Suggested improvements for Stonehearth:
As being a great fan of building, survival and RPG games Stonehearth has it all and is the most promising game in years for me personally.
As it’s still in Alpha it’s to be suspected that the game still has some flaws. Nonetheless I want to emphasize that this post is meant to encourage the developers and definitely not to criticize them. The game has a lot of potential and is already engaging as it is.
I will try to keep the list with suggested improvements updated. I’ll add new suggestions as long as they are realistic and contribute to a better Stonehearth.
The current version is: Alpha 12
Buildings:
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Design mode: We are missing a simple design mode. It would be great if the start menu included a design mode where you can design and save your buildings. While playing a normal or peaceful game you can load these saved models placing them with ease.
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Building adjustment option: When creating a building you can adjust all the basics. When you’re done your Hearthlings will start building. You forgot something, or want to expand the house a little bit, maybe add another floor? Well you can’t.
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A destroy building option: Maybe destroy the building and start from scratch? Well you can’t.
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Overhanging floors, stairs and inside walls: I’ve tried to experiment with building, trying different shapes, separate rooms, building a second floor and creating a balcony. None of these worked out.
When putting up the walls several errors occurred. This clearly is still under construction and needs a fix.
Roofs, multiple stories, stairs and building walls inside a buildings definitely needs some more work. The current options are too limited. -
Roads: I’ve actually recently figured out how to connect buildings etc. with roads. And I wasn’t the only player that took quite a while to figure it out. It’s because the options to create a road is a part of the house building. Perhaps it would be clearer to create a separate button for this?
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Crafting (amount of items display): When creating items you tend to forget what you’ve already crafted and what not. Sure there are ways to check (placing an item gives an overview). But it would be simpler if we’d see how many of a certain item we already have in our possession before crafting.
Controls:
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Command individual Hearthlings: At the moment we can add Hearthlings to a group and then direct the group in a direction. However it’s not possible to direct individual Hearthlings (unless you create a group for each Hearthling).
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Command groups: Right now you need to keep the group menu open in order to keep giving orders. Also you need to click several buttons on and off to change commands. It would be much easier if we could use a certain menu or hotkeys to direct our groups.
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Patrol area: We can select areas for farms, traps, storage etc. why not for our footman? Right now they patrol as they please. Why not let us direct them to places we want them to patrol? Of course the ‘patrol free’ option should remain.
Gameplay:
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Reduce lag: Right now the lag is pretty intense up to the point that the game starts freezing or Hearthlings stop moving. The amount of days played, the amount of outstanding tasks etc. all seem to have affect. Currently the only solution is to save and load the game. Solving this would definitely enhance the gameplay.
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(More) goals: The game is challenging on its own, as you try to expand your civilization and survive. However adding some goals, challenges, rewards or achievements would definitely make the gameplay more interesting.
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Fisherman class: Add the fisherman as a playable job to the game. We already have lakes, but we can’t really use them.
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Livestock fields: When creating a field for your sheep, chickens or rabbits you’re left with just that, a field. They will wander everywhere and your poor Shepard has to try and contain them. Wouldn’t it be easier to automatically add a fence to be build?
I’ve tried to build a fence, with a gate, around the field. Sadly the gate wasn’t livestock proof, they simply opened it… -
Traders: We get a visit from traders quite often. It would be convenient to be able to auto-trade certain items with these traders.
Also the items that they currently offer are pretty standard, sometimes they propose a certain trade. But it’s never really an interesting trade or exclusive item that you can obtain. This would make traders more appealing. -
More random events: The current events consist of traders visiting us, some skeletons / zombies passing by or a camp of goblins trying to bully you. I’d love to see more of these random events. Perhaps with a different story attached to it.
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Add friendly AI: Right now we can interact with invisible traders and with different enemies. It would be great if we’d be able to interact with friendly AI, like neighboring villages or perhaps other survivors.
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Individual equipment: At the moment our Hearthlings equip whatever is best and available. Wouldn’t it be much more personal if we could equip our Hearthlings with whatever suits our town or playstyle best? It would give a personal touch to your villagers.
Some of the above may have been suggested before. Some may already being worked on. If so please let me know and I’ll adjust the post.
If you disagree with ideas, or agree, please let me know what you think!