Just picked up the Early Access game, and have only managed to play for a few hours, but have to comment here on the first thing that leaped out at me about the game:
No rivers, no streams, no marshes full of waterfowl.
All three of these were Hugely important for early/Medieval settlements, and while I understand that the design team has already commented that Water Is A Problem they aren’t going to tackle until after initial Full Release, I’d like to throw out my two groat’s worth on the subject.
First, Resources.
Rivers and streams are great sources of fish that are more easily accessed than in lakes or coastal areas. And they lend themselves to fixed net fishing that provides massive amounts of Food. The Native Americans living along the Columbia (admittedly, a Mega River by any game’s standards) had so much smoked, dried, preserved fish that they practically threw it at the Lewis & Clark Expedition when they came by.
Just as important, nets and hunting in stream/marsh areas give access to Waterfowl - geese and ducks that provide not only large amounts of meat, but also feathers for insulation, bedding, decoration and archery (goose feathers were preferred for English longbow arrows, for example).
Second, Manufacturing.
One of the great ‘advances’ in the Medieval Era was the application of water and wind power via geared mechanics to producing all kinds of goods. Not only waterwheels to grind grain into flour, but also to saw wood and stone, pound fiber into felt and process cloth and leather. The Doomsday Book in England listed over 6000 Mills in the late 11th century - there was scarcely a town of any size without multiple Mills in use.
Third, Movement/Trade. Before the railroad, there was no moving large, heavy loads or amounts for any long distance except by Water. Even a small rivercraft could carry 10 - 30 tons of goods, while even the best Medieval wagon maxed out at 1 - 2 tons AND you had to find feed for the oxen that hauled it at a plodding pace across the landscape. A town on a river/coast with a pier had a huge advantage over any settlement without access to water transport. That could add not only piers, wharfs and warehouses along the river/coast, but also a small riverboat/trading ship construction industry requiring specialized carpentry and wood and ironworks resources - and cordage from flax or hemp crops.
Fourth. Construction.
Getting across a river or stream provides a whole new set of Buildings/constructions to work in the game. People have asked about being able to build bridges across water elsewhere in the Forum. I’d just point out that there is a sort of hierarchy in Water Crossing:
Ford - you wade across the shallow part. But your wagons and carts may or may not be able to get across if the surface underwater is muddy, so moving Loads of Goods is problematic.
Ferry - somebody builds a boat (or, more often, a simple raft) and poles other people, goods, and wagons across for Pay.
Bridge. And these come in an increasingly-expensive variety: simple wooden foot bridges, braced wooden road bridges for wagons et all, and finally stone bridge piers that will Cost You - but can be strong enough to also hold entire houses and support Gate Houses another fortifications.
And, of course, any spring a flood may carry away any wooden bridge or ferry/raft, an in the winter extra-heavy ice pack may crush any wooden bridge.
A Water DLC could add a lot of new things to the game and whole new tiers of construction of transport, trade, production, and town building. Once you commit to ‘working the water’, there’s no sense leaving out any of the exploitation of the waterfront that was typical of the medieval Era . . .