SD Overall Suggestions

Well, not signing yet, but that's because it's ALL ME. The Big SD -Link back for ease sake.

Application Based Technology

Instead of buying up tech categories (and then getting into questions about "how can we not have invented algebra despite building cutting-edge death rays?") buy up application categories.

Application categories would be things like "I can build tanks/giant robots/mecha/etc, allowing certain customizations ("added caps"), or passive boosts to various categories, purchasable by SP. This would cover tech primarily, but could in theory be extended to magic, given that in theory magic should be reproducible and there really isn't that much of a difference, on a large scale, between a grenade launcher and an enchanted bow firing fireballs or something.

"Prototyped" technologies would be technologies that could be accessed at a significant discount (80%? 90%?), but units given those advantages would have increased costs beyond normal dependent on how many prototype technologies they have in them. Super prototypes are a go. There might also be discounts for having units of similar niches or something.

An Example

This is an example and nowhere near comprehensive in abilities or costs.

Unit Type Unlocks

Ground

Infantry I-Allows the use of certain special types of infantry over and above the standard types, such as Overt Operations Forces and Mechanized/Mounted Infantry.

Infantry II-Power suits are no longer just for business. Battlesuit Infantry (a la Battletech) and Heavy Battlesuit Infantry (a la Heavy Gear or Exalted Warstriders or ProtoMechs or... plenty of these things) unlocked for construction.

Tanks I-Unlocks Light tanks and Medium tanks. Despite the name they don't have to be tanks, mechs often fill this role, and certain magically inclined polities use necromantically or thaumaturgically animated war machines.

Tanks II-Main Battle Tanks and Superheavy tanks like the Maus or early Ogres/Bolos.

Tanks III-Unlocks Light and Heavy Continental Siege Units. MUAHAHAHA.

Humanoid Combat Units I-as opposed to a Mech, humanoid combat units generally are more agile and not nearly as bristling with weapons, although sufficient added capabilities can do that to them. Unlocks Mecha as a standard unit type.

Humanoid Combat Units II-You know those protagonist giant robots which can smash several times their number? You've just gotten access to them. Unlocks Orbital Frames or some other name for Ridiculously Superpowered Mecha.

Air

Aircraft I-Fighters, Light Bombers, and Transports available. Technologically this brings you around to WWII levels of air war engineering.

Aircraft II-Heavy Bombers, Transport Helos, and Light Gunships unlocked. You've hit somewhere around 1960-1970.

Aircraft III-Heavy Gunships, Superfighters, and Superbombers unlocked. 1980s-near future (with a dash of Nazi Superweapon).

Airships I-Whether floating or fixed-wing, you can use Small and Medium airships for various purposes, such as observation, fire support, or as transports.

Airships II-Large and Very Large airships can be used as just about anything you can make a naval vessel do, including act as an aircraft carrier

Mobility Systems

New Modes

Flying I-this isn't flight for units that normally possess it, this is stuff like jump jets on battle armor or mecha or tanks.

Flying II-you ever wanted a mecha which could actually fly well enough to be a credible threat to fighter aircraft? With this and the right added capabilities, that mecha can be yours.

Teleportation I-Highly advanced scientifically, teleportation is often more easily achieved by magical means and is a mainstay of magical mobility enhancement. This level allows tactical teleportation to a small degree, giving defensive bonuses.

Teleportation II-At this point, units with teleportation ability can make significant shifts in position, giving tactical mobility bonuses.

Teleportation III-Strategically viable teleportation allows easy logistics, among other things.

Subterranean-Allows the use of burrowing tanks/infantry/mecha/land battleships. Lets you avoid terrible weather.

Enhancements

Mobility I-V-Units move faster strategically. Refining this application takes many forms, from breeding better pack mules to lowering logistics footprints to more efficient engines.

Agility I-V-Units have superior tactical movement.

Defenses

New Types

Force Fields I-III-Force fields allow weightless damage absorption to be provided to units, removing/reducing penalties for piling heavy defenses onto things that need to move fast at the cost of increasing upkeep. Additional levels in forcefield tech reduce their logistical footprint and further increase their weight savings.

ECM I-II-Magical or technological, ECM disrupts enemy sensors, ranging from eyeballs to high-tech spatial disturbance systems. ECM unlocks ECM as an added capability for units, and unlocks dedicated Electronic Warfare units at level II.

