How much building game do you want in DA for your camp / base ?

The main problem I had with the upgrades to Skyhold was that it was purely cosmetic. Okay, so perhaps our herb garden was useful in growing yet more elf root but it merely reduced the amount of time I spent hunting for the stuff in the wilds, not made a significant different to any outcome. By contrast the Chantry garden simply meant I had to hear some annoying priestess chanting every time I neared the War Room.  As for the major upgrades to either a mage or templar tower, an infirmary or military practice ground, it made no difference at all. This may be partly because they backtracked on their original idea that you could customise either Skyhold or the other Keeps (not entirely sure which) to reflect your particular way of doing things. So if you wanted a focus on subterfuge or diplomacy, you upgraded accordingly and it could also reflect how much Chantry influence you wanted in the degree to which you developed religious structures. We got some sense of the latter with how we developed the Skyhold garden but the rest was dropped entirely and replaced with the choice of advisor for a War Table Mission impacting on how you were described in the epilogue. This was annoying because some choices actually impacted on how successful the mission would be and, at other times, waiting for your preferred way of doing things meant that War Table missions started to stack up. So in the end, where it made no difference to the outcome, it was better just to take whoever was free.  I found this disappointing as I was expecting something along the lines of the upgrades to the Normandy in ME2, which actually impacted on the survival of your companions. This made all the hunting for resources seem worthwhile beyond a mere academic exercise and some random badge/certificate to say you had done it. DAA was the same. Upgrading the Keep and equipping your soldiers in better armour made a difference to the outcome in the epilogue.

I honestly thought it would be the same in DAI the first time I played it and that the final showdown with Corypheus would be at Skyhold rather than back at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Then whether you had bothered with all the tedious hunting for resources would actually mean something because if you hadn't upgraded Skyhold in various ways, the outcome for various companions or groups of supporters might be radically affected. Imagine having the celebration party amid the ruins of the great hall or, alternatively, no celebration party but just a rather sombre funeral service because so many people had died?

That was part of the problem with DAI. There was no real sense of jeopardy, particularly to the PC but even the companions. It didn't matter who you chose for a task or a quest, you were always successful. I would have loved for not only the upgrades to have affected the outcome but also who I chose for various tasks when defending Skyhold against the enemy, again like ME2.

So I would not be averse to them doing something similar next game. Of course it might not be a fixed point base of operations but a movable one, such as a ship or one of those floating aravels - or both depending on which part of the game you are in - perhaps your sea bound ship will eventually start to float in the air.

Well then, I think it could be a combination of collecting resources and finding/buying stuff. Let's take the example of a ship as a floating base:

We could find iron or silverite deposits that can be used to reinforce the hull.
We could find a blacksmith to work on board to create better kit for the sailors and soldiers on the ship: we could find resources to aid him.
We could capture some Qunari cannons to use as weaponry: we could find upgrades to improve them.
We could kit out the captain's cabin with bed, furniture and other items.
We could find banners as we did in DAI, which we use for the sails and pennants.
We could discover the secret of ancient levitation magic that will enable the ship to fly.

The first 3 could make a difference to the outcome if we are attacked. The last might be necessary to advance the plot.

Something like this is my answer. I liked how DAO awakening did it personally. But things like hearthstone in skyrim were never my favorite things and I only do them once and replayability is one of the biggest things I want in a game. Basically only if it is gonna do something instead of just sit there and look cool.

I don't particularly care for cosmetic upgrades, but I'm okay with recruiting people to get bonuses. The War Table was a new thing and recruiting the folks helped bring down the timers, and that was nice. I also liked the monster hunting dynamic: Kill monsters, get their horns, drop them off for a damage upgrade.

I'd prefer things like that. Let's say I fight a lot of spiders and also spend time getting some poison plants, like deathroot. I should turn that in for a boost to my nature resistance.

I wouldn't like piece by piece building, but an upgrade system like the one in Skyhold would definitely be more than welcomed. However, it would have to be complete and finished!

If there's one thing I dislike about Skyhold is that despite all of the upgrades, the fort still has destroyed areas (one next to the war room, what? that can't be safe) dirty rooms and veins all over it. I still wish there was some kind of way to remove them.

So yeah if it's feature complete, no if it means I'm getting another Skyhold situation. Regarding gameplay I don't care that much. A cosmetic change is satisfactory enough for me.

I love Skyhold, but I'd prefer a smaller base, with upgrades both story related and side mission related. Like, I defeat a dragon/particularly vicious monster? The thopy is exposed over the fireplace in the common room (bonus if people that are there have ambient dialogue about it) or we explore some ruins? There is a cool statue/sword/painting recovered from there.
I like when the game offer some visual decoration as memento of the adventures my character have been in.

I'd like the chance to choose the style of my character personal chambers too. Like, my elf may be for comfort and more simple style, but my pampered and studious mage would prefer fine silks and lots of books everywhere. But I would prefer more something like in DAI, not choose every bit of forniture, just enought to have a "different" feeling from one character to the other.