I also wanted to add that I would hope the rewards for the Legendary Deeds "Beloved of the People" and "Glorious Father" could be swapped and I will break down my reasoning:

- The Cultists are the most likely to achieve Beloved of the People, yet they gain absolutely no benefit from doing so. Outside of the Cultists, the best way to achieve this is to build fewer, taller cities and expansion disapproval reduction benefits those who pursue it the least.

- Pursuit of Glorious Father is most easily achieved through heavy expansionism and gaining 100% dust for approval (happy) is unlikely to benefit the expansionist at all. Once you begin to expand beyond half the map, approval ratings plummet, but you already have a massive dust income from the numerous expansions.

- The nature of the expansionism required to gain Glorious Father would benefit greatly from the reward for Beloved of the People (-50% expansion disapproval) as they have more cities collecting resources and desperately need the lower happiness penalty for their expansionism.

- The nature of the massive city builder required to gain Beloved of the People would benefit greatly from the reward for Glorious Father (+100% Dust from happy approval) as they have less cities with higher happiness and could use the extra dust income from major dust gathering cities.

I have spent a long time contemplating the vast differences between different strategic resources and how they modify stats, progress/unlock through the game, and how they affect the play-style of various factions.  For a long time, it has seemed to me tat the weapons are not well balanced, and provide very few options for various factions.  Here are some ideas and the reasoning behind these ideas:

Weapons/Armor - Iron and Dust

The iron and dust weapons unlock as you go era to era.  Iron unlocks era 1 to 3 (tiers 1 to 3 respectively) and dust unlocks era 4 to 6 (tiers 1 to 3 respectively).  This results in a constant, linear progression of tech unless strategic resource accessories are unlocked by era.  If this were changed so iron and dust alternate tier unlocks, it would allows some variation to weapon and armor choices as well as a stronger variety of accessories.  Here is my suggestion:

Era 1: Iron Tier 1

Era 2: Dust Tier 1

Era 3: Iron Tier 2

Era 4: Dust Tier 2

Era 5: Iron Tier 3

Era 6: Dust Tier 3

In this example (per tier), I would see Iron and Dust vary slightly, with Iron weapons having slightly higher Damage and Dust weapons having slightly higher Attack.  Armors, on the other hand, would see Iron with slightly higher Defense and Dust with slightly higher Health.   Here is an example:

Weapons

T1 Iron (+6 Attack, +3 Damage); T1 Dust (+9 Attack, +0 Damage)

T2 Iron (+12 Attack, +9 Damage); T2 Dust (+18 Attack, +6 Damage)

T3 Iron (+18 Attack, +27 Damage); T3 Dust (+27 Attack, +18 Damage)

Armor (Chest)

T1 Iron (+8 Defense, +12 Health); T1 Dust (+6 Defense, +18 Health)

T2 Iron (+16 Defense, +24 Health); T2 Dust (+12 Defense, +36 Health)

T3 Iron (+24 Defense, +36 Health); T3 Dust (+18 Defense, +54 Health)

Though stats would need to be reworked to reflect this change in progression, I would also urge a reworking of the costs.  The philosophy behind the dust equipment should be more about being able to produce with dust instead of industry (or with vastly lowered industry).  With this philosophy, factions such as Broken Lords, Roving Clans, and Forgotten have an alternative to the current rising industry requirements.  I would, however, recommend the buyout cost + dust cost for Iron equipment be roughly the same as the buyout cost + dust cost for Dust equipment of an equivalent tier.

Weapons/Armor - Strategic Resource

The philosophy behind the appearance of Adamantian and Palladian seems disjointed.  There are quite a few Era 3 Techs that require these resources yet these resources do not become available until Era 3.  By the time you research Smelting Station, build one and produce the resource, you are well on your way to Era 4, whereas Rare Metal Foundry appears in Era 4, yet most tech requiring these strategic resources do not appear until Era 5.  I will cover ideas on how to address this and the linear progression of strategic resource gear later.  For now, I would propose a change to the order in which the techs for strategic resource equipment appear:

Era 1: Titanium and Glassteel Tier 1

Era 2: Adamantian and Palladian Tier 1

Era 3: Titanium and Glassteel Tier 2

Era 4: Mithrite and Hyperium Tier 1

Era 5: Adamantian and Palladian Tier 2

The reason for this proposed change is to add more variety to early to mid-game weapons/armor and, more importantly, accessories, as well as to increase the usefulness of Titanium and Glassteel equipment in late game.  Currently, Titanium and Glassteel seem very lackluster compared to equipment made from Adamantian, Palladian, Mithrite, and Hyperium.  This does not seem like much of an issue until you consider the hidden techs for Tier 3 Titanium and Glassteel equipment.  Should you be lucky enough to find this tech, it does not have much use with current resource costs and lackluster stats compared to basic, Tier 1 Adamantian and Palladian equipment.

