Alright, so, one of the things that bugged me early on was that my colonists got unhappy thoughts from sharing a bedroom.
Fair enough, some folk are antisocial and all, but, it makes me think... Why? Some people are going to form friendships tight enough that they don't mind rooming together... And eventually, some folk are going to form relationships tight enough that they'd actively prefer to sleep next to one another. Without any clothes on, if you get my meaning...
I'm talking about sex, obviously. Hell, one of the possible character backgrounds is courtesan!
This is the kind of thing that's probably slated for later on, but I'd like it if we could build 2x2 beds. These could give people a happy thought - I have a huge bed! We must be doing kind of well - and could be shared with someone they fell in love with, or at least find agreeable enough to share a bed with. That doesn't necessarily have to be a sexual relationship, and attitudes on it could differ based on origins. A medieval worlder might well simply shack up with a friend for warmth and someone to talk to at night, giving them a sociable chat before bedtime and both of them a happy thought for having great digs, while urbworlders might be quite private and not prefer to share quarters unless they're shagging someone.
And, of course, there is that courtesan you picked up from a slave ship/who came wandering by. S/he (can they be male?) might well take someone into their bed just because they're having a rough time (IE, they're close to a mental break,) simply to cheer them up. Or, of course, folk might just get to boning their friends.
So, what I propose, broken down, is...
1: Beds. 2x2 large beds, possibly even 3x2 kingly beds, for extra fun and luxury!
1a: Beds which are larger than 1x2 could sleep two or even three people. Only one person could be the owner of the bed, but if their relationship with others is good enough, their friends/lovers will come join them.
1b: If people are on good terms, they don't get unhappy thoughts from bunking up in the same room, no matter the size of their bed.
1c: People who bunk in the same room will automatically have a chat before bed, and if allowed to wake up on their own, after sleeping as well.
2: Sex! When and if an interpersonal relationship system is established, it should track characters' sexuality and relationships - people should start to get friendly with the person who's always chatting, etcetera. If two characters' sexuality is aligned, they can shag in any bed or on a sleeping spot. Obviously, a desperate shag on the hard ground is probably not going to be as relieving to the mind as a soft, slow lovemaking session on a massive, kingly 3x2 bed.
2a: Pregnancy? Let's not, not unless you really want some Dwarf Fortress action going on. It would probably be safe to say that the nutrient paste incorporates some very strong birth control, as it can be safely assumed that in any situation where you're eating it regularly, let alone on a day-in, day-out basis, you're not in a good position to raise children. Or hell, say that the "Potato" and "Accel-potato" plants are contraceptive in and of themselves.
2a.1: If you do decide to allow pregnancies, don't forget about menopause, and the fact that some women might have had birth control implants or their ovaries out.
2b: Courtesans should be a special case. Sleeping with people is old hat to them, after all. Shagging a courtesan should give a larger morale boost than sleeping with most folk, but unless the courtesan really likes the person, they won't get much out of it, and if they don't like the person at all, they could actually get an unhappy thought from it! They should probably prioritize persons who are near to mental break, with the lowest loyalty coming first.
Anyway, just some first thoughts on it. I really do wish I could sleep these colonists two to a palatial room and have them not ready to chew each others' faces off in the morning.
Forming bonds, relationships et cetera, et cetera? All for it.
But seriously, keep sex for where it belongs. There is absolutely no reason why there should be even a mention of it in such a game.
All sex I want and can tolerate from this game can be summed up in "Adam is now in relationship with Eve".
I'm with galileus. Maybe 2x2 beds is as far as you should go in such a game imho.
Getting bad thoughts from sharing a bedroom is something that could be reconsidered taking relations in account.
I'm not suggesting they go out and animate any boinking. Just that when two folks share a bed and are shagging, they have a conversation icon with a heart in it or something.
With all due respect, your language and fascination does not do you credit on that front. I find it hard to believe you have anything other on mind than just to get a few giggles. And for your few giggles you can do well without - quite a lot of people would feel disgusted.
Here's some lecture for you, real good stuff one way or another: catch! (http://v=xp6gxzpvgd4)
On the off topic, I just yesterday investigated the Cross Assault incident... wondering, how could that even happen. Well...
babies/ children wouldn't certainly be a good addition to the game..but I'm sure the dev has all of that in mind.
Quote from: Galileus on November 06, 2013, 05:24:05 PM
With all due respect, your language and fascination does not do you credit on that front. I find it hard to believe you have anything other on mind than just to get a few giggles. And for your few giggles you can do well without - quite a lot of people would feel disgusted.
Maybe it's not intended, but you're coming off pretty prudish here. I think it's perfectly okay for sex and relationships to be in the game, (Especially how ShadowDragon describes, simple hearts above the bed) and the layers of mental effects it would add would be large.
Plus, this game has courtesans already, and is inspired by Firefly. I don't see a problem there... Personally, I'd even love to see the ability to run a viable courtesan colony to add that extra sim layer to the game.
Again, nothing has to be graphic, or gender-centric - but I'd like to see more relationships.
As I've already said, it's the tone of the message that gets me worried the most. Of course, little heart icon, bla bla, sex, humping, sex, shagging, laying on the spot in desperation... yeah, sounds like it's mature and very delicate description. If he would only use frells. At least style points for that.
And no, it's not perfectly ok and it's not perfectly not ok for relationships and sex to be in a game. As in movies and/or literature. Even more so in games, taking into account this medium is most known for it's overuse of sexual themes. The only real question to ask is: do we need it? Does the narrative get better with the addition of sexual content? In this case: no.
For relationships - I'm all for it. But let's be sincere, it's going to be as thin as it can get. You can make up your own stories, you can imagine things going on, but there will never be a level of intimacy presented in this game - a level of emotional involvement - that would come even close to justify any attempt at including sex into the mix. Sex in narrative is used to show this final step, final joining and trust of two people and their happiness to be together - but for that to have any chance of impact, we need to be involved with them. More than that, we need to know them and understand them, and have an insight into what obstacles they had to overcome as a pair and each other alone. Fail in that point and you end up with porn. And if you end up with porn in pixelized form in a game that was supposed to be about building and managing, that's a sad state of affairs.
Look at Mass Effect for example - it had great budget, great story writers (that got fired half the way through 2nd one, THANKS EA!) and great graphics. And it failed at it's try to create a touching and involving sex scenes. It came out juvenile, disjointed and overall sad. I'm sure there were people who... enjoyed... them, but for all I (and all known to me guys and media) care, the game would be straight off better without them. Now, it's not to say it can't be done - Dragon Age (at least the first one... THANKS, EA!) had a much better luck with it, showing a bit more emotions to sex and filling it with nice little touches here and there. Because in DA:O it was never really about the sex in itself, it was just a way to convey emotions behind it and tell a story. And yet... still kinda lousy.
Love icon when they are together? Sure, that's sweet and all. But that was not the presented case. Love icon when they are frakking? And you will think I'm nitpicking here - I am, but for a good reason and even better cause. You follow that little misstep and will be reminded, that this is <frakking>, not just little cute love icon. There is no place for sex in this narrative, and if any good would occur (due to story events or such), it all should be kept tightly locked behind the doors.
I try to be as informative in expressing my opinion as I can, but in all seriousness I can't get past one simple thought: "Sex in a base building game? WHAT THE FRELL!?"