[Kumoblade]

Aye, the whole concept would be a balancing act and trade off (Oh Noes, I said trade! HERESY! =P). Think of it from a Global scale on the battlefield. All the various variations that every Outfit has come up with with various weapons, vehicles, armors, etc.. all with their own paint jobs. It would make for a real striking sight.

I believe in the idea of getting upgraded versions of parts as well that perform better than lower versions, however Enemies could try and sabotage your advancements in Research to stunt your progression, and you could do the same to them. With progression, advancement, and the race to better guns continues, it would give your faction a much greater reason to fight.

I would say there should be Faction Advancement as well as Outfit advancement. Enemies can try and halt your Faction advancement, and vice versa. Once you unlock a new Advancement level in the faction (Something that should take months to achieve with a big game of tug o war), you can unlock the next range of Upgrades, which provide slightly better benefits than the previous versions at a much steeper upkeep and build time so you can balance between "Bigger Better, Tougher and rarer" or "Faster, cheaper and more easily obtained." And you could strike a balance between the 2.

With Several advancement Ranks for every Faction, the game could continue feeling fresh for years as new Vehicles, weapons, armors and all their parts and combinations and such are unlocked through Research and Development.

Just throwing ideas out there. I like the Idea of a Dynamic World where customization allows for the most flexibility and creativity is rewarded instead of feeling like you're constantly being controlled in what you can and cannot do or make.