Current Adamantian and Palladian is very powerful, especially with the dramatic jump in damage output and attack value increases (+80 for T1 A/P vs +40/+25 for T3 T/G).  The philosophy behind the different choices in strategic resource gear should be, in my opinion, based on utility, not pure damage output.  The hierarchy of gear, in my opinion should be along the lines of:

Weapons

T1/2/3 Titanium = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack1 and Damage2

T1/2/3 Glassteel = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack1 and Initiative2

T1/2/3 Adamantian = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack1, Defense2, and Initiative1

T1/2/3 Palladian = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack2, Damage1, and Initiative1

T1/2/3 Mithrite = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack1, Defense2, Damage2, and Initiative1

T1/2/3 Hyperium = T1/2/3 Iron (or Dust) + Attack2, Defense1,  Damage2, and Initiative1

The whole premise here is to add balance to the weapons so weapons from any resource can be at least viable in endgame, with higher quality strategic resources providing a wider variety of bonuses. 

Armors

A similar principal could be added here where Iron Armors and Dust Armors serve as the base and specific strategic resources add bonuses based on the specific piece of armor (head, torso, feet).  For example:

Titanium Chest = Iron Chest + Defense1 + Attack1

Glassteel Chest = Iron Chest + Life1 + Initiative1

Adamantian Chest = Iron Chest + Defense2 + Life1

Palladian Chest = Iron Chest + Defense1 + Initiative2

Mithrite Chest = Iron Chest + Attack2 + Defense 1 + Initiative1

Hyperium Chest = Iron Chest + Attack1 + Defense1 + Life2

Other bonuses could be given for head and feet pieces that boost specific sets of stats, and I would also like to see set bonuses for equipping all of one type of equipment, such as:

All Titanium Armor = +10% Bonus Defense

All Glassteel Armor = +10% Bonus Life

All Adamantian Armor = +10% Bonus Attack

All Palladian Armor = +10% Bonus Initiative

All Mithrite Armor = +10% Defense, +10% Initiative

All Hyperium Armor = +10% Attack, +10% Life

The numbers I use are only examples and only exist to paint a picture of how dynamic equipment could become.  The current model places heavy emphasis on higher tier strategic resources and little on Titanium and Glassteel.  This very much limits choice of gear for both basic units and heroes.  Having an army full of units equipped with adamantian or palladian is very powerful, but not hard to achieve, making teching into these resources a must.  I have destroyed army after army with a single Cultist Hero equipped with Tier 3 Palladian sword, shield, helm, chest, and boots, with life drain, regeneration, damage and initiative accessories.  This seems a bit preposterous.

I, for one, would like to see this change.  Thoughts on this topic would be very welcomed.

Hello! 

Thanks MadMyke2010 for your thoughtful contributions. Its clear that you are invested in improving the game which is rad. 

A few comments before I get started:

1. I almost always play this game on Fast Speed. For any screenshots or pictures of techs that I post, keep in mind that the production cost changes with game speed.

2. One big thing that I have thought about since the beginning is the lack of an in-game wiki. One of the things that made Civ 5 so easy to learn was the in-game wiki (which was quite extensive). I'm not sure how hard it would be to implement, but I think it would make the game a lot easier for folks who are just getting started. A natural counter-argument may be that there is a management screen for almost everything, so if you are curious about your empire's passive ability (for example) you could just look at the Empire Management Screen. But it would be nice to look at traits of Major and Minor Factions that you aren't playing as (or have assimilated). It would also ideally include combat abilities. If you want to check out an ability for a unit you do not own (or have not unlocked yet) then there is no way of doing that. 

   
   

Ok so here we go....

MadMyke2010 wrote:

1. Hydrology - In the description of Canal System it reads: "to better exploit streams, rivers and lakes" but this tech does nothing concerning water although the name suggests it should. If you would change Canal System to:

+2 Industry on Terrain with River, Lake or Sea during Summer Season

... it could fall in line with the original intent (?) and develop some synergies with Ice Works (reworked). I know there is already a tech for Cargo Docks that effects Industry on Lake or Sea tiles, but I will address that shortly.

It is kinda funny that the description for Hydrology (and it's name) do not exactly fit. Part of my response to this point is also related to the comment on Ice Works, so I'll get back to this in a second....

