Ooooh! Where to start! I think seasonal changes should be more than just cosmetic but effect every part of the game! They should roughly last the same time (30 in game days) but randomized so winters could be very long. Imagine good supplies running dry and finally beginning to see the snow melt when you didn’t expect it!
Ideas:
Sprink - melting snow, flooding and lots of rain halfway through the spring season of stonehearth. You’ll be encountering more animal based monsters since hibernation is over and hungry animals come out. Days and nights are even time periods but nights are still cold. Dress warmly!
Sumaria - long bright days and short nights, summer is here at last! Caravans and orcs and factions and everything comes to life. Most adventure-tensive time. Careful not to overdress your workers since their stamina will run out faster on hot days. Dress light and breezy and reap and store winter food! Look forward to summer solstice festivals and tournaments and travellers!
Magci (pronounced madge-chee) - a special season where magic awakens and flourishes from the ripe world. More magical creatures and elemental a come out and magic is stronger and cheaper to use! Weather becomes very bizarre with foggy, firefly nights, magical storms and crystal rain. Days are short and nights are shorter but mornings and sunsets last forever! The world becomes more exciting but more dangerous. The night of the two moons festival comes so look for it!
Autumn (Days of Hearth) - magic seeps out of everything and with it, all life begins to deteriorate. Days and nights even out but plants, trees and crops die slowly and the world fades. Mist and cold return so dress your characters in warm clothing so their stamina doesn’t run out too fast. Animals and factions are storing for the winter months so expect attacks on your town from desperate creatures frequently while you prepare for winter. As the world changes colour and magic drains from the winds, weather becomes more calm and it is the season of the hunters. Hunt your game and remember to pack the meat in salt from the mines so it doesn’t rot!
Wintera - enveloped in snow and iced rivers, anyone not dressed warmly and heavily will see their stamina drain when out for too long. Plan your town well with warm places to wait out blizzards and for soldiers to warm up! Fish in icy rivers but careful cause caves are now filled with monsters and all enemy factions are well dressed and armoured too! Although blizzards are rare and food is scarce, there are many festivals like the winter solstice and Saturnalia and the end of winter feast at the Night of a Thousand Lights festival to look forward to! Adventurers should be in large parties and although raiding is rare (winter is a dangerous time to lay siege to another town), many summer holdings are abandoned and there are treasures to be found that may be stolen by Sprink!
Can you tell I’m excited for seasons?!