An long term vision of vibrant towns.

[Kirid]

These are my ideas about an overall vision for the game, rather than individual ideas. I don't know the extent that Tynan has planned for the game, or if these ideas are even plausible with the direction he wants to take it. I understand he wants a low population so players recognize colonists rather than a mass of unknowns. If used with storytellers, these ideas become options rather than absolutes.

I've tried to paint a picture here similar to many of my favorite suggestions. I see colonies being more like vibrant towns rather than closed-gated communal homesteads. It's not always a sealed off vault, it's a colony on a Rimworld; an open planet that gets heavy traffic and expects travelers of all sorts. Each persons play style is different, so colonies should be drastically different, with economies based on anything. I feel storytellers kind of nudge you to do everything in equal balance right now, which creates a lack of surprise and uniqueness.

Disclaimer:
^{These are some thoughts I had based on various other ideas, I apologize ff you find they aren't unique. I didn't want to take over another person's thread with disconnected ideas. This is a suggestion thread and you don't have to read if you don't want to. I respect thoughtful feedback.}

-Population influx and outflux increases dramatically so you're not worried about keeping every citizen there and alive. Make it so people are constantly coming and going, and the player cares less if someone decides to pack up and leave, maybe they just want to move on. What if 10 people did get killed in that last firefight.. we've seen worse. You could still develop long term residents.
-Widely varying health and loyalties, to create more heroic or expendable colonists
- Some might enjoy playing with few colonists of course, struggling to get and hold on to anyone possible. A gamestyle where you have more people visiting than you can build houses for, all sorts of traveling unknowns walking through bustling markets and misconduct soaring as high as the profits, you would still know a good portion of the town's main players.
-Colony laws or morals. Maybe you are a slaving town. Or you might not want slavery at all, and everyone's gun is to stay at home. Maybe you could play as raiders; or a cannibalistic society that caters to raiders. Your town death rate is high from civil chaos, but some towns function that way; there are always more bloodthirsty creeps flooding in. Fear items become happiness, and pretty items get destroyed.
- More specialized roles and less everyone being a jack of all trades. The game already does this fairly well, but only in skills, the population is too low for anyone to get firmly established jobs/roles until late in the game. Instead of "This is bill, he's mostly a miner, but will also be building, repairing, shooting, and farming in his off-time." I'd like to see "This is bill, he'll be on the mining crew."
-Better training, less soldiers, more danger. Raiders coming in almost perfectly timed waves is annoying, and having colonists all line up for "shoot-out day" gets ridiculous sometimes. This will probably change once the game gets more threats, more randomness. I feel the colony should have specific people on guard duty and training.
-Every single slave and farmer doesn't need an M-16, they would probably just get in the way, only give them guns when the town is in serious danger.
-Like noble classes ideas, different roles have certain housing size and decor requirements. But conversely, some people can be kept in smaller quarters. Farmers and hunters don't mind a small hut, researchers and guards need decent rooms.
-I really hate standard housing, in this game and DF. Yet it is quite difficult for whatever reason to make unique colonist housing, built near other colonists of similar caste/job role.
- People are personally affected by environment. A noble expects a well paved and maintained walk to work. Hunters and farmers meanwhile prefer to live and spend time near nature.
-Slaves are kept in slums, tiny cells or huts, ruled by fear, given no wage, heavy on skills like mining and farming, they actually try to escape sometimes, and are treated low by colonists (some could be nice). Some could be trusted servants and have quarters in colonist houses, eventually being full members of the society.

Releated threads:
"A Pure Colony" Personal expenses, a bazaar market for travellers and colonist, established stores and inns, colonists managing their own house and furniture. http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=2254.0
Noble classes and housing http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=2585.0

[a89a89]

This is great!

[idgarad]

Doesn't that cut against the whole vide of the colony. I thought the author was shooting more for a Bartertown \ Thunderdome feel for the colony.

[Kirid]

Doesn't that cut against the whole vide of the colony. I thought the author was shooting more for a Bartertown \ Thunderdome feel for the colony.

I wouldn't say thunderdome, but bartertown sometimes. An underlying theme with rimworld is the old west. Shootouts, muffalos, tribals. Most wild west stories and mechanics are perfectly adapatable because it was one of the most recent huge frontiers. Though I understand it may go against them just trying to survive on the planet, rather than thrive and prosper as a boomtown.

Edit: I didn't add it because it's kind of a different side idea, and quite gamebreaking, but if somehow colonists were able to build or own property. You would end up with land and oil barons getting rich, buying out the tribals land. Shopkeepers try to protect their shops. Someone lives in a wooden shack because that's what they afford, not because you built him a wooden shack(I do this ).