1. Ice Works - I would suggest completely reworking Ice Works. We currently have some tech that only functions properly in the summertime. By changing Ice Works to remove this limitation of summertime-only and making these techs function normally in winter, Aquapulvistics, Aquacultural Science, Canal System (reworked) and Fluid Biomechanics (reworked) could provide their bonuses to Dust, Food, Industry and Science year-round.

I feel this would open up some strong tech synergies. I would also encourage a slight Industry boost of +1 with Ice Works for tiles with Ice Shelves (and Ice Shelves alone). I have become quite aware that production levels can get ridiculously high with the new winter tech in Shifters.

Ok, so I just wanted to clear up the current effect of the Ice Works tech. Currently the tech is +10 Industry  on terrain with Rivers and Ice Shelves. It seems like maybe they already did rework Ice Works since its introduction in Shifters? 

I have two thoughts on the proposal to change Canal System to a water based tech. 

1. It would make sense considering that there is a water tech for Food  [Aquacultural Science], Dust  [Aquapulvistics], and Science  [Fluid Biomechanics] already. 
2. On the other hand, it would make these water tiles even more powerful (which could be problematic). Those three techs (combined with Ice Works) make regions with water far better than regions without them. There may need to be further tuning to the "land based" FIDS  techs in order to balance that out. Don't get me wrong, I think its fine if some regions are better for settling than others. But making rivers too strong might be problematic...

2. Aquacultural Science - This tech is very situational and I find it pales in comparison to Public Granary though it requires the same costs. If both Irrigation Networks and Fish Farms were reduced to 3 Glassteel each (and maybe less production cost), it could compete as an alternative to Public Granary. I will also suggest a rework of Ice Works to synergize with Aquacultural Science, Aquapulvistics, Hydrology and Fluid Biomechanics (reworked).

3. Fluid Biomechanics - Once again, we have a very high cost of Titanium for this tech which is very situational and still pales in comparison to other science techs (Alchemy Workshop and Advanced Alchemy Lab). Simply reducing the cost of Hydromatic Laboratory and Large-Scale Aquatic Center to 5 Titanium (and maybe less production cost) and removing the +2 Science per Population on the latter could allow this to be a solid alternative to Alchemy techs. I would also suggest a summertime restriction as well to add synergy with Ice Works (reworked).

4. Cargo Docks - I love the current design of Cargo Docks with one exception: the Industry bonus provided on each lake or sea tile. If the Cargo Docks only gave the Industry bonus on the actual Cargo Dock tile and also added a +2 or +3 Industry per District in the City, this would be a much more dynamic option. The current design encourages heavy focus on waterside districting, but could be more flexible if it provided a slight boost to all districts, not just the watery exploitations (these could benefit from a reworked Canal System instead). I would also suggest changing the Happiness boost from +10 to +5 per Level on Cargo Docks.

I agree with your point about Cargo Docks. Currently, I think it is too strong. I understand why they moved it to Era 2 for the Morgawr because once you build it in a city, the city immediately becomes a power house. You can focus your citizens on other things (like Food ) and end up growing one of those monster cities that spreads throughout the entire region. I think the Morgawr need the help on FIDS , but their passive Hydrophilic (+2 , +2  on Sea/Lake and +1 , +1  on River) is already really good.

Ok, so now that the potential addition of an Industry based water tech is in the mix, I think we should consider all of the water techs more generally. 

So here are our 'water techs'..... 

Thoughts:

1. Water techs are very strong in the summer. The winter makes quite a harsh dent on the FIDS  of a water-focused empire. I like that Ice Works is only effective in the winter, because it makes for a more dynamic cycle of 'stock up in the summer, and crank out Industry  in the winter'.  
2. Between all of them, I think that there is a pretty nice balance between the FIDS . If there Canal system was introduced as an Industry  water tech, rivers and coastal tiles would be made even more powerful.
3. Regions with rivers and complex coast lines (to get more coastal tiles) are really good already.

Now that we have this table, it may help the 'water tech' discussion. Maybe we could even make a new thread for it? 

5. Brigade System - A flat 20% boost to Defense feels very boring. I enjoyed the tech and skills which encourage diversity in Endless Space and I would love to see Brigade System reworked to:

+5% Defense per Unit Class on Units in Army

This would give a 5% Defense bonus to each unit for each type of unit in a specific army (i.e. Infantry, Cavalry, Ranged, Support, Flying). This would provide up to 25% extra defense for an army so long as a player is willing to diversify. You could even throw in a +5% for each different Minor Faction represented in the army as well, making it possible to reach a +40% if you had all 5 unit types and 3 different Minor Faction units in a full army (or 8 different Minor Factions in the case of Cultists ... or Drakken if you swap assimilations often enough).

