Improving journal

With mood system now in place I feel the town journal could also change.
How?

  1. Make names carry more information.
    Right now journal is mostly decorative. It can be more - another way to track problems with mood beside town population screen. But to do that some things can be useful:

a) Add a profession icon/name to hearthling’s name

b) Make clicking on the name center screen on hearthling

c) Make clicking on profession open hearthling screen (maybe not like that, but create some link to the char screen)

The reason behind these suggestions is I want to not only see gripes and praises, but also try to understand who says that (I remember faces better than names), why (seeing someone on a long trip away from a settlement instantly answers that) and how critical is that (for example, an attacked worker can wait but your only skilled engineer must be saved at all costs!).

  1. Make hearthling’s stats (and traits/perks) influence the manner they write their gripes and praises.
    Examples:

a) When a hearthling with high MIND stat writes about starving he can use the line about calculations while a less clever one may say his growling belly disturbs his sleep.

b) Similarly, a hearthling with high spirit will write that he can endure it, while a weak-spirited one will openly complain. When attacked, brave hearthlings can write about the normality of fear while cowards will scribble unintelligible panicked stuff.

c) Heathlings strong of body can write about their injuries with surprise and grimly joke about their new scars. Fragile hearthlings will fear for their health and say they barely escaped death.

I don’t know if it is already in place. If not, it may be a good idea.

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+100

This might sound like only a minor thing at first. But since my humble beginnings in SH I more and more use the journal now. It adds a lot of flavour to the game (and your town). And with @MelOzone ideas it could even more reflect the mood in a town and give a small glimps into the lives of your Heartlings and their personal thoughts. And it would ensure more variations in the journal entries :slight_smile: Which is always a good thing.

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If there was tech to let modders add more journal message variation … I would get writing.

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I need this. I lose hearthlings constantly. :cry:

If you have a hearthling selected and click his name on the unit frame, it does center the camera where he is.
I think on the Citizens menu it works the same way.

It doesn´t make the camera follow the hearthling, but at least it brings you were he is and selects him.

MelOzone meant to suggest that but for the Journal itself, if I’m not mistaken.

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