I'm still new here and I won't say the game is perfect as there are quite a few issues that hopefully won't follow them into their new game, but for the most part I really love the direction this game takes and have to disagree with the points your bringing up. Yes I admit game speed is important and all the ai scripts and all the units around the world will effect that but I LOVE the depth and I just understand that such depth will come with certain sacrifices to performance. I obviously hope the developers will attempt to find ways to streamline the processes but hopefully they will do so without sacrificing any of the depth they provide.
The problem with so many developers is that they try to appeal to the mainstream gamer too much as they obviously provide the major sales numbers but it leaves those of us that want a deep and engrossing game out to dry. I really love many of the other Paradox titles and have followed them for years simply because they have provided the most immersive experiences you can find in the genre. I've never had any experience with BattleGoat prior to this but I applaud them for attempting such an ambitious project and I believe they did a pretty good job with it, despite it's apparent problems.
In the spirit of providing feedback and suggestions though I will make a few from my limited time playing. I understand that work on 2020 is done and while there may be a new patch it won't be doing much beyond units and small bug fixes but hopefully the feedback will help you to decide what to add in your upcoming games. I'm very excited to see what you do with cold war.
Firstly, I want to again repeat that I love depth and immersion, and more then anything else I hope you stay true to that aspect. Obviously everyone's tastes on that subject will differ and your feature to let the AI automate most features is very important. I personally believe that the AI needs to be taught how to do every portion of the game so that the player has the ability to tailer his own gaming experience. I understand that's a complicated task but I feel it pays off both in the circumstance when a player doesn't enjoy taking control in certain areas and forcing them to do them will detract from their experience, but it will also pay off for the player that controls everything himself for the simple reason that the computer AI will be able to make use of everything the player can which will hopefully make the experience more challenging and enjoyable. AI will never be perfect but it's often one of the biggest complaints in every game of scope and I believe focusing on improving the AI will always pay off.
Another big thing for me is massive modability. I'm still new here and haven't checked out what kind of modding options are available but modding is quite simply the most important aspect to any game IMHO, and it goes beyond the obvious. You see, I can't think of a single game in this modern era which didn't ship with problems. Something for the player to complain about. Putting everything possible into text files that any modder can open up and edit the game to their liking ensures that your game can appeal to the largest audience possible. Modders are very creative and will end up releasing numerous alternative versions of the game which in many cases will actually be much better then the base game itself. PI has a lot of experience in this area as they have generally made all of their major strategic releases easily modable.
But a more important point.
"in many cases will actually be much better then the base game itself". This right here. I understand that games like these can be daunting tasks, not only as you try to add the features and campaigns and such but all the fact checking. Making sure unit stats are realistic and deployments make sense ect. That takes a lot of developer man hours and to be perfectly honest, I believe that area's better left to post release and modder work. I would much rather the developers ignore some of the fact checking in the development stage while they focus on the features. Adding as many features that your users will want and doing everything you can to make sure they work properly, while allowing everything to be directly modded. Give the modders the most powerful tools you can and watch them take off running with it. They will fill in realistic OOB's, unit balance, ect which you can then add into the game officially at a later time. My point is simply this, focus on the framework for the game. I don't care if the game ships slightly unrealistic or unbalanced as long as all the tools are available for the modder to fix it. That hopefully means the developer spent more time packing the game with useful features and spent less time fact checking information that can be edited into the game later.
Another thing is in game spreadsheets for just about everything. You guys have a basic list in game which is useful but other paradox titles do it much better. The simple fact is the more comprehensive the lists the better. Allow us to compare national details from a list to save us from clicking each one to check. Provide unit design info on a list to save us from repetitious clicking to check. When all the info is available at a glance just by going to the correct tab list, then it makes these complex games that much more manageable.
Again I haven't been playing too long but I have done a lot of reading on these forums and the ones located on the PI forums and one of the major points I would bring up is the world conquest issue. There was an English AAR that I was looking through where they just systematically steamrolled through Europe and I'm sure that can be fun for some people but I think that's one of the biggest things I dread to experience for myself. I simply can't imagine England so easily steamrolling over Europe in real life, without a single hiccop to halt it's expanse. It just keeps chugging out units faster and faster and eventually there is nothing to stand in it's way and that's just not realistically possible in that way so it makes me cringe a little. There need to be more checks and balances against expansion. Other PI titles utilize "badboy" features such as EU3, where a nations actions slowly effect it's image across the globe and a nation that acts too aggressively without paying enough respect to do it through the proper methods will result in coalitions to bring that nation back down to size. But more importantly, there need to be better restrictions on military construction so that the individual units count for more. An England that just conquered France and is now simultaneously at war with Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy should not be chugging along like a well oiled machine, pumping out hundreds of units in quick succession without any issue. War weariness should be a bigger issue that effects the economy in major ways to deter a singleminded goal to conquer the world as anyone. But the ability to mod should be able to remove those penalties or even an in game option to remove those limitations for the occasions when someone just wants to destroy everything. Versatility is a great thing this game has and should stick with.
That's what I can think of right now. I hope some of it helps and I really hope you guys continue to improve on the aspects that were great about SR2020. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with Cold War.
