Hello,
First, I would like to reach out to you again to say how immensely grateful I am to you, because you have managed to create a game that is both balanced and, above all, coherent. While it is certainly somewhat stylized, it is also thankfully very comprehensive and geared toward realism, which is fantastic!
That being said, I would humbly and politely like to present my suggestions to you. They are primarily aesthetic in nature, but they would also introduce a little gameplay variety, since this game is so beautiful and fascinating to watch.
I do not know whether you have considered my previous suggestions regarding the addition of seas and rivers, with, of course, the possibility of building a maritime trade port, as well as adding the carpenter profession, which would allow us to build our boat or boats in order to carry out this maritime trade.
So, my new proposal is that carpenters should also be able to build lifting cranes for the purpose of handling large quantities of goods.
These lifting cranes would look very much like the one we can see in the magnificent fresco of the technology tree, in the manufacturing section. They would mainly require wood and a small amount of metal for the pulleys, as well as some linen for the ropes. These cranes would have to be placed directly next to historically compatible and coherent production buildings, such as sawmills and foundries. The buildings in question would need to be at level two, and the cranes would be connected to them, since they would require a worker belonging to the production building. This worker would be temporarily assigned to the crane in order to operate it and load the goods accumulated on a dedicated platform. Therefore, while loading the goods, that same worker would be unable to manufacture anything.
As for the quantity of goods, it would be three times greater than the maximum amount that a traditional cart can carry. This quantity of goods would accumulate in a dedicated storage area at the crane and, for balancing purposes, would replace the accumulation of goods in the standard storage area of the production building. If the player wishes to return to the original storage system, they could do so through the production building’s interface menu.
Obviously, once again for reasons of balance and consistency, the accumulated quantity of goods could only be loaded from the crane onto new carts equipped with two axles (like the one present when our settlement is founded). This type of cart would require unlocking a new building that would be almost identical to the one used for traditional carts. These carts would automatically move into the loading area as soon as the quantity of goods accumulated by the production building reaches its maximum capacity.
Finally, these carts would transport the goods to the port, where they could be loaded onto a merchant ship. As for the cranes, they would be considered buildings; however, they could not be repaired by builders. They would have a reasonable lifespan, but it would not be infinite. Eventually, they would become damaged, at which point a construction request would have to be made to the carpenters.
A few technical improvement suggestions:
- Add a heat-haze effect at the top of the glassworks chimney while it is operating.
- Add animations of villagers sitting down at the tavern’s outdoor tables while they are eating and drinking.
- Add an animation of the blacksmith using the forge’s bellows.
- Add an animation of soldiers training at the barracks while they are stationed there.
That’s all! I hope these suggestions are of interest to you. Thank you very sincerely for your time and consideration, and I hope you have a wonderful day.
Kind regards.