I think it’d be nice for there to be more random events happening in and around our towns that relate to villager life and require some level of engagement for us to manage and enable.
We have bandit raids and extortion, wild animal attacks, rogue animals, trader visits, illness and injuries, droughts and blizzards but nothing much relating to civic/villager life except drunken villager rampages which are mostly an annoyance.
Building a theater and pub (or, if we get one, an inn) should attract bards and theater troupes to our towns in the summer, boosting entertainment and happiness. We could see them roll up in carnival wagons and perform outside the theater.
Building a festival pole should give us the option to prepare for some kind of themed festival once a year, requiring us to stockpile certain seasonal foods and items for the event, which then gives us a productivity boost because our villagers are so happy. Maybe there could be four kinds of festival according to which season we choose to host it in, each conferring different bonuses and having different requirements. Or the festival themes and bonuses could synchronize with whatever relics we have in our temples, given how religion and festivities were often closely linked in medieval times.
We could get rogue gangs of naughty children stealing food and supplies as a consequence of not having enough schools to keep kids occupied. Or at least let us see them playing around town and in parks. Since kids don’t do much until they grow up (except steal tools, for some reason), the least they could do is be entertaining.
Events that give more life and usage to the buildings we have in town, as well as things for less productive members to do until they come of age, would be appreciated. I’m sure other players have fun ideas to complement mine.
The idea of having some festivals you can plan anytime or in a recurring date was also an idea I brought up times ago, so I strongly support this. With the addition of the Festival Pole, feasts can be declared, by chosing from a list of a few options depending on what effect you want to achieve. Festivals can cost an amount of gold and possibly other resources depending on specific festival, so with food or pottery or beer or any other consumable. Effects can be various, can be a temporary boost on productivity on a specific production line, or an increase of happiness, or a boost in defense ability. Would also be nice to see some free citizens gathering around the Festival Pole during the festival event for a short time.
This would also make the Festival Pole a bit more interesting than just being another construction which simply boosts desirability.
I like the idea mentioned in this thread of having some festivals, and also of showing more street life, whether it be folks hanging around the tavern or visiting shrines and markets, or kids playing outside. Also, no dogs and cats wandering around?
I believe the last update before v1.0 will add improvements to the simulation of villagers’ lives. The State of Early Access says we’ll be able to see them visiting markets and shrines, for example. I hope there’s other stuff too, like kids going to school and villagers using the parks and benches. Give me all the immersive simulation visuals!! And yes, dogs and cats would be great. We have rats, but no cats?
Agreed. The rat catcher could use some terriers, and food storage places could have cats for a lower rate of rate infestation.
I did just notice that children do occasionally appear on the street, heading to school or fetching supplies for their homes. Not sure how I missed that before. But they never seem to play or anything, even when they are “idle.”
I also noticed I have one household in my current village that is all children and no adults. Intrepid orphans? No adults have died yet, though.
In general the rat catcher should be upgraded to meet the high tier buildings. Current rat catchers’ design looks terrible compared with manors and other city buildings. And you’re forced to place them in the middle of the city.
Agreed about the rat catcher building. Maybe the upgrade should allow the rat catcher to have dogs/cats, more sophisticated traps, at their disposal, and that could greatly increase their efficiency and range?
Now I am thinking of that “ew” moment I get when I am dining on the patio at a decent restaurant or shopping for groceries and I espy one of those plastic “bait stations” not so discreetly placed along the side of the building. In the end, there is nothing “classy” about rodent infestations or the remedies for the problem, no matter what neighborhood one is in.