First and foremost, I know this would be game changing; so I'd like to limit its implementation to one game special game mode.
As of right now, most decent sized nations on the map (Nations with at least 5 cities) produce all necessary resources for the country to function. (Supplies, Components, Fuel, etc.) This renders the in game economy a side component. You may use it to get some extra supplies or rare materials, but nothing beyond that. Of course though, this isn't realistic. Many nations have economies that are reliant on a few key industries. So what if, in a special game mode, nations are limited to producing just a few resources in similar fashion to their real life counterparts?
Examples: (I don't think this is necessary but I wanted to make my point very clear. Suggestions are often misinterpreted.)
Japan has an advanced economy that focuses on manufacturing and innovative technology, so its cities could produce electronics and components. Its agriculture accounts for 1.4% of nation's GDP, so it could have a small province producing supplies. Money will be plentiful.
Saudi Arabia has a large mining (of fossil fuels, of course) industry and then some manufacturing. So most of its cities could produce fuel with 1-2 cities producing components. Money will be moderate with most income coming from selling fuel.
Venezuela will be reliant on agriculture, maufacturing, and petroleum. It's cities will produce fuel, supplies, and components. That may sound good, but there's a catch. Extreme poverty means that the provinces and cities will produce much less money.
Then there's a great deal of countries in Africa which are quite dependent on agriculture-their cities will mostly produce supplies and provinces will produce little money.
Some countries, such as the U.S. and China, have a little bit of everything. Which will naturally make them more dominant.
The whole idea of this is to force players to be more reliant on the global economy. We could see the return of trading embargoes, which could then devastate nations. Alliances could be forged in agreement to sell each other the supplies that the other lacks. Wars will be started over cities that produce needed supplies. First world countries will have plenty of money while the third world will be poorer. Nations that are superpowers in the real world will often times become superpowers in the game due to their diverse industries which will allow them to be less reliant on trade. This all happens in the game already, but it would be put on steroids. Diplomacy will skyrocket when nations are forces to communicate. What if there was an added feature allowing nations to trade directly with each other. Real life organizations like OPEC may form. I'd just love to see this idea experimented with. Now, I'm not oblivious, and I know the main concern is balancing. However, its more balanced than it appears. First world countries will have most of the money and maufacture components and electronics. Third and second world countries will have all the natural resources such as supplies, fuel, and rare materials with a lack of money. This makes both countries quite reliant on trading. These superpowers I mentioned, such as China and the U.S., of course will have more power and resources than the countries around them. However, that's where skill prevails. Most of the time, players pop into an empty game and go right for the big countries. They then overrate their abilities and attack all their weak neighbors only to get ganged up on and defeated. It even says it in the descriptions of most of these countries. China, Russia, and the U.S. are powerful but hard to manage and easily get ganged up on. I can't even count how many times I've seen them defeated within the first few days. Obviously, it may take some work, but it shouldn't be too difficult and would be a simple yet game changing mode to spice things up. Thanks for reading.
tl;dr: "Many nations have economies that are reliant on a few key industries. So what if, in a special game mode, nations are limited to producing just a few resources in similar fashion to their real life counterparts?"
As of right now, most decent sized nations on the map (Nations with at least 5 cities) produce all necessary resources for the country to function. (Supplies, Components, Fuel, etc.) This renders the in game economy a side component. You may use it to get some extra supplies or rare materials, but nothing beyond that. Of course though, this isn't realistic. Many nations have economies that are reliant on a few key industries. So what if, in a special game mode, nations are limited to producing just a few resources in similar fashion to their real life counterparts?
Examples: (I don't think this is necessary but I wanted to make my point very clear. Suggestions are often misinterpreted.)
Japan has an advanced economy that focuses on manufacturing and innovative technology, so its cities could produce electronics and components. Its agriculture accounts for 1.4% of nation's GDP, so it could have a small province producing supplies. Money will be plentiful.
Saudi Arabia has a large mining (of fossil fuels, of course) industry and then some manufacturing. So most of its cities could produce fuel with 1-2 cities producing components. Money will be moderate with most income coming from selling fuel.
Venezuela will be reliant on agriculture, maufacturing, and petroleum. It's cities will produce fuel, supplies, and components. That may sound good, but there's a catch. Extreme poverty means that the provinces and cities will produce much less money.
Then there's a great deal of countries in Africa which are quite dependent on agriculture-their cities will mostly produce supplies and provinces will produce little money.
Some countries, such as the U.S. and China, have a little bit of everything. Which will naturally make them more dominant.
The whole idea of this is to force players to be more reliant on the global economy. We could see the return of trading embargoes, which could then devastate nations. Alliances could be forged in agreement to sell each other the supplies that the other lacks. Wars will be started over cities that produce needed supplies. First world countries will have plenty of money while the third world will be poorer. Nations that are superpowers in the real world will often times become superpowers in the game due to their diverse industries which will allow them to be less reliant on trade. This all happens in the game already, but it would be put on steroids. Diplomacy will skyrocket when nations are forces to communicate. What if there was an added feature allowing nations to trade directly with each other. Real life organizations like OPEC may form. I'd just love to see this idea experimented with. Now, I'm not oblivious, and I know the main concern is balancing. However, its more balanced than it appears. First world countries will have most of the money and maufacture components and electronics. Third and second world countries will have all the natural resources such as supplies, fuel, and rare materials with a lack of money. This makes both countries quite reliant on trading. These superpowers I mentioned, such as China and the U.S., of course will have more power and resources than the countries around them. However, that's where skill prevails. Most of the time, players pop into an empty game and go right for the big countries. They then overrate their abilities and attack all their weak neighbors only to get ganged up on and defeated. It even says it in the descriptions of most of these countries. China, Russia, and the U.S. are powerful but hard to manage and easily get ganged up on. I can't even count how many times I've seen them defeated within the first few days. Obviously, it may take some work, but it shouldn't be too difficult and would be a simple yet game changing mode to spice things up. Thanks for reading.
tl;dr: "Many nations have economies that are reliant on a few key industries. So what if, in a special game mode, nations are limited to producing just a few resources in similar fashion to their real life counterparts?"