T3 town requiring a wooping 150 people is too many imo. You are basically forced into overdrive on the food part of resources to sustain that many. Not to mention building huge residential districts as a big bottleneck when the other requirements are much more in line.
Suggested fix: I think 30/60/100 would provide a smoother transition and better pacing.
Foundry and Blacksmith being at T3 feels really off. Not being able to smelt and utilize iron to make basic weapons and tools at T2 ruins the pacing as well and makes playing feel really off. You can’t really enjoy the game, have fun, take it at your own pace because you are basically rushing to T3 to avoid the heavy dependency on tools. Also it just feels really weird having mines and resource gathering at T2 - then you can’t do anything with it before T3.
Suggested fix: Move foundry and Blacksmith to T2. But keep T3 as a requirement to make your own heavy tools and smelt gold. Not being able to mine iron, smelt it, and make BASIC tools and weapons yourself at T2 is just silly imo. I think that heavy tools and smelting your own gold should stay at T3 requirement.
Bunkhouses. Game really needs some vertical housing options to take up less space. “real” houses can have more people but comes so late you’ll basically have to level half the city to optimize it.
Suggestion: Add bunkhouses. Houses that are 5x2 and are taller, with 8 people for each such building. With the penalty that families can not be raised in them (no children), only 2 tiers (Bunkhouse → Hostel), and a tax income penalty.
Roleplaying options. For example - Brothel as alternative to Theater. Can give villagers STDs but cheaper to make in mats and adds small taxation. Hybrid structure: Outlaw Den. Not as good as a pub or trading post, but serves both roles. Don’t underestimate the longevity increase this game will gain if you add thematic roleplaying stuff like this. There’s lot of potential here.
Flatten land need 3 options. “Raise ground” will average the ground like with flatten, but will add more height/land than what is averaged out. “Flatten” as is - averages out. “Lower Terrain” will average the ground like with flatten, but will remove more height/land than what is averaged out.
There is a MAJOR issue right now if you want to build mountain towns on mountain ledges and up the mountains etc. I’ve noticed, that flatten, even when raising ground, will eventually if enough flattening is done REMOVE land. Basically instead of terraforming a mountain, if you work long enough on it - it will disappear entirely. Like a clay figure being sculped and losing a tiny bit of mass each moment.
I COULD be wrong on this and misunderstanding the flatten tool. If I am - maybe more clear tooltip.
I have no further feedback. I’d rather leave less feedback but in the areas I feel is the most important, than a lot of small obvious general stuff. I hope this helps. Oh and… the game is fun as hell. Beautiful. Addictive. Great job guys Big hopes for this one.
That might be interesting in a game setting slider you can select when making your map. I quite like the slower pacing, but I can understand why others might want to just charge through.
Tools are a bonus, but not necessary. You’re supposed to buy those clubs as early weapons, but I prefer shooting bows from towers. The progression does feel odd the first time through, but on subsequent builds I’ve found factoring in those oddities a fun challenge. The clay mine is the only really useful one at t2. I guess you could sell the other ores at the trader. I think that’s the thing, the trader is meant to be a central mechanic. It feels a bit more like a settlement trader game than a settlement survival game (compared to frostpunk before the dlc).
I guess it’s a balance question. Setting up dense housing with sufficient desirability and close proximity to jobs is a big part of the challenge at the moment. I would worry a high capacity home with no desirability consideration would make this the preferable option whenever actual homes aren’t necessary
Yes please!
It is possible to not lose too much height if you’re clever. First build a 10x1 platform as high as possible (or something). Do this by flattening the highest 1x1 point and then adding one slope to it at a time. Then extend it out with 10x1 areas where only one square has is sloped down and do that about 4 times on the same spot until it is flat (you can stack the orders, don’t wait for each to finish before the next). Once that is done you step out to the new slope and inch your way along one sloped square at a time. If you want a big platform then start with a 10x10 area and do the inching trick in every second row and you’ll find the rows in between magically fill in too. To lower ground you do the opposite, ideally draining into a water edge tile because it can’t be raised and will pull everything down (be careful though it’ll make that area next to water unbuildable). If you want to make an impassable wall you do one of each with a gap between them.
So it is currently possible to do some crazy things with the limited terrain tool. It is fun needing to work with the landscape you’re given without the possiblity to make it be literally any shape (which raise and lower would let you do). But it is a bit tedious, hopefully they can reduce the tedium while keeping the interesting need to work with the landscape.
I hope you don’t mind metafeedback, just trying to add perspectives.
And you should be able to build walls and fortiications on steep slopes. Just visit the alps and you will see some impossible forts and walls.
Raiders should not be able to pass a place where you cant build a wall !
Getting tools immediately after T2 is really my priority despite most players wouldn’t mind at all. So once the trader/s bring it in I make sure to buy enough. I don’t think there is a need to change the mechanics of where foundry and blacksmith be available (not T2). Traders bring so many things and if you’re lucky you can have bricks and iron sooner.
Even if I struggle to fit in 25 shelters on my first area of settlement (I made 27) it is the most important thing that I wanted to accomplish. The rest of the shelters will be on the next area of expansion, so you will just need 13 more regardless if it’s just a shelter or can become homestead. Feeding 152 population isn’t really hard. Even with barns limited to tier 1 at T2 farms will always be there to augment food.
Staying in T2 a bit longer gives me more leverage to acquire many resources from traders. Getting my logs, firewood, and planks into thousands is one of my goal. Having a thousand of clay and a couple hundred of bricks and iron is next. If I can have sand, coal, iron ores, and gold ores (this not important) is a bonus. I upgrade to T3 around 200+ population filling all industries and gatherers regardless of labor/builders shortages which means I don’t have any upcoming builds and my resources are stable/established with the help from traders on mostly non-perishable items.
Since the game has a pause I’m trying to aim for death at old age if possible.
As a predecessor of the blacksmith, I want a place that makes tools with wood and stone.
I don’t have iron tools now, but I move with them. I’m breaking that big rock with my bare hands.
I don’t really care about the presence or absence of tools because I’m just shortening the work time now.
The trading post is also good, but there is not enough money.
The tools that women sell are always expensive.
Big hopes for this one.