Options! Unit retraining/upgrading! Separated tiers! Arms trading!
So: you keep the three tiers of unit progression that we have now, more or less along the same time-frames as they currently are. But within each tier, the upgrades are much freer and more varied. If you want to upgrade to the 2nd or 3rd tier, you have to build new units.
Example:
Corvette: research tier 1 and get a basic all-round coastal patrol ship, much as you do now. After that, you have several options for upgrades. You could choose to boost the fixed-wing AA strength, anti-heli strength, anti-sub strength, or ship-to-ship strength; you could also choose to boost engine power (for speed) or survivability (for HP).
You can research as many or as few of these as you want at tier 1, but you have to apply upgrades manually to your already-built ships and you don't have to apply the same ones to each ship. Upgrades cost resources (and a small amount of time) to apply, so you'd probably want to be selective. You could even have a couple of upgrade-levels for each type of upgrade within a tier, for even greater specialization.
When you choose to go for tier 2, you're researching a brand new ship - that's why you have to build new units from scratch. It's significantly better than the basic tier 1 model all-round, but not quite as good in specific aspects as one that's been upgraded in those particular aspects. It has potential to be much better once it's been upgraded itself, and has more upgrade options (eg. better radar/sonar, better combat range, lower signature maybe, less deep-water strength-penalty, etc).
Lower-tier units that you don't want/need any more could be decommissioned (for a recuperation of part of the mobilization+upgrade cost), or - even better - sold to other countries. Trade prices would be fixed by the game to prevent people giving free units away - the purchasing country has to be able to afford the market price of the unit, which is set by the game according to mobilization and upgrade cost. Buying units costs more than building them yourself in terms of the individual units, but because you aren't paying for the research or the pre-requisite buildings, it could work out a little cheaper overall, depending on how many you buy. Units that you have bought from another country cannot be further upgraded, and count as a different type from the ones you've mobilized yourself (in terms of stacking).
**Infantry are an exception!**
Infantry don't require new units to be mobilized for tier-level upgrades (because they are people, not machines, and can be continuously retrained). Also, you can't "sell" infantry to other countries (slave-trade should not be a part of CoN!).
Ground units could be upgraded according to specific terrain types, as well as general combat strength upgrades for particular unit types - so you could for example create specialist mountain-, jungle- or arctic-warfare troops.
Aerial units could have range upgrades, speed upgrades, HP upgrades, a variety of particular combat-strength upgrades, radar upgrades, surface-to-air defence upgrades, etc. You choose which ones you want.
Advantages: More customization and strategic choices; more potential/reasons for diplomatic engagement with both allies and non-allies, and more coordination within coalitions or teams.
Disadvantages: maybe a bit too complicated for some people's taste; all the current meta-knowledge probably goes out of the window!
Any thoughts?
So: you keep the three tiers of unit progression that we have now, more or less along the same time-frames as they currently are. But within each tier, the upgrades are much freer and more varied. If you want to upgrade to the 2nd or 3rd tier, you have to build new units.
Example:
Corvette: research tier 1 and get a basic all-round coastal patrol ship, much as you do now. After that, you have several options for upgrades. You could choose to boost the fixed-wing AA strength, anti-heli strength, anti-sub strength, or ship-to-ship strength; you could also choose to boost engine power (for speed) or survivability (for HP).
You can research as many or as few of these as you want at tier 1, but you have to apply upgrades manually to your already-built ships and you don't have to apply the same ones to each ship. Upgrades cost resources (and a small amount of time) to apply, so you'd probably want to be selective. You could even have a couple of upgrade-levels for each type of upgrade within a tier, for even greater specialization.
When you choose to go for tier 2, you're researching a brand new ship - that's why you have to build new units from scratch. It's significantly better than the basic tier 1 model all-round, but not quite as good in specific aspects as one that's been upgraded in those particular aspects. It has potential to be much better once it's been upgraded itself, and has more upgrade options (eg. better radar/sonar, better combat range, lower signature maybe, less deep-water strength-penalty, etc).
Lower-tier units that you don't want/need any more could be decommissioned (for a recuperation of part of the mobilization+upgrade cost), or - even better - sold to other countries. Trade prices would be fixed by the game to prevent people giving free units away - the purchasing country has to be able to afford the market price of the unit, which is set by the game according to mobilization and upgrade cost. Buying units costs more than building them yourself in terms of the individual units, but because you aren't paying for the research or the pre-requisite buildings, it could work out a little cheaper overall, depending on how many you buy. Units that you have bought from another country cannot be further upgraded, and count as a different type from the ones you've mobilized yourself (in terms of stacking).
**Infantry are an exception!**
Infantry don't require new units to be mobilized for tier-level upgrades (because they are people, not machines, and can be continuously retrained). Also, you can't "sell" infantry to other countries (slave-trade should not be a part of CoN!).
Ground units could be upgraded according to specific terrain types, as well as general combat strength upgrades for particular unit types - so you could for example create specialist mountain-, jungle- or arctic-warfare troops.
Aerial units could have range upgrades, speed upgrades, HP upgrades, a variety of particular combat-strength upgrades, radar upgrades, surface-to-air defence upgrades, etc. You choose which ones you want.
Advantages: More customization and strategic choices; more potential/reasons for diplomatic engagement with both allies and non-allies, and more coordination within coalitions or teams.
Disadvantages: maybe a bit too complicated for some people's taste; all the current meta-knowledge probably goes out of the window!
Any thoughts?