I had an idea from playing Front Mission 3 on PSX (first time playing this retro game, it is so amazing!) In that game the mecha skills and special abilities like rapid fire, accuracy zoom in or action point boost etc are random, you choose which ones to load into the mech computer, but in combat they activate randomly.
So the idea I had is that instead of the 4X videogame stereotypical I research my tech tree and spam THE SCIENCE points desperately trying to accumulate the money to BUILD MORE SCIENCE, maybe what happens is that there is some list of tech you can choose from, but the actual one you get is random.
Just like in real life a lot of innovation is erratic, appears unpredictably. And maybe to balance out overresearch, there is some small chance of a catastrophe or negative sci-fi effect, it could be a generic technosingularity AI thing, something occult like the Doom 3 hell portal SPACE DEMONs or 40k warp psyker thing hehe, but also something more mundane like increased environmental degradation, or civil unrest / unequal distribution of wealth etc provoked by billionaire space tourism lol vs indentured hive labourers hehe. So something like this:
1 You discover LK-99. It looks like a lopsided dirt fleck. Despite provoking a frenzy of discussion on the SPACE INTERNET, not much happens. One of your researchers tragically loses the sample after catching it under a fingernail and picking their nose
2 Your research into HEX LATTICE DIAMOND ANVILs recovered from a meteorite unlocks ICE-XVIII. You can make metal water, superionic conducting water computers, yay
https://www.quantamagazine.org/black-hot-superionic-ice-may-be-natures-most-common-form-of-water-20190508/3 You relentless militaristic Keynesianism has uncovered the STALK TANK after your space DARPA devoted its entire budget towards compelling your weapons division to scouring Dan Abnett novels and plagiarising their ideas. You may now laugh maniacally as helpless barbarian indigenous peoples flee shamefully clutching their flapping loincloths before the crushing might and burning torture rays of your spider mecha death engines, hooray
4 Accelerated Ectogenesis: now you can birth-manufacture endless rapid-growth psychic orphans to pilot your mecha spider battle-tanks using your advanced MACHINE WOMBS and superconsciousness intellect-enhancing subroutines
5 RE-WILDER REBELLION: oh no, your excessive emphasis on science has created an ecoterrorist SPACE DRUID faction they throw seeds at your spaceships and spread disgusting fungus everywhere. Increment towards some collapse scenario (the cataclysm rolls above etc)
>>5734222Hehe I think there needs to be some Re-seeder or Re-Wilding SPACE DRUID faction in the game hehe. Also SPIDER TANKS
