i think that's a super solid analysis. that's more or less how i would've liked to do it if i had more time. to be honest i hadn't really thought abut the 50 steps thing, which is a pretty big oversight. you can almost picture two different games because of it... i do like that as a texture, but having two concepts available to contrast with each other now, i can appreciate what valdivia turned into a little more.
if i had WAY more time i probably would've had a more complex economy and diverse range of items to buy, and designed distances around investment calculus, and as i type this i'm realizing the 1-hour limit is the only thing stopping this from spiraling into a full-blown maritime trading sim. probably for the best!