I had mentioned in another suggestion the time it takes to explore and the monotony of it. To that same end, maybe having the ability to upgrade certain parts of your ship separate of upgrading the ship itself. Improve the mast or add more masts as an example to slightly reduce travel time. Increased food and grog storage to allow for longer treks, some sort of ballistics research to increase damage to pirate ships. Thoughts?
I like the idea, but in the end with everything max leveled, everyone will still end up with the same ship
