This brings me to an idea. Everywhere starts somehow. A legacy is built, and people cherish the place they’ve built. Perfection isn’t something that comes at first, it’s earned through hardships, mistakes and learning how to do better.
I was thinking what if there were monuments to establish a sense of wellbeing to the people (like a memorence of accomplishment). Stone Henge is something that still stands today, and people protect as a legacy and right. (Something of a save file, for your career in the game. Allowing you to develop skills and retain some technology in new games.)
What if the idea of “Stone Henge” was simple as a large rock was in the way of a road people wanted to build? Consider they move those rocks, in order to have their road. They are extremely large, and the people don’t currently have the means to move it. Hense, they built the road around the rock. The roads wouldn’t look so perfectly lined and it would give a sense of realism to the world.
Just saying I haven’t been to a town with straight roads like those images. Rivers, streams, rocks and other obstacles get in the way, so they build around those type of things.
The point is with development, things like technology are learned through skilled trades. Practices that develop machines or methods to accomplish the same goal better. Building a learning curve to unlock technology to accomplish goals you’ve practiced throughout the game, will allow cities to be better planned. For example say you want to build a new residential area, first you’ll plot it so your builders have foresight. They see the goal before committing to it. Next is planning, in order to have the tools and machines you need for any obstacles you face. They have resolve. Finally commitment, will prioritize workers for tasks they accel at, allowing them to get things done with in a reasonable amount of time and without injury. They have determination.
I think the idea is to have an end result, that shows the progress of your developing colony. Show how have experience works and planning can really make a difference of the quality of their work.