Conventional tech shouldn't requre TN resources?

[Starmantle (OP)]

I wonder what people think about the possibility of making it such that low tech infantry divisions, low tech armor divisions, conventional engines, and maybe other pre-transnewtonian items didn't require trans-newtonian minerals to build. 

It might also be nice to be able to construct conventional industry.   

In playing an empire with very early technology and harsh mineral restrictions, it'd be nice to have that kind of thing as a viable option.

If there's a problem with balance, the cost of these items in terms or wealth or construction time could increase. 

I recognize that this might cause coding problems because right now there's always a 1:1 ratio for something's cost in wealth and it's cost in TN materials.

[SteelChicken]

Yeah in low resource situations this would be useful.   Maybe just have them cost wealth and not use TN resources?

[Jaque_Thay]

I can see that being quite unbalancing - there's then far less of a limit on established colonies as to how to use your resources.  You could put a few construction factories down to start things off then just keep cranking out conventional industry (as much as your population can support) and build up huge industrial bases without worrying about TNE supply.

[NihilRex]

CI should develop and move around on its' own, like the civvy infrastructure.  If you fail to provide ConFacs, the civs will deliver CI.  Of course, this means the conversion from CI to TN facilities needs to be made more expensive or removed completely...

[Starmantle (OP)]

I think it's hard to argue that Conventional Industry is so awesomely powerful that it's unbalancing.  It's generally painfully awful.

That goes for thinks like low tech divisions and conventional engines too. 

And again, "If there's a problem with balance, the cost of these items in terms or wealth or construction time could increase." 

Yeah, I could imagine an increased cost of converting CIs might help too if we're worried about that.

More the point, though, does it make any sense at all that you need trans-newtonian minerals to make things like low tech armor divisions?

I'm not saying this is a critically needed change - it's of marginal value at best.  But I think it'd be an improvement.

[Rich.h]

I could see this being viable in some ways, though you would need to have some limits to getting almost free industry build ups on new colonies. Perhaps if you have a new type of conventional industry that is constructed from just wealth and bp and then make it so it cannot be upgraded at all.

It would mean you can have a wild west type frontier colony that uses old outdated tech for building a few basics and then starts using the TN stuff to process minerals etc.

However there is a serious balance issue to consider, even if you could fine tune the balance between essentially "free" industry. You still then have to contend with the problems of how much of an advantage it gives the player if npr's cannot fully use it. Even if they can use it though all you get is suddenly everyone able to do things that much faster and cheaper. In that case why go to all the bother of making a new thing and instead just make all the current industry stuff cheaper to get the same effect?

I think that the problem of an industry that uses steel suddenly using duranium is just one that needs to be waved with some sci-fi mumbo jumbo. Instead harsh frontiers should be exactly what they are, harsh frontiers to be overcome.