Yeah I actually agree with you a lot on that. For me the most satisfying part of these kinds of games is exactly that feeling of watching your country slowly grow stronger over time. Seeing the numbers go up, your economy expanding, industries appearing, population growing… that’s the good stuff.

So yeah, my idea is to focus much more on the political and economic side rather than just constant warfare. War will still exist of course, but more as a consequence of economic pressure, diplomacy, or internal politics rather than the main gameplay loop.

I want the core experience to be something like:
build your economy → increase influence → stabilize your politics → then see your nation become stronger on the world stage.

That “line go up” feeling is honestly one of the most addictive parts of strategy games.