Ideas for more variety

[Henry3748]

Whenever I play stonehearth, I find that I always start out the same way. I always place my banner right next to a mountain side, so I can find my coal and iron veins that I always go for. Now, after a while, this gets very boring. When I try to do other things it doesn’t work out, like I try and build a massive city in a plain, and I get destroyed by goblins early on because I didn’t have any well equipped footmen to defend myself. So, here are my ideas for more variety:

Bulk Trading
For example, say I mass produce chairs. then a trader comes along and says, “would you like to give me 40 chairs for 40 steel ingots?” the point being the traders and caravans right now only trade for small amounts, and that doesn’t really help much. If I could have traded someone for a lot of steel, then maybe my “massive city in a plain” could have been a thing.

Trade Routes
Trade Routes would be very helpful, because then you would have a consistent supply of one specific resource, as long as you have the resources the computer wants. Also, all trade should be specific to what you are lacking, and what you have an abundance on (for example, Joe wants to give you x number of resource you don’t have for y number of resource you have way too much of).

More advantages to living on lower ground
Right now, I can’t think of any important advantages you have for living on lower ground. you have more space, but I always have enough space. Anyway, here are the advantages that I think of that should be added: more fertile soil, more animals for trappers to trap, more water (when it’s added), and maybe some domesticable biome-specific animal (cattle maybe).

More disadvantages to higher ground
now, they have a lot of disadvantages to mountains, but you don’t necessarily need to be in the mountains to get ore (you can be in the foothills). So, here are a couple suggestions on that regard: colder climate, rockier soil (takes long to hoe), more goblins, and wolves!

[Unatan2]

From looking at the caravan code, it appears the caravan will be the traveling “buy and sell” merchant, I say appears because it has Buy and Sell comments, so it appears that this will be happening just not implemented yet. I think heh

[Gridnick]

yeah so there could be massive bulk amounts traded if you have the money

[phector2004]

@Henry3748

Trade RoutesTrade Routes would be very helpful, because then you would have a consistent supply of one specific resource, as long as you have the resources the computer wants. Also, all trade should be specific to what you are lacking, and what you have an abundance on (for example, Joe wants to give you x number of resource you don’t have for y number of resource you have way too much of).

Great idea, this can open up scenarios where your supplier decides to cut you off or the route is ambushed (on- or off-map) and you need to deal with the consequences of missing something you were expecting – say food for your hungry village.

@Henry3748

More disadvantages to higher groundnow, they have a lot of disadvantages to mountains, but you don’t necessarily need to be in the mountains to get ore (you can be in the foothills). So, here are a couple suggestions on that regard: colder climate, rockier soil (takes long to hoe), more goblins, and wolves!

You can’t farm on rock, so there’s a huge disadvantage in not being able to feed your town.

[Melite]

Trade routes is a great idea, something that could really add to gameplay, especially once the enemy/multiplayer scenarios and such are implemented. I could see the goblins blocking a trade route and you have to clear them out to continue trading.