Building a SimCountry-Style Nation Simulation: Development Roadmap

1. Core Systems Design

• Time Model: Turn-based (ticks = months/years) or real-time with pause.
• Resources: Money, population, land, raw materials, energy, tech points.
• Sectors: Agriculture, Industry, Services, Military, Research, Infrastructure.
• Policies: Tax rates, trade tariffs, education focus, conscription, diplomacy stances.

2. Tech Stack Recommendations

• Engine: Godot 4 (2D UI-heavy), Unity (C# ecosystem), or custom Python/JS for browser.
• Data: SQLite (local), PostgreSQL (multiplayer), JSON/ScriptableObjects for static definitions.
• Math: Economic formulas (Cobb-Douglas production, logistic growth), matrix algebra for input-output models.

3. Key Simulation Loops

1. Population Tick: Birth/death/migration → labor supply → wage equilibrium.
2. Production Tick: Firms optimize input mix → output → inventory → price adjustment.
3. Government Tick: Tax collection → budget allocation → policy effects → approval rating.
4. World Tick: Trade flows, diplomatic events, random crises (disasters, scandals).

4. UI/UX Priorities

• Dashboard: KPIs (GDP, HDI, Budget, Approval) with sparklines.
• Map: Province/region view with overlays (income, unrest, infrastructure).
• Policy Sliders: Immediate feedback via tooltip projections.

5. Scope Management

Start Minimal: 1 country, 5 resources, 3 policies, 10-turn game. Add complexity only after core loop is fun.

Study Democracy 4, Victoria 3, SimCountry (original) for mechanics inspiration. Join r/gamedev, r/simulations for feedback.