great post. i might have to reinstall gcii.
this fills out my top 3 list of things that Elemental really needs.
1) not only "fix" economy, logistics, tactics individually but make sure they integrate in a way that forms compelling strategic empire management
2) fun/balanced/interesting special things like magic, strategic resources, etc.
3) what you said. (locations on the world that have strategic relevance plus fun factor)
once in place then they can take it in a lot of different directions (e.g. adventurers, sophisticated industry chains) successfully, but keeping always in mind how those add ons serve the core gameplay. i.e. don't just have a separate minigame where adventurers are out there collecting hats and boots for adventurers. i guess that's a different topic however
cheers
p.s. oh and a random map generator, of course.
