Rah rah!
Da!
Depending on time available when D3 (or its alpha) comes out, I’ll look at what it has before re-inventing some of my desired simulations and their attendant policies. With luck, some of them will be included in this version of the game.
It sounds like Cliff is enhancing the formula processor this time around, so we won’t be limited to that one format. That’ll open the doors to some serious thought. I am also hopeful that D3 will impose some explicit conservation laws (like conservation of energy, mass, labor & cash) so that certain economic elements are not created or destroyed unless a process really means to manufacture or annihilate something, and then there should be consequences.
I hope Cliff is keeping “designer’s notes” to digest and share with modders. In a web of modeling objects like this game has, it would be easy for me to perceive a need for something when it’s already accounted for but I can’t see where. Therefore, a guide to modders would help us to maintain the fidelity of simulations (i.e. internal “business” or “economic” rules that the model consistently obeys in order to remain true to itself).
For instance, the game would cease to be a valid learning tool if it becomes possible to shower the poor with cash without taking it from the treasury or at least printing it (inflating your currency). Some such rules could be hard-coded (with effects that take cash from one reservoir and add an equal amount to another), but modders would need to know that these rules are handled so we don’t duplicate them either.
That’s all a long way of saying that there will be a new learning curve to climb before we actually start modding D3.
I plan to develop policies for the game in general, and most should fit the US. Though I hope to find paying work this year, I’ll continue work on my favorite games until I do.
Yup, there are two big changes. One is you can have ‘X’ replaced by the name of a neuron, and the other is an optional extra parameter
so instead of:
0.02+(0.4*x)
You can have stuff like
0.02+(0.8*GDP)^3
And it should still work as expected 
82 new voter types…
Got my attention.
What help would you need exactly?