Balthagor wrote:
No idea, but not without a major rebuild.
I would pass on a contract offer for something like this and I find it unlikely the rest of the team would be interested by this either, sorry.
Like I have said - purely hypothethical question
And concerning the rubber - during development of SR1936 I hoped that rubber wont pass and that some sort of generic "chemical industry" would be included instead. Chemical industry uses coal, metal ore (making it more important), oil and electricity to produce "chemicals" which are used in production of CGs and MGs (maybe even IGs). Population also consumes "chemicals".
In an 11 commodity resource system both water and rubber (and timber as well) are useless. They have very little economic value and they are not linked with any strategic decision. Water scarcity affects agriculture, not drinking needs. In the other hand natural rubber is a form of agriculture, so agriculture is enough.
In place of water/rubber I would like to see natural gas as a new resource, or the completely lacking SERVICE sector.
Water lovers can have their water again, if they forget hydro electricity. These hexes contain fresh water! Electric power can be moved in a manufacturing goods slot, replacing it. 2 manufactured goods (steel and finished products) are enough.
We can also say that most water is extracted using vast amounts of energy: when you pay a water bill, in reality you pay the electricity for it's pumping. So it can be incorporated in general power and petroleum consumption.
Iron ore is the 95% of all metal ore world production, so steel production can be considered the only industrial product of the game, and the only factor of units and buildings weight. Other materials such chemicals and plastics can be incorporated in steel cost as petroleum input of industry considering that the weight of a final product comes only from it's steel parts. This means that one factory using ore, petroleum and energy can produce the final product that is consumed by the population, military, unit and building construction. The diversification will be in the source of energy each factory uses: oil, gas (if it is added), coal or electricity.
There is not need to have too much commodities in a grand strategy game. Agriculture, ore, a single industrial product and the basic energy resources (coal, petroleum, gas, uranium, hydro). I think that there is also needed a general "service good" resource to be consumed in place of "social spending". Governments shall not provide health, education, etc but produce "services" to be sold to their population*. These can also exported, in the form of money spent to visit a foreign hospital or university, to call a construction company to provide infrastructure. Tourism and business services are included here. If there is place for one other commodity, I would like to see technology. Technology could be a product that can be used or sold to "buy" techs, instead of research money spending.
*I am interested for some mod idea to zero out all social needs of population.