It seems like the ability to research and build better defensive structures is really needed. This is especially true for the tribal types who are trying to re-establish their village in a way that can defend against the devil machines from the stars. After almost being wiped out once you'd think defense and long term security would be their TOP priority.
Here is a short list of ideas I think could be easily implemented:
- Replace sand bags (which somehow take steel?) with fences of different sizes that can be climbed over or broken down. Some fences can be shot over if you build tall defensive turrets, or if the wall is short enough for people to shoot over them. Fences can be made of different materials and the cost depends on how tall the wall is. They show up as a skinnier "wall" and the different heights are shown if you mouse over them.
- Add a "patrol" job and let us set up patrol areas where "guards" and trained animals can keep a watch out for hostiles.
- Add in blowguns and poison darts made from local plants to help primitive tribes fight effectively against people with grenades? Some darts could immediately cause short term paralysis allowing tribesmen to take out and capture humanoid pawns with superior technology. It should cost a lot for regular colonists to research this.
- Rope snares set in trees to try to capture raiding pirates.
- Throwing nets and bolos as weapons for the same purpose.
- Colonists should be able to research smarter, more effective, and longer range turrets over time.
- Potentially robotic patrol units to help keep your colonists away from the front lines.
I'd love to see firing ports — constructable walls that colonists can fire through, but enemies can't path through. That would give me a lot of new flexibility in creating pillboxes and other defensive structures. (By all means, little raiders, conga-line right up to the front door while death rains on you from the sides...)
Fighting positions (foxholes) would be nice, but I don't know if they'd be worth the development cost for what they'd add to the game, nor whether their advantages would fit easily into existing game mechanics.
Abatis (terrain that is deliberately slow and dangerous to traverse) or concertina wire would be nice as well. You can somewhat do it by creating a stockpile and filling it with rock chunks, but I believe those provide a cover bonus to enemies; ideally I'd want something that slows attackers, but doesn't make them any harder to hit. ;)