Ramping costs in RON
It's the Cheese!
Carch writes about how much he likes RON, ramping costs being a nice "feature."

Combined with a cost-ramping feature which models economy of scale

Cost ramping doesn't model economy of scale. It models diseconomy of scale. As you approach scale, the next unit produced should be cheaper, not more expensive. This is my fundamental gripe with the game. Cost ramping forces everyone to have the same army. Thus, assuming equal tactical handling, victory goes to the one who can produce the biggest army. I'd like to see greater reward placed on army composition choices, and if we're going to model anything, model reality. The first one is VERY HARD to make, then they get cheaper going on from there, down to some minimum cost. Also, I'd add in declining costs based on the elapsed time since the first unit was made.

Imagine if your first heavy infantry unit cost 200 food and 200 timber. The next was 150/150. The third 100/100 and the next was 75/75. And because you made them earlier, later in the game they are much cheaper, as well. This creates all sorts of interesting strategic questions. Instead RON eliminates those and forces everyone to have the same stuff. Talk about BORING!
posted by Tim at 3:27 PM