The projects are need more requirements before unlocking them, it is just too easy to unlock them.
Why it should be implemented:
When starting a new airport and start with small aircrafts. While waiting for the money to expand the airport I can do the research of the projects and mostly I finished up all projects before getting my first medium aircraft. For me it is just sad to have all unlocked but did not get the airport next to the new thing.
Same occurs for baggage handling. I can just wait the “moment” for finish up the scanners tier 3 before building my baggage system. It removes the feature of making improvements in the running airport or restructure things.
Just an idea can be:
Finish up handling of xxxx baggage items in scanner tier 1 before unlock scanner tier 2 project
Turnaround xxx small / medium aircrafts to unlock medium / large aircraft project
Most projects can get a previous requirement for unlock.
The number of requirements brings some more minor goals in the game instead of waiting for money and it can be lowered or increased based on the selected difficulty.
If that’s implemented, I’d love to see some things available for unlocking earlier. For example I’m out of the ATC slots on my small planes airport right after building it, unless I research medium airplanes right away and then medium ATC, I just need the medium ATC without building any of the medium planes infrastructure.
As for the baggage, I always leave the tier 3 as the penultimate research, even after unlocking large planes, which will give me some 2 days without it on my my small airport (only program 3 is left for research as the last one, because it will be using part of the administrators earlier working on projects instead of hiring new specially for this).
Yes, some balancing for this is needed, as after researching all the projects in the 1st 4-5 days, using all 3 loans to build all of small infrastructure, I still need to wait until beginning of year 2 to start expanding the airport to medium airplanes, even if I have there 10’s of shops and restaurants making most of the money for the airport not from sales.