I’m loving this, but I supposed the development of classes will also strongly depend on the direction they take with other features.
One of the things I’m hoping they will implement will be a more complex trading & monetary system. If that happens a merchant or trader class could fill a vital role. Although how that profession is defined would strongly depend on what mechanics are actually implemented.
If in multiplayer or just as single person play, if they introduce the ability to attack other settlements & towns, we would need some way to carry that out. In that case, I could see the introduction of a siege weaponry made by engineers and a siege master profession that would pilot or control any siege weapons.
Would we want to introduce more bureaucratic professions as towns develop? Scouts, spies, traders, diplomats; maybe? It all depends on what features are introduced as the game goes on, and I think a lot will hinge on how (if) the devs decide to implement an extended world.
The thing is that bureaucratic classes work very well with AI, since your character can give bonuses to convince NPCs to give the player what he wants, but they don’t translate well in multiplayer since the other player doesn’t have to do what your diplomat wants or buy/sell cheaper because your trader is good.
Im not against these classes btw, just think its harder to implement and make them relevant without locking important features behind them
I agree with you on that. Again, it all depends on how the core multiplayer mechanics end up taking shape.
Although that did make a mechanic occur to me. Sending diplomats could make another player’s hearthlings see your town favorably. And then if they decide to attack you or decline a formal request you make (there better be a formal request system), it will cause their hearthling’s mood to drop. “We attacked a friendly neighbor” or “we declined a friend’s urgent request.” And now the propaganda wars begin!
Update:
Okay the gears in my head are now spinning. Two neighboring towns go to war. Which one do you back? Well while there are strategic considerations, if one of the towns has managed to sway your populace in their favor that may be the deciding factor. Your citizens may get upset not just if you attack them, but if you don’t rush to their aid as well.
Or lets say you want to wage a war against a more powerful town. Before you do that, you go on a diplomatic blitz to get other, neutral towns to favor you. Then when war is declared, you have allies and reinforcements. Suddenly things are getting very interesting.