First, I would like to say I love the game so far. The graphics are amazing and I could play the game for hours on end. The ideas I would like to propose are adding stone quarries for gathering stone late in game and foresters to maintain long term lumber production.
Early game, it is often rather easy to stockpile on stone using gathering and work camps but later in game it can become difficult to find stone deposits, leading the stagnation in building. I don’t think this in itself is bad but to mitigate it’s potential impact, I would like a stone quarry to be able to steadily collect stone. This building would take a relatively large area and would require labor to clear the soil above the stone but once the initial work is done, you can send a relatively large work force (approximately 8) there in order to collect stone. Each quarry would have a certain amount of stone available based off of the initial elevation, causing players to plan out areas that will eventually just become a pit once mining is complete. For the gathering rate, I think anything above 50 stone a month with full workers would be too much but I’m sure it would have to be tested to find the best balance between encouraging exploration and steady returns.
The other idea is to have a building similar to the arborist but to take the focus away from fruit trees. I would like the building to be able to automatically plant saplings in a pattern more like that of a natural forest and then be able to chop down trees upon reaching maturity. The intent would be a building able to provide longer term sources of wood without relying on making the outside of your city a sprawling wasteland from work camps. I would expect them to require at most four people in order to maintain a work area equivalent to that of a work camp and they would chop down trees at a slower rate than that of a work camp due to them also having to plant and tend to saplings.
I don’t think either of these items are mandatory but I do believe they would have a significant aspect to gameplay as players must remember to maintain natural resources late in game. Both buildings would require cities with larger populations to maintain operation without pulling people from other roles but I think it would be an important aspect to consider. I look forward to the rest of the additions you make to the game, thank you for your time.