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A while ago, Jean Luc examined ideas for encouraging bases to be more than radar/interception sites. I'd like to revive his thread but with an important exception. I'd like to look at ideas to encourage bases to be more than radar/interception sites but only by evolving and developing extensions to existing concepts, rather than creating new concepts completely. Encouraging the building of labs across the world At the moment, is there any reason why labs should be built in places other than in the main base and the main base only? I mean, seriously. Each lab holds 50 scientists, so with 100 that should keep projects rolling until mid-to-late game. Projects appear locked to specific bases, so it seems that there is nothing currently existing to promote labs outside of the main base. I would suggest three additions to the existing system Many hands make light work.The proposed research UI allows for the management of multiple labs over a number of sites. Why not permit scientists to be pooled into a single, general pool which can be assigned to projects? By not locking a project to a single base, players would not need to group labs together. A fresh perspective. There are diminishing returns on every scientist that is added to a project, and the exact progression of the project is only vaguely hinted at. Categories of progression are divided into Poor, Average, Good and Excellent. To encourage the idea of a worldwide network of scientists discussing and sharing information, I would propose a special bonus. For every base which has a fully-staffed lab, the commander earns a special category of research progression, where the ratio of diminishing returns is significantly reduced up to the new category. E.G. with two bases, each with a fully-staffed lab, a project could earn, say, “Superb” progression with sufficent scientists assigned to it. A third base with a fully-staffed lab could grant an adequately staffed project “Magnificent” progression, etc. etc. This bonus is entirely optional, and can be expensive to achieve, but worth it when you get there. Cheaper real estate. An idea shanghaied from Eltee, but one that does work. Give a discount on the first lab built in any particular base, but charge full price for any further labs built. If there is a noticeable difference in price between building a lab in base A and building a lab in base B, most people will prefer to build in base B instead. Encouraging the building of engineering bays across the world There are pre-existing reasons why you would build an engineering bay in a new base. Most of them are to do with the fact that alien spacecraft aggressively attempt to maintain air superiority, and will go after slow, lumbering transports if they can. It is less risky to build engineering bays in new bases, but with adequate air support the main base can supply outlying bases. I would make the following proposals. Cheaper real estate. As with labs, give a discount on the first engineering bay built in any particular base, but charge full price for any further bays. This should encourage local production over transportation. It would also encourage increased networking between each base as with more distributed engineering bays, there would be an increased local flow of goods between continental bases, as opposed to intercontinental flow between a factory base and its subsidiaries. Local produce. Reduce the cost for goods transportation under a set distance. If it is cheaper for local bases to supply needs rather than a central factory base, then commanders will be encouraged to spread efforts rather than concentrate them. I would additionally suggest a global discount for transporting staples (i.e. alienium and alien alloys) to allow raw materials to reach the bases that need them. It's too damn crowded in here!. Reduce the maximum number of engineers a bay can support. Now, why do that? Increasing networking between bases is good, but a canny commander will probably quickly work out how best to exploit cheaper bays. That means that the commander may never build more than one bay per base, and spread the work around. Additionally, it also reduces the opportunity for a central factory base to become the most efficient option, without discounting factory bases completely. Encouraging multiple fireteams across the globe Hoo boy. Up until very recently dropships had a limited range, so the only option to meet the alien threat on the ground was to have multiple fireteams spread about the world. But now it looks like dropships will have infinite or near-infinite range, which in turn means that the most suitable option for commanders will be to focus their efforts on one team, because that team can access most threats. Because they can access most threats, they will become stronger with each battle they fight, so the commander should, logically, have that team fight all the battles, so it can become the strongest it can be. That being said.... They're everywhere!. Reduce the time that crash-sites stay on the geoscape, and combine mission types to create tougher choices. For example, have a terror mission fire off at the about the same time that a juicy landing craft is shot down. Like XCOM:EU, make it clear to the commander that you can do the missions that you want to do, but you can't do 'em all with one team. Unlike XCOM:EU, provide a ready solution – be able to establish more fireteams. Life is cheap. Another one of ElTee's suggestions, make the set-up cost of establishing a fireteam in another base relatively cheap. ElTee suggested a discount on inital base structures connected with fireteams. Perhaps instead offer 12 troopers free with the first barracks built in a new base. However it's done, reducing the set-up costs involved with creating a new fireteam makes a favourable environment for more fireteams.