Crenulations, Pillboxes, Quick-keyed Soldiers, and a few others

[pey]

I'm loving this game so far, and I want to see it expand and become an awesome release. Here are a few ideas I had while messing with mechanics in game:

     Crenulations or Shooter Ports: Some kind of one-way cover that I can build and have my colonists hide behind to assist my turrets in defending the base.

     Pillboxes: A 3x3 or 4x4 building colonists can sit in for cover, so I guess similar to the manned turret suggested in another thread. It could be built with a special wall type that has higher armor than standard walls or it could be an object dropped down as one entity.

     Groups: Some way of selecting a few colonists and putting them in a group number, RTS style. It would be fun to set Group One up as the front line and have Group Two come in from the side to take out the raiders.

     Colony-Wide Alert Levels: For example, setting the colony to high alert would force all unarmed colonists inside. Or, set different priorities based on alert level, ie Alert 1 everyone does the normal routine, Alert 2 people focus on repairs and medical, and so on.

     Skill Overview: A window that lets me sort colonists by skills, so I can sort by highest Warden skill, highest Research skill, etc.

     Debris Incinerator/Recycler: Some way of disposing of all the debris that builds up on the map. The recycler idea could provide some amount of metals or other materials as they're introduced.

     Remove Roof Order: As my colonists mine, I'd like to be able to remove the roof in a way that doesn't threaten to crush people/buildings.

     This may have been intentional, but if I put stuff against a wall like the food paste machine, my colonists can't repair walls behind it. I'd     personally like some way around that. For now, I'll keep my stuff away from walls.

This is a lot of random stuff, and I feel like beta is the best time to offer suggestions as the game is still very malleable. I look forward to discussion and criticism on my ideas!

[Creepypastaanime]

in addition to remove roof, there should be an option for sky lights so you don't need lights on 24 hours a day

[pey]

On that note, some kind of light sensor that turns power off to lights that aren't needed in the daytime?

[AmalgamSnow]

Definately feeling the need for most of these features, especially with that repair issue. I've noticed, that aside from the fact you cant repair behind things unless you A) build outside, or B) create a bunch of walkways behind the wall if you've built into rock, the other issue is that this design limits you almost exclusively to square structures, circular or curved structures are irrepairable at the curves! The best ive considered for this is:
A) Durable wall tech - degrades only from colonist interaction - i.e. gunfire
B) Robotics repairs - add a robotics feature (which ive seen suggested) and create a machine that can run along walls and power conduits that are almost inaccessible - possibly a heavy drain on power, but worth it im sure!
C) Add both! xD, those two are the best solutions, as there are no plausible means for a colonist to repair physically inaccessible walls!

[pey]

I could see some other wall types with different durability ratings further down the road. And robotics seems to be a popular suggestion on the forums.

[Coenmcj]

You can technically do crenulations at the moment by alternating between wall and sandbag, but it doesn't keep raiders out and they can still shoot you, but with less chance of actually hitting you.

[ShadowDragon8685]

You can technically do crenulations at the moment by alternating between wall and sandbag, but it doesn't keep raiders out and they can still shoot you, but with less chance of actually hitting you.

Put flowerpots in front of the sandbags. Now it keeps raiders out.

[Coenmcj]

You can technically do crenulations at the moment by alternating between wall and sandbag, but it doesn't keep raiders out and they can still shoot you, but with less chance of actually hitting you.

Put flowerpots in front of the sandbags. Now it keeps raiders out.

Oh wow, that's genius. I know I'll be using that from now on.

[pey]

Yeah, I know about a few tricks to block raider movement (hydroponic tables come to mind), but having an actual object that's purpose is one-way cover just feels less cheesy to me.