OK, so the Alpha 17 update focused on roads, rivers and expansion to world generation.
I would presume that most of the content for Alpha 18 is done, so there's no point in suggesting content for the next update.
But if Alpha 19 had a theme, this is definitely what the update should focus on: a complete faction rework.
I mean, I know this has been suggested plenty of times before. Look at the first page of the suggestions thread, and you'll probably find at least three faction-related discussions. But doesn't this make it even more obvious of a thing to do? So many people want it!
Sure, you can add other things in Alpha 19 too (such as a food policy system... plz) but I think it should focus on factions.
Main things I think it would be good to add:
- More factions. Two to three outlanders, one to two tribes and a pirate faction can get quite boring. You should be able to meet factions from all technology levels, not just caveman and modern level. For example, what about medieval factions? They could be able to use more advanced weapons than tribes in battle and even start sieges using catapults. Then what about spacer-tier factions? This would be similar to the mechanoid faction, but friendly by default. They will have super-expensive high tier stuff to trade with you. If you anger them, then you'll have to face charge rifles and miniguns in raids, as well as EMP mortars during sieges.
- Countries/nations: Again, this has been suggested before and it seems like a valid and realistic idea. Why would every faction have an equal spread of settlements across the world? It makes sense that they would be clustered into "nations". The overall amount of communities would be the same, it's just that factions would have their communities close to each other. If you're in friendly territory then there's less chance of raids and higher chance of caravans from that faction. If you're in enemy territory, the opposite is true.There would also be a lot of "wilderness" that nobody has claimed. There can still be outposts outside a certain faction's borders, but the majority of communities of a certain faction should be close to each other.
- Customizable/highly varied size and number: These nations could vary in size and greatly vary in number. In one world, there may be only one pirate faction which might have taken over half the entire planet, while in another there may be many small, individual pirate factions. While in another, there are just tribes and medieval factions. This could be customizable in the world generation screen.
- Ancient civilisation: Alpha 17 world generation involves shallowly simulating an ancient civilisation by creating ancient roads and highways. What if there were actual ancient, abandoned sites to visit? Kind of like the ancient dangers, but bigger. These would be high-risk high-reward things. You could find a ruined city filled with unguarded loot, or you could find a huge insect hive that has lain dormant for generations. Or you could find yourself in a radioactive wasteland filled with mechanoid sentries that are guarding an ancient monolith. I mean, Tynan has already added ancient roads and highways. Why not step it up with full-on, ruined cities? It would add a sense of adventure to the game.
I think that the idea of factions is a great idea, it just needs a lot more work. Add other stuff in Alpha 19 too, but factions should be a large priority IMO. With Rimworld, there's a whole world to explore. There's just not enough stuff to explore right now.
Oh, I just realised that someone already suggested the exact same stuff that I suggested here, but with 5 times better suggestions. Oh well! I just want to emphasize the fact that so many of us want a faction rework. It would be amazing if this was done soon.
Also, I have less suggestions. Just adding these four things would take a lot of time. But I think it would be worth it. It would result in a much more enjoyable and immersive experience.
Is it just possible for you to copy here the link to this awesome five times better topic ;) ?
Countries with boarders who expand and contract their empires through conquest.
Here my thought regarding factions in gameplay.
- what about the opportunity to join a faction? Through a proposal or a request to enter a faction, the colony can be part of it. With duties and benefits (requests become mandatory, more interactions with allies and so on).
- I think allied cities should be positioned closer one to others, perhaps exploiting ancient routes... exactly as an empire funds new centers. I expect not to see any city in deserted/unfertile areas, but more crowded temperated+river+streets areas...
- Factions and strategic resources: To improve realism and gameplay, I see for Rimworld a gradual reform to most important resources. Factions would create new villages close to them in order to exploit quickly. Gold, silver, iron, (copper? other resources to be created and made precious for some reasons), should become slightly harder to find, precious and should be grouped into huge and still partially exploited mines, to give new challenge and more realism to the game. Obviously a little quantum of base resources should be easily available, to substain first days of survival. Resources management should tend to Civilization, whom resources management is probably one of most interesting aspect.
- Position on the planet should be crucial, to me. Choose to fund a colony into a place like a desert and flourish should become almost impossible.
Fall close to a river and a forest, not distant to a rich, pacific alliance should multiply the opportunity to survive and flourish.
This is supposed to be a wild world without any real organization so I'm against and kind of nation states or borders. The more factions would be nice, but people are already modding that in. For the game I'd like to see something more substantial. Adding in an ability to move by water would be nice. Use Rivers to get to the ocean and sail/exploit the waters would probably not be easy, but the additional challenge (especially if there is a faction that acts like the Vikings of old and will sail up rivers to raid.) would definitely make the game more interesting.
Right now the game thrives partly on its simplicity. The player not only makes most of the decisions, he knows to a point how they will play out. The game needs to keep that philosophy, in my opinion.