I like the sentiment behind this. I think the +5% Defense for each unit type is cool. I'd like to see some experimentation with this tech as well. Let's remember though that this is an Era 4 tech, so maybe if it were changed to your version it could be something like +4% Defense per unit type but available in Era 3? Not sure... worth playing with. 

6. Imperial Highways and Endless Mechanisms - Roads seem almost too necessary in Endless Legend. I enjoy having them to open land-based trade routes, but I would make some serious changes to how they function. I can currently make an army of Arpuja with Tier 3 Iron Talismans and they can travel the half the distance of the map on a road with the right empire plan, the right hero, and the right techs. I would like to see the basic functions of roads changed.

I believe the roads would be more balanced if they only reduced the travel speed through forest and frozen spikes from 2 to 1. Roads should not effect flying units. The idea that my flying unit can travel faster by roads seems ludicrous. Endless Mechanisms could be used to cut travel time in half on all roads empire wide for that faction and allied factions, but I feel the removal of terrain penalties on the roads (reworked) should benefit all factions and should be the price you pay for getting greedy with trading routes.

I agree that flying units should not benefit from roads. As long as we are on the subject, the movement bonus should be posted in the tech description. {See below} 

Tech Synergies

I have proposed some reworks of both old and new techs, some with a hope that certain races will not falter early if they can properly take advantage of their starting terrain, and some with the intent of creating much needed synergies for specific underused techs. I have a strong feeling some techs are completely underwhelming as the AI doesn't even bother to build them from my personal experience.

How often do you use the extra assimilation techs? I find that I almost never take those. 

Quality of Life and Other Suggestions

1. The ability to use A and D to move left and right through the Academy and Research Menus. Reaching for the arrow keys just for the Academy and Research Screens seems awkward.

I didn't even know that the arrow keys worked in those places! I always find myself clicking and dragging in the research section. 

2. The ability to demolish a District (including Pearl Tech and Cargo Docks) without destoying the whole city. Sometimes the previous owner has done something incredibly shortsighted and the ability to make changes to a hex or two of an existing city would be fantastic. Perhaps a 3 turn cost could be implemented to fully remove the unwanted District. Maybe a temporary reduction in happiness could also be used to provide some balancing for this option.

This is something that I have also wanted. It is particularly relevant when playing agianst the AI. I play on Serious mode, and I think the advantages the AI gets are good enough to ignore penalties of an awkwardly planned city. Half the time I conquer an AI city I just demolish the whole thing and resettle the region if its good enough. 

3. I would like to be able to tell which Watchtower I am destroying in the Browse > City Management > Expansions List. Destroying random towers so I can strategically place a Tower of Truth/Fidelity in a newly acquired region can be frustrating.

Yup

4. The ability to issue a different AI command to all combatants during each battle phase. Currently, if I want to have my whole army "Hold Their Ground" for only the 1st phase, I have to manually change it for each unit, then manually change it again on the 2nd phase. A quick button in the corner of the screen would do wonders.

This has been on my wishlist since the original release of the game. I can imagine the buttons to do it, and it wouldn't make the (already gorgeous) UI any more cluttered. 

5. A hotkey to toggle city flags for moving, positioning of Armies in close proximity to Cities. There are a number of instances where city flags (banners) can be visualy obstructive.

Yup! I find myself zooming in to dodge the city flags. 

6. A description of the Booster Effects of Luxury Resources on the tooltips in the Luxury Resource Discovered Pop-up Notification.

Maybe it

1. I wanted to add, in light of the recent changes made by Tempests, that I would like to see weather effects on land as well as on the seas.

2. I am also interested in seeing the Center of Influence changed from a static -10 reduction to a -10% reduction, which would scale with influence gains as time progresses.  In its current form, it only punishes people who operate on low Influence and doesn't even tickle heavy Influence users.  It also fails to have any effect after a certain amount of time, as -10 out of 500, or even 5k, is not even noteworthy.

3. Please rework heroes and hero skills.  They are repetitive, unimaginative, and most heroes, outside of a few, are ignorable.  Please give each hero their own unique portrait and model, unique skill sets, and please add a hero for each Minor Faction.  I enjoy the Sisters of Mercy Hero and that was an excellent idea, but we could use one who represents each Minor Faction.  A Nidya Hero would be a lot of fun, as would a Ceratan Hero.  I can't think of a single Hero Faction who would not make a good hero.

4.  Please give players more ways to acquire Heroes.  The current game forces a player to use Mercenary Market as this is the only way to gain heroes, and playing with only one (or a few) Heroes is suicide.

Please remove ice shelf from Cargo Docks tile.  This will allow ships to be built during winters with ice shelves, provided the player has the Cargo Docks built.