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I just started a new colony on a huge map and there was this great granite building nearby with nice resources. It was about eight tiles from the edge of the map . . . and normally it would be just inside the border of where you can build so I quickly outlined a stockpile and was really excited . . . until I went to place a door . . .

On the larger map size the edge seems to get bigger too . . . Turns out only ONE square of "my" building was inside the border. I could put a stockpile there, I could walk there, I could deconstruct the building . . . but as a starting shelter it was worthless.

Obviously this didn't ruin my game . . . I just wasn't FUN. So to prevent this . . . give me a map mode that shows the build borders; something I can turn on and off the same way I turn on and off room stats, or beauty. When we first land it should be on by default so when you pause the game and scan the map you plan around build able area.

The only reason I didn't have a complete tragedy here is because I'm paranoid. I tried to place at least a wooden door and some walls right away. I'd already found another granite wall and marked it for deconstruction. But I thought tearing down the wooden stuff was worth getting some miner first night bonus'.

If I'd been a bit meaner to my settlers, and more patient, then things would have gotten bad quick. I would have been soooo upset with myself, the game, whatever. ROFL. Thankfully instead we get quick suggestion thrown out onto the forum.

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.

One of the exciting things about alpha 14 is the focus it suddenly places on primitive tribes and the isolated, wild, worlds on which they live. One way to really make this exciting would be to add story tellers who focus on the sort of world where those tribes dominate. We might see the same sort of event distribution but the things that happen and the type of story being told would be completely different. Here are some examples:

Colonist X has been having an affair with person Y from the (name) tribe. Their elders insist the two get married and you can accept a new colonist, send your colonist to the tribe, or offend them greatly. How do you respond?

A tribe of nomadic hunters enters the area. They are friendly but will attack and kill game animals for meat all season before moving on. Do you ask them to leave? Ask them stay away from your base? Attack them? Make a treaty with them setting a certain area as their hunting grounds?

You have discovered a sacred shrine of the X tribe. Their elders and tribal guardians are friendly but ask that you leave now and stay away from the site forever . . . Do you agree and leave knowing that if you ever come back you will be attacked? Do you ask to convert to their religion? Do you attack? How you respond changes the story.

Merchants from off world want to establish a trading post in your colony . . . if you accept you'll get a new colonist to feed/house who won't do any work but you can trade with him for raw resources at any time. Different traders want different goods from you and sell different items in return. Of course if you send these foreigners away they may set up shop with one of your rivals!

I could go on with a lot more examples but the point is that you are dealing with a different type of rimworld. The standard game focuses on a semi colonized world with towns, tribes, and everything is right on a space lane. This story would focus on a more isolated and savage world with less contact happening with spacers, and the space based events that do happen would have a different flavor.

I'm loving this game and the rich explorer scenario is probably my favorite addition so far . . . but this one event always seems to happen and it annoys me to no end . . .

I'm sitting there alone in my tiny settlement planning everything out and things are going great . . .  Then suddenly I get a pop up saying "New Colonist Joins" often simultaneously with some stranger suggesting "we" name my settlement. This last happens so often that I often see the naming event pop up before I see the "join" or even notice the new colonist on my top bar.

Obviously in the original scenario this would make more sense. Previously you always had three strangers and any one of them could have met this new person and invited them to stay. The new guy could be another survivor from the same ship. He might even be somebodies relative, friend, or lover.

But that reasoning doesn't work as well if I'm the lone explorer running my expedition with an iron fist and deciding unilaterally when to add people to my colony, and who I want to accept. So please give me the option of looking at an applicant and either approving them or sending them on their way to a different settlement. The change shouldn't be hard to implement.

Or if you really want to let the story teller simply grow my colony you could add in "relationship" based join events. Something like:

"Vladimir's Son joined his father in the colony today."
"Sarah's Husband wandered into camp this morning."
"George's Lover moved in with him today."

To me these sorts of event would make a lot more sense than somebody just randomly joining my expedition/colony/tribe. As it is my first reaction to the "join" event is often to look for a button that would let me kick this new guy out.