Subsidiaries are terrible - Please improve and rebalance them

[LordKevster]

Right now subsidiaries are the worst subjects to have and in many ways you are much worse of than having an empire just as a commercial pact partner. This needs to be fixed and re-balanced.

1. They don't allow you to build branch offices. I don't know if that is a bug but that completely ruins the main feature of mega corporations and it makes no sense. Of course the parent company should be able to have offices in its subsidiaries. Right now I can build BOs when I have a commercial pact but not after I make the empire my subsidiary? Makes no sense. Both from balancing and RP point needs to be fixed.

2. Subsidiaries don't share research. Making someone your subsidiary should grant you and automatic one sided (from their side) research agreement with them. Because any subsidiary will share the research with its parent company but not vise-versa. Right now it is not even possible to make these through diplo which further downgrades subsidiaries and making them worse to just have the empire as a diplomatic contact.

3. Subsidiaries can't be integrated - Now if the other two issues would be fixed this could be the (harsh but acceptable) trade of. However, loyal subsidiaries should get a substantial boost to the willingness of trading systems with you to balance this out and for RP reasons.

 

[Rios_]

Some of what you have mentioned does need to be fixed. Integration is an obvious oversight, and the intended playstyle for megacorps does seem to be "expand, then fob off your space to subsidiaries when the empire size penalties get too big", so their subject empires should be good. On the other hand, subsidiaries are already pretty good, a vassal and tributary rolled into one, with them joining you in wars and providing you with resources while still being able to expand, so they really need a bonused research agreement? If the AI was in a half decent state they would probably be rather powerful even without additional improvements.

 

[LordKevster]

Yeah, like I said the research thing is when Integration remains impossible. However I think it should always be possible to diplo a (regular) research agreement with a vassal/subsidiary.

 

[TehJumpingJawa]

Do you suffer influence distance penalties when claiming through a subsidiary?
If so, that should go on the fix list too. IMHO