Quote from: dogui on August 28, 2017, 07:44:23 AM
Here my thought regarding factions in gameplay.
- what about the opportunity to join a faction? Through a proposal or a request to enter a faction, the colony can be part of it. With duties and benefits (requests become mandatory, more interactions with allies and so on).
- I think allied cities should be positioned closer one to others, perhaps exploiting ancient routes... exactly as an empire funds new centers. I expect not to see any city in deserted/unfertile areas, but more crowded temperated+river+streets areas...
- Factions and strategic resources: To improve realism and gameplay, I see for Rimworld a gradual reform to most important resources. Factions would create new villages close to them in order to exploit quickly. Gold, silver, iron, (copper? other resources to be created and made precious for some reasons), should become slightly harder to find, precious and should be grouped into huge and still partially exploited mines, to give new challenge and more realism to the game. Obviously a little quantum of base resources should be easily available, to substain first days of survival. Resources management should tend to Civilization, whom resources management is probably one of most interesting aspect.
- Position on the planet should be crucial, to me. Choose to fund a colony into a place like a desert and flourish should become almost impossible.
Fall close to a river and a forest, not distant to a rich, pacific alliance should multiply the opportunity to survive and flourish.
Yeah, these are all nice points! Also I too would love to see boats/some way to travel over water added to the game. Also, one-tile island maps surrounded by water would nicely compliment the feature of boats. It means that building a colony next to the ocean isn't always going to be safe from that side anymore. Sea raids/merchant boats would be less common than their land-lubber counterparts, but the raids are just as dangerous, if not more dangerous.
Me too I don't like the idea of official borders, and nor I think Rimworld should become a copy of CIV.
The point I am really interested in, is how factions born, grows, "survive" or dead.
A faction can be much more than a label on some random colonies spread on the planet surface.
Realistically, a faction, a legacy of colonies is the result of a slow, historical process of small communities grouping together and connecting themselves.
This process follows some rules of convenience, opportunity and collaboration valuation.
Surviving needs organization and factions exist just to satisfy needs and obtain some advantages.
My dream is a game in which when the planet is generated all inhabitants (250? 500-1000? humans) are mapped, and factions (7-12 factions) are mapped too. Classified in types* which have same characteristics/traits, factions would grow very slowly and maybe have objectives to persecute (example: control totally a precious resource) and eventually be deleted by enemies.
Exiting pawns can eventually join other factions or be indipendent.
Last: to respect realism, I think if you fall very close to a pacific faction...well the easy, simpliest, smart way to grow and survive is to accept the offer to join in.
Immagine a group of survivors made up of engineers and scientist. Anyone should offer to join and contribute to the growth of the community.
I dislike the idea of borders too.
When I think about a faction area, I think about a territory where most of the bases own to it.
It can be some others (vassals) factions bases among them.
It will lead to a world map with more bases but these one would be grouped especially in pleasant biomes.
Quote from: NeverPire on August 16, 2017, 07:24:04 AM
Is it just possible for you to copy here the link to this awesome five times better topic ;) ?
Here https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=32940.0
this job of Xerdun is really well done
Quote from: NeverPire on August 29, 2017, 10:41:42 AM
I dislike the idea of borders too.
When I think about a faction area, I think about a territory where most of the bases own to it.
It can be some others (vassals) factions bases among them.
It will lead to a world map with more bases but these one would be grouped especially in pleasant biomes.
Fair enough. I don't really think actual borders are necessary either, but to me it doesn't make sense that all faction bases are roughly equally distributed around the world (with less bases in extreme biomes of course). It would make more sense if the factions were smaller, both in terms of the amount of bases and in terms of the territory they encompass. So the bases of a certain faction will all be grouped close together, with a few "outposts" scattered around the map too. Also, each faction could have a "capital" in the middle of this group of factions. Each faction only has one. A capital would basically be a regular town, but bigger, and with more goods for sale. Also, you would usually find the faction leader in a capital city. But even though I don't think actual borders are necessary, I think that each faction should be able to influence the land near them - so you get more raids near a hostile base, more caravans near a friendly base and a normal amount when not near any base.
Also, giving factions the ability to grow and shrink or even be destroyed would be awesome.
I definitely think that two settlements of the same faction should at least have some connection. Like being near each other, or being on the same road or trade route.
Quote from: McBobbish on August 30, 2017, 03:44:58 AM
I definitely think that two settlements of the same faction should at least have some connection. Like being near each other, or being on the same road or trade route.
Or linked by a watercourse if water transportation is added.
Did you read the Xerdun comment, guys? It was an excellent work.
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=32940.0
Being Rimworld is a game that three people with their escape capsules fall on an unknown planet, which has pirates, tribe and robot mecha {An advanced planet}.
