash, technology would be better modeled with the Domestic Policy sliders. Innovation would play a bigger role, both as generating more advances and as promoting more rebellion. Innovation should also affect maintenance expense, as military equipment is discarded at a more rapid rate and more technical blind alleys result in more waste and expense. This would also make the Monarch ratings more important, as it would be impossible to compensate for a poor monarch by spending more money.
Another good idea would be to have a "Taxation" DP slider. Rather than having land revenue be fixed, allow the player to demand more income, at a risk of greater unrest.
That's a complete miss. No government has EVER made Research & Development such a high priority. Maybe 5% revenue (max) goes to such things. Most technology advances take place in the private sector.
A government can promote a CREATIVE environment that accelerates technology change. The best way to do that is to challenge those whose interests are invested in the existing way of doing things, preventing them from blocking change. Such a policy, of course, angers those who profit from things the way they are, and promotes unrest. Frequently those that are profiting from the existing system are aristocrats and merchants, whose wealth and position make them dangerous people to antagonize.
Rather than spending wads of cash, technology would be better modeled with the Domestic Policy sliders. Innovation would play a bigger role, both as generating more advances and as promoting more rebellion. Innovation should also affect maintenance expense, as military equipment is discarded at a more rapid rate and more technical blind alleys result in more waste and expense. This would also make the Monarch ratings more important, as it would be impossible to compensate for a poor monarch by spending more money.
Another good idea would be to have a "Taxation" DP slider. Rather than having land revenue be fixed, allow the player to demand more income, at a risk of greater unrest.
