[i]I had a long reply written up, closed my laptop and lost all of it :( So here goes again[/i]

[@ClocktowerEchos]I agree completely that nations can be played like characters, sure. I think I misrepresented what I was trying to say-that is, in the context of building a game system, nations can't be treated like a standard, level-and-loot gaining character. Nations are simply too complex. What I'm taking from your ideas is that nations can be played to their characteristics. It seems like the standard nations pop up over and over again, the religious monarchy, the war-mongering horde etc. In later editions of D&D a GM can award points (hero points? Action points? I forget) when a player plays the character in a heroic fashion, or makes a choice that the character would obviously make-regardless if the outcome is decidedly bad. These points can be used for extra healing, an extra combat round etc. It's like saying 'hey, thanks for playing your character properly'. Alot of systems use this. I was just reading rules for Barbarians of Lemuria (like an old-school D&D variant set in a conan the barbarian like world) which uses these extra points a lot-from what I gather it is one of the main ways to increase your attributes. Something like that could be used in a nation game too. Thanks for the input Clock! 

[@Ashgan]Hey Man! I'm only briefly going to touch on the things you bring up (which are all really good points, thanks for reading and replying!)

On Culture- Glad you brought up the Hard and Soft Power thing. Sure, some nations will inevitably be weaker powers and have different strengths. I would love to have a system that can support economic warfare. Investing in foreign business', even buying politicians or court officials etc. would be a really good way to level the playing field for militarily weak nations. I suppose it wouldn't be all that different from genre to genre, just window dressing really. I like the way you think about the economic tug of war too, and your right, it doesn't exist in a vacuum. The circumstances surrounding economic balance and warfare are well beyond my own personal knowledge, but to make a simple, effective mechanic that could represent this complex idea would be invaluable. 

On Economy - Again, super complex concept. I would imagine more modern/sci-fi games would have more interlocking and complex economies, I'm not even going to attempt to understand what an actual interstellar economy would look like. Something like a feudal economy (albeit with magical elements-looking at you Eberron) is probably more manageable with my limited knowledge. I want these basic concepts to be as broad as possible so that smaller pieces of the game can fit within each one. I suppose that means the GM would have to define exactly what kind of game your about to play. Military simulation? Economy will be a good part of it, but not as much as dealing with resources and moving units, etc. An economic/social simulator type game might have more applications for a complex economy mechanic however. Hope that makes sense. I'll have to get to the other bits later. Already got my brain thinking beyond the scope of what I had envisioned. Thanks! 

I'll have to get to the other replies later my friends. Really looking forward to further discussion/collaboration!?