Not sure if this belongs in the standard OpenXCom suggestions forum, it's more of a balance/gameplay tweak rather than anything modding related....
Currently, the standard advice is to always build your first base somewhere in Europe. Because your first base is free, you get the most bang for your buck this way and there's no real reason to choose anywhere else.
I propose a new setting be added, called something like "No Free Starter Base". When this is enabled, the player will start the game with an extra $1 Million, but their first base will cost the normal amount it would cost to build a base in the chosen region.
Because this doesn't make any sense as a togglable setting during gameplay, it should probably be in the new-game screen rather than the OXCE options menu. Maybe next to the Ironman button.
The purpose of this is to give players a reward (however minor) for building a starter base in other regions that maybe aren't as valuable. If you build a base in somewhere that costs $650,000 normally, then you'll have an extra $350,000 to play with, which is a nice bonus when setting up your initial base.
If not a setting, a way for mods to modify whether or not starter bases are free would be very welcome.