Enhancements

Armor I-V-Better armor means more survivability.

Sensors I-V-Sensors increase a unit's base electronics rating.

Combat Effectiveness

The current system has a very small margin of error between a unit being 100% functional and taking enough casualties to be combat ineffective. Instead of using this system, you could combine "hit points" and stamina/will to fight into an overall Combat Effectiveness track, which increases or decreases depending on base unit type, their esprit de corps, and other modifiers, representing a combination of logistical support, casualties, and so forth.

Attacking, certain combat maneuvers, and taking hits would obviously decrease combat effectiveness. A unit at 0 has too few people capable of fighting to meaningfully defend themselves, making them incapable of putting up a meaningful fight and vulnerable to actually taking losses. In this way, battles will generally cause less inherent risk (unless avenues of retreat are blocked off, or an organized retreat is turned into a rout) allowing force preservation to be significantly easier.

Just a thought.

Tech Levels

Engineering, Non-Physical Hard Sciences, Sociology, Biology, Cosmology

1970s Tech Breakdown

Engineering: Composite materials such as carbon fibers reaching prototype stage. Physics of stealth discovered, use of solid-fueled rockets and air-breathing engines.

Non-Physical Hard Sciences: Extensive use of computer simulation modeling for design and prototyping. Most modern computer languages originate from here, so technically is the origin of modern computer science.

Biology: Early genetic recombinant experiments, but nothing more complex than bacteria yet. DNA obviously discovered, designer drugs and engineered diseases a depressing possibility.

Sociology: Modern economic theory, maturing scientific psychology focusing on the treatment of mental illnesses.

Cosmology: Ability to navigate via use of satellite triangulation and inertial navigation.

Non-Physical Hard Science

potential category names: Modeling? Mathematics? Physics (if you call physical hard science "engineering")

Advancements By Category:

Tech Level 0 (No Tech)-arithmetic, multiplication and division

Tech Level 1 (Classical/Medieval)-Algebra, basic cryptography, pi, the number 0

Tech Level 2 (Gunpowder)-Calculus (differential and integral)

Tech Level 3 (Industrial)-Symbolic Logic, rudiments of computer science (punchcard programming)

Tech Level 4 (WWI-Vietnam)-Cryptographic analysis, computers as analysis aids (artillery computers)

Tech Level 5 (Modern)-Modern computer science (computer networking)

Tech Level 6 (Postmodern)-Quantum Computing, quantum encryption, cloud computing

Tech Level 7 (Even More Postmodern)-Programs that do what you mean, not what you say. Self-patching programs.

Tech Level 8 (Clarketech Bullshit)-Cryo-Arithmetic Computers? Nonphysical computing (using the universe itself as a storage and processing medium?)

Sociology

Tech Level 0 (No Tech)-language, barter.

Tech Level 1 (Classical/Medieval)-Most governmental systems, loyalty, basic interrogation, engineering false confessions, torture, currency.

Tech Level 2 (Gunpowder)-The philosophy of thought and loyalty (early psychology), musings on the state, social contract, natural law, mercantilism.

Tech Level 3 (Industrial)-The rebuttal of natural law, scientific psychoanalysis, economics as a field, human rights as a concept, eugenic augmentation.

Tech Level 4 (WWI-Vietnam)-The psychology of killing, market failure, eugenic refinement, biological analysis of cognition, group sociology, advertisements.

Tech Level 5 (Modern)-Cognitive science, neural network computing theory, large-scale social mobilization, flash mobs.

Tech Level 6 (Postmodern)-Destructive uploading, single-person modeling, selective memory erasure, perfect market information.

Tech Level 7 (Even More Postmodern)-Nondestructive uploads, uplifts, artificial psyches, full memory wipes/implants

Tech Level 8 (Clarketech Bullshit)-Strongly superhuman intellects, perfect reaction modeling

NPC ideas

Dan Dare Space British Captive State major empire

Chinese Posthuman empire with super high standard of living

Turkish 1945 tech/technomagic Japan

American 1920s/30s air pirate world

Dragon Agish World

Elfish Spell Jamming Empire (Collapsing? Collapsed? Reforming? Sick Man of Space?)

-FBH put this shit here.