[StorymasterQ]

"Welcome to Honest Abe's Steam Geyser Site. For power subscription inquiries, go to window 1. For sauna access, go to window 2."

[Kirid]

"Welcome to Honest Abe's Steam Geyser Site. For power subscription inquiries, go to window 1. For sauna access, go to window 2."

Hehe, That would be awesome! Thinking of how something like power would be privatized..
An npc could come in and sets up a generator, becomes a colonist if you let him build it, but still a sense of "this is my generator". You get a free built generator, pay an fair low rate. Asks first in case the player doesn't want it.

[ShadowDragon8685]

"Welcome to Honest Abe's Steam Geyser Site. For power subscription inquiries, go to window 1. For sauna access, go to window 2."

Hehe, That would be awesome! Thinking of how something like power would be privatized..
An npc could come in and sets up a generator, becomes a colonist if you let him build it, but still a sense of "this is my generator". You get a free built generator, pay an fair low rate. Asks first in case the player doesn't want it.

Cue players letting the NPC build the generator, then escorting the "owner" directly to the prison to be sold off.

[theSovietConnection]

-Population influx and outflux increases dramatically so you're not worried about keeping every citizen there and alive. Make it so people are constantly coming and going, and the player cares less if someone decides to pack up and leave, maybe they just want to move on. What if 10 people did get killed in that last firefight.. we've seen worse. You could still develop long term residents.

The biggest issue with your ideas right now is this one here, as Tynan has already stated that he only wants to have a few colonists so that players connect better with the ones they have. That being said, I think it'd be neat to have a storyteller where the number of colonists and wanderers is increased, for those that want to play like t hat.

I also do like your idea of trying to make the colony have a little more of it's own atmosphere. It would be nice to be able to kind of make each area of the colony have it's own distinct feel, like a market district or a residential district.

"Welcome to Honest Abe's Steam Geyser Site. For power subscription inquiries, go to window 1. For sauna access, go to window 2."

Hehe, That would be awesome! Thinking of how something like power would be privatized..
An npc could come in and sets up a generator, becomes a colonist if you let him build it, but still a sense of "this is my generator". You get a free built generator, pay an fair low rate. Asks first in case the player doesn't want it.

Cue players letting the NPC build the generator, then escorting the "owner" directly to the prison to be sold off.

I got to thinking, if Tynan were to implement a private enterprise type idea like that, let that exact situation be something that can happen. Utilise it as a means of incurring fear as a fear ruled colony. However, doing so would also add a substantial "Takeover" debuff amongst the colonists, particularly those who own that kind of private property. Do it too often, and you'd risk a rebellion among the colonists who own private property like this, and any who'd support allowing private enterprise, such as anyone with the enterpreneur background.

[Kirid]

Cue players letting the NPC build the generator, then escorting the "owner" directly to the prison to be sold off.

Well sure that might happen. But thats one exploit, of one example, of one hypothetical idea.

-Population influx and outflux increases dramatically so you're not worried about keeping every citizen there and alive. Make it so people are constantly coming and going, and the player cares less if someone decides to pack up and leave, maybe they just want to move on. What if 10 people did get killed in that last firefight.. we've seen worse. You could still develop long term residents.

The biggest issue with your ideas right now is this one here, as Tynan has already stated that he only wants to have a few colonists so that players connect better with the ones they have. That being said, I think it'd be neat to have a storyteller where the number of colonists and wanderers is increased, for those that want to play like t hat.

I also do like your idea of trying to make the colony have a little more of it's own atmosphere. It would be nice to be able to kind of make each area of the colony have it's own distinct feel, like a market district or a residential district.

I think this was a bit misleading. I'm not asking for increased population really. Still within a 20-40max is reasonable in-game and in this idea. But rather fluctuating within that range instead of striving to achieve a max.
This would probably apply more to colonists in a security or hunting role, who get killed often. Or within domestic roles like farmers, miners, and traders, deciding to move on if things start getting unfavorable. The colony has a constant buzz of all sort of travelers to fill in gaps. You can provide temporary housing for guests to begin building up loyalty, and you still know 80% of the colony because they've stuck around and build up loyalty enough. And they haven't gotten shot because security is trained, wearing armor, and dealing with that sort of stuff. Your original colonists might never leave unless something drastic happens.
I left a lot of info gaps because it's either covered in other threads, or my own imagination filled in the gaps and I'm unaware of where to elaborate. Thanks for the feedback! I figured this needed clarifying over the usual more population request.