Considering the naming of this version of SR, I was wondering if you all had considered making SR:U something that you treat as your core engine, that you constantly look at making improvements to and such and not really "plan on" making new SR full games, but rather put out DLC for things like ... I dunno lets say you all decided to add WW1 coverage. Provide that as DLC to the SR:U core game. Or maybe this stuff going on between Russia and Ukraine escalates and you add DLC for that concept. Basically what I'm suggesting is sort of a model that Europa Universalis 4 and such uses where we don't necessarily have to buy an entire other game and lose our saves and such, but more richness gets added to the existing game, and DLC would allow you to monetize some of the larger additions.
I know DLC is often considered a bad word so apologies if it incites some hatred here. =)
Now, if in the future you all did some HUGE engine overhaul from the ground up that would clearly invalidate all saves, then sure, SR:U2 might come to be. But it might be a nice change of pace to focus all of the engine improvements to those who already bought SR:U and DLC to add more flavor/richness to the world.
Some of my benefits to this:
1. I get to have an expectation that my saves will retain compatibility. I get my Ottoman Empire up to the 2010 and I find myself getting bored. A year later when some "Russia/Ukraine Conflict" DLC comes along, I now can fire up my Ottoman's again and proceed with this new set of content.
2. I know that my base game that I already paid for is going to continue to get improvements, especially around DLC timeframes when y'all need to add some functionality to the game itself that ties into the optional DLC.
3. I continue to feel like I'm helping to support you all on the game I already bought instead of having to start all over with a new game.
Some of your benefits to this:
1. You don't have to come up with new smaller focus names or new entries on Steam or whatever.
2. Your game is no longer "buy it once and done", you can continue to push it forward and still fund yourselves.
3. You don't have to reinvent the engine all at once to convince people to buy the new one and explain in the forums what people are getting out of this new version.
I dunno. Again I know DLC is often considered a bad word but I personally am a big fan of how the EU and CK franchises do it. I love that I continue to be able to "boost my game" so to speak.
Interested to hear what others think about this, please don't bite my head off, it's a simple suggestion.
