![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
- I care little about science research and collecting scientists. The rate that the single scientist is researching already far outpaces the rate that the technology can actually get used. I actually like it when I get a advent datapad to research. then it makes my scientists feel they have something actually useful to do.
- I don't care about collecting alloy or elerium. This was the same with long war 1. It is very rare that I could not make something because I did not have enough of these resources. Money was always the limiting factor. Alloy and elerium is mainly background flavour.
Now I know there is more I could learn to do to get more supplies such as abusing supply raids. But I still feel that the research rate is just not balanced with the progression of other things. And I want to be excited about new science discoveries, and getting alloy rewards. And I would like to feel that investing into science labs and scientists are an important part of the game.
The solution is simple. Make alloy and elerium the primary supplies in creating items. Right now I have 21 alloys, and about 70 elerium crystals. Each item takes at least 1 alloy to make, including vests, weapons, and accessories. That is barely enough to equip 1/3 of 3 squads. And armor research takes 15 alloys. Researching elerium takes 50 crysytals. So even if building items takes 0 supplies, things are very well balanced. We have room to use technology as it is researched, but we still have to be careful with what we build. But as soon as you add supplies to the mix, we can't build anything. I think that the supply cost of every item should actually be 0.
Supplies can still be used indirectly to help build items. You can use supplies to buy alloys or elerium, from the black market. And since scientists can be used to render corpses to get alloys, paying for scientists allows for faster item creation, as well as investing in labs would. And if alloy costs of items were increased it would increase the need to 'render' corpses, to give the feeling that you always need more scientists.
Altogether I would like to see the following:
a) supplies are primarily for infrastructure
b) alloys elerium , and alien artifacts are for building items and not supplies (that way when we find an alloy cache we can be excited about it, instead of always having supplies be the limiting factor. And when we research something new we can immediately use it, giving the feeling of continuous progress. And lack of progress has been one of the biggest criticisms of Long War 2. )
c) Increasing the current alloys and elerium needed to make items will make rendering corpses relevant. (Our scientists and engineers using materials is more fun then just selling everything. And I like the rendering mechanic.)
d) I would like to see research take more time. (Right now I feel research outpaces the materials you gain to use the research. And this is when I don't even bother collecting scientists. I actually feel collecting scientists will unbalance game progress. I would rather have the feeling that researching is falling behind, so getting scientists is an actual goal. )
This all might provide too much supplies for late game balance. And that is part of the reasons for c and d above. So that we have more infrastructure needs (scientists in this case) to spend it on. And some maintenance costs, and late game upgrade prices could go up. But I do feel it will be a more rewarding game if what is needed for infrastructure, and what is needed for items are different resources.