Visitors with a mission

[Darth Fool]

I like the new faction system a lot, but like all good things it leaves me wanting more.  Specifically, the other factions visiting seems largely pointless unless they are raiding you.  I would like to propose giving every visitation a mission.  Raids would then just be one sort of mission.  It would then be possible to ask other factions for a specific type of help.  Similarly it might be possible to send your own people on missions to neighboring colonies.  The missions might  be Hostile, selfish, mutually beneficial, or altruistic.  Possible missions might include:
Hostile:
Slave Raid: Capture slaves.
Stealing:     Get Silver or other items.
Killing:        We really don't like you...
Cannibilism:We really do like you, especially for dinner....
Scouting:    Examine Defenses, look for local resources worth getting, etc... But run away sooner if attacked.

Selfish Missions:
Foraging:    Harvesting food from plants or lying around on the ground
Hunting:     Killing local game for meat. 
Mining:       Mining and Retrieving metal
Passing Through:  Nothing to see here....
Vacationing: Requires beds marked for visitors (not just prisoners) and expect to be fed.

Altruistic Missions:
Building:     Help build colony projects
Working/Crafting:     Staff the crafting tables
Research:   Staff the Research Bench.
Gift:           Send Food/Metal/whatever....variation on the trade mission.
Medical:      Heal colonists (useful if you don't have a doctor.)
Defend:      Protect the colony from outsiders. (Send better armed/skilled fighters who expect to be wounded and therefore, less damage to relations if one of the visitors is wounded/killed.)

Mutually Beneficial Missions:
Trading:      Transport agreed upon goods, perhaps tied to one other mission (come build for 1 day and we will give you 100 silver...)

I also can see this as a way to change perceptions of factions over time.  The success of a mission combined with the health/happiness of returning visitors could be used to effect relations with other colonies.  Similarly sending your own colonists on missions could change the relations for better or worse.  I imagine some of this would be more interesting with the ability to mark some beds for visitors, allowing them to stay more than just a day (or be rescued if wounded, as suggested elsewhere).

To generalize, missions might have the following (possibly random or modable) characteristics:
Name, Required Skills(of characters sent on mission), Required Goods (to be carried by characters),Expected Goods(to be returned with the characters),Time Limit, Activity(What to do while on the mission)

I don't think this qualifies as a small suggestion, as it would require several changes to the AI, but I think it would add significantly to the story elements of the game.  Thoughts? 

[Celthric Aysen]

Love everything but the Hostile one
Scouting and Killing is all right, but not the other 3.

[TimMartland]

I think it would be kinda cool if some raiders tried to stealthily sneak in and run off with your silver. A slave raid would be kinda cool too, because the raiders would be trying to capture not kill your colonists and might just drag away your incapped defender before you can rescue them.
Scouting seems kinda pointless, but would be good for immersion I guess. Maybe it could be a symptom of a really big raid or artillery strike?

[Louist]

I think it would be kinda cool if some raiders tried to stealthily sneak in and run off with your silver. A slave raid would be kinda cool too, because the raiders would be trying to capture not kill your colonists and might just drag away your incapped defender before you can rescue them.
Scouting seems kinda pointless, but would be good for immersion I guess. Maybe it could be a symptom of a really big raid or artillery strike?

In regards to scouting, they could just probe the defenses, backing off when they encounter turrets or defenders and approaching from other directions before ultimately retreating. We could see this as the scouts mapping out the defenses and making note of the weapons employed by colonists, using this to scale their impending attack.

[TimMartland]

Maybe late-game raiders could map your outermost gun turrets with scouts and orbit-strike them (Big explosion that sets things on fire and damages your buildings) before sending in the assault teams.

[luggage66]

I really like this idea. It can provide a lot of immersion and opportunity for unique events (say, raiders show up the same time visitors are bringing trade goods so you need to fight for what you already bought).

I think the hostile actions are actually very important so defense isn't just about having a kill zone at your main entrance. It would require the raider to attempt to get away with their actions instead of staying to fight to the death. These also let players that are unable to defend themselves in the early game just "let them have what they want". Say you see raiders making a bee line for your stock pile and you think it's too risky to fight, you may opt to let them just take what they can carry and leave.

I also like the visitor-marked beds. Even for the wandering visits we have now, the presence of beds (or other forms of hospitality) could help you improve relations. The visitors may stay longer if they have food / rest and be liking your more for it.

Hostile:
* Attempt to damage a high value target and get away (power generator, etc)
* Set fire to farms  (and get away).

Selfish:
* Visitor arrives and tries to offer you a poor trade (say, they need food and don't have much to offer). Provides away to gain/lose standing based on if you accept.