It would be nice to be able to create robots to do some simple activity. {Transport, clean, cut, and other things}
I certainly think regional laws would be a very interesting premise : laws simply acting as an additional pressure by local factions which effects relationships, trade, and other elements. Its not like disobeying a province laws wouldn't be impossible, but doing so might piss people off if caught, and would form certain reactions from groups which would be sanctioned. Like imprisoning drug smugglers on the road, fining people for sexual immorality, and confiscation of prohibited weapons... Not like you couldn't disobey, say "fuck the police" and either intimidate or incapacitate the enforcers, but doing so would cause some pretty heavy ramifications.
.... You could also go for a regional power grab maybe, overthrowing local government and inserting your own, gathering tax wealth, but also being responsible for everything that goes on afterwards.
Maybe a little too civ style, but I like the idea of the somewhat messy law setup.
There will be no A18 and there definitely will be no A19. RimWorld is in beta development stage now, this is why the current version is labeled B18. The next major release will be B19.
Devs have also stated they will not introduce any new major game mechanics until the official release.
I dont believe we need most of the suggestions for the mere reason of current backstory/lore.
all we know currently is that (in the first scenario) you crash landed and wanna get off the planet as soon as possible. there is no need or time to join local politics, you will always just be a group of survivors fending for themselves.
i guess the rich explorer and the almost eradicated tribe have reasons to stay, but not really to engage in politics. why would a tribe that lost almost all its members to the blood machines or however they were called, care about other outlanders? they are happily off without them. and the other tribes dont seem to be much better because often they are raiders themselves like the pirates.
that said, i would enjoy some more decision making in the story, like when you have to decide if you take the refugee or not, but maybe this time from the other side. the ones that are chasing the refugee ask you to try and hold him up with weapons if needed and that they'll come soon to detain him. you'd get a small reward of 100 silver for this.
that pawn could be a drug, arms or even precious metal (plasteel, (jade,) gold, uranium, silver) smuggler, so if you catch that pawn and decide not to give him or her to the other faction you could keep whatever they were holding of course. arms dealers could retaliate of course, but soon after the other faction would come for the rescue if the charge rifle they were smuggling was too much for your tribal start. even better, if they were smuggling drugs, you wouldnt find anything. you could just detain the pawn no problem and should you decide to keep the pawn, he or she will get certain symptoms that only body transporters have (where you swallow packages with drugs in them, smuggle them and them excrete them. quite dangerous, especially if you get into a fight and the packages explode) so our docs will have something interesting to work on and you'll be rewarded with drugs (everything aside from beer and smokeleaf joints and raw materials is possible, so flake, yayo, wake up, go juice and luciferium)
another possibility would be to have a faction with very good reputation give you an alert that there is a spy amongst us (most likely the last pawn to join) and you were to decide what to do. the spy could decide to join any raiding faction the next time they raid, but you can incapacitate him or her and execute for a mood buff or detain him forever (recruit would be at 100%) or you could just kill him like that but you'd get the usual debuff.
another possibility would be to have a medium group of friendly survivors ask you for safety because they are running from an inferno. soon enough, many tiles all over the border of your map would start to burn, i guess how the rest plays out is obvious.
or maybe some pirates could be chased by an army of mechanoids which hopelessly outshoot the pirates and you could decide to either try and kill both the pirates and the mechs or try to pit them against eachother (eventhough the pirates are fleeing) and try to help kill the mechs or maybe even tell them while they are coming that you'll personally shoot them in the head if they decide to step a foot on your land. actually all these should be options when it pops up: 1) yeah come here we will help you fight them off (but afterwards the remaining pirates turn hostile), 2) ignore message to kill them all, 3) tell them not to come (which in turn gives you two small raids from opposite sides of the map next time out of revenge.
overall, two small raids at once should definitely be an option, not just randy random deciding to screw you over with two full raids
another idea on how to involve more factions would be that certain faction prohibit the use of certain items. some factions ban all drugs, some only the hard drugs and some even just luciferium. if you own drugs that you didnt burn (yes burn, not sell) then you'll get lower faction respect or whatever it is called every so often by friendly factions that prohibit them. you can of course compensate this by donating enough silver as always, which might make up for producing and selling the drugs, just like in real life corruption is worth it for the major drug lords.
or certain factions could dislike the way you dispose of dead bodies. cannibalism would only be tolerated by few tribes, but most will ask you to either make proper graves, sarcophagi, or even cremate them with the according bench. molotov cocktails and letting corpses rot in a corner of the map or in a house for the dead is looked down upon by some factions. letting your animals take care of the dead (by eating them without you chopping their bodies up) would be considered ok by most factions, but then again your animals might take too long feasting upon the corpses and they start to rot or the other factions will get pissed for taking too long for the burials/cremations.
should the sanitary/drinking water mod ever be implemented you could also add that. outlanders wont respect you if you dont have toilets and so on.
tl;dr: i dont think national states are the way to go for RimWorld. more interactions with other factions aside from trading, calling for help and refugee chases would be very nice though.