Work-Group and Mule for Resource Gathering at a far away Point

Suggestions
1

Hello Anyone,

i played a little with the game so far and with the new Monsters and theyre sometimes “to often spawning” it might be impossible but i am sure in futher updates it might be an interesting gameplay feature.

So when building a Village you choose a place that suits your needs. Maybe on an Island? Or near a Hill?
But then you have a really bad acces to resources that are not at your place.
That Problem might even Stack up in future Updates especially with the dwarves.

Right now if you going to get stone or even ores when being an isle is only by tradig for example.
For the dwarves it might be a problem to get enough plants for clothes. And walking half the map for 3 Stones isnt really worth it and to dangerous.

So i was thinking about something like the Soldiers have, that you can create a group of 1-5 People and 1-3 Mule.
You can give that group special orders so if you tell them to mine an area, that is only an order for them, not the Villagers. The Mule in that case works as a place where the hearthlings bring the stuff they find to and has a limit that can later improved trough some things build out of wood and leather or something. Also they have a special transport limit for food that will give it a maximum time length if the group does not stock up on berries on the way.

This way you get an alternative to “just trade what you need”.
Also for dwarves that would mean you dont need to make you living place ugly because you need all that shiny ores but you can do that elsewhere.

2 Likes
2

So basically a pack mule. Something in relation to the herder/trapper class in order to get something like that. Might be interesting, although don’t know how well it would work.

What I mean is, right now you can place a chest or storage item near the excavation, and then move it when full. To have a mobile chest like thing… sounds nice, but unsure how the actual behavior would be.

We probably would need an escort option in military for something like that, so we could have some kind of protection of individual targets; basically following the target around in I guess a sort of guard mode, and only breaking free to attack incoming attack near them.

The reason I mention that is due to how would the be “placed” at destination? If it were done so like an object, then you mind as well use the already existing storage items. Else it would be more like who will lead it, since we don’t have that kind of control over citizens, but have partial guidance upon military; which leads me to the “Escort” function I mentioned.

Unfortunately we don’t have that function, but would be nice, and would make this idea a bit more feasible.

Note: I try to make mining operations as close as possible or have something to trade, if not both; for those times playing RC so much. My trade instinct goes well with that faction. Have a decent desert seed just for that occasion. :slight_smile:

Regardless it is an interesting idea, I think. Like the concept, but it is more of matter figuring a feasible way to go about the concept. Reason I put an addition to yours. :smiley:

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Hey there @Joshua_Wolf, great ideas, just wanted to pop in and say welcome to the Discourse!

2 Likes
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I believe eventually if you dig down far enough into the dirt you’ll hit rock. that might not be the case right now, but it should happen in the future. in that case, you can, technically, make a dwarven settlement on an island. it wouldn’t really fit with dwarven lore as dwarves love mountains and hate water, but hey, whatever mines your hills. what you can do right now is dig a “mining tunnel” down underneath the water and have it go to a mountain. it’ll be a relatively safe path (unless monsters just so happen to spawn in the tunnel), so your dwarves can go from your island to a mountain without worrying about getting attacked.

1 Like
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that is currently how i works. i dont know how many layers down the rock is, but you will hit rock eventually.

6

i suggested something similar in the class suggestion section. My personal issues are the inefficient workers/soldiers once they’re bit far away from the main banner. Especially if i destroy a camp/crypt and want to loot the whole stuff, my workers never reach that place because they already start getting tired and hungry on halfway, and once they reach the spot floop a camp spawns and i have to call 'em back or they’ll get slaughtered…

so a supporter/carrier7hauler class is definetely needed, dealing with taks like:

mobile stockpile --> shortens the way workers have to travel if they work outside the village + worker group function is needed
troop supporter–> someone who can carry supplies like food/water, medical supply and even a mobile camp with sleeping bags/tent a portable campfire so your military group doesn’t need to travel back after every fight
looting order --> this class is responsible for all the loot (enemy drops) and resources which are outside of the village, so your workers can keep up working in the village

7

Thanks for all the answers!

So first to Tamorr,
yes it would most likely work out with the job class, but i think you schould also be able to trade at least 1 for a high price.

Okay, didnt know that, thanks for the hint! Its not that different to my idea than, only without using exploits. (Could not imagine Hearthlings carry a stone chest full of stone whil just carry max 4 normally)

Yep, you schould send 1 or 2 Guards with it, wich clearly makes that game mechanic a Day10+ thing. I think it would work like the guard flag on the Mule while the Workers just get special work orders and do not care for that guard order.

It schould get an smiliar system to the soldiers, you set a flag and the animal goes there.
Details are up to the devs for sure as i really dont know how they work out the system,
but given what they already did, i dont think that will be a Problem.
And as said, the storage items work, but its heavy unrealistic and its more a way to cheat the game if you just carry full storages from one point to another.
Also i would say if the Mule find its way into the game, it schould have some place for food and potions, so you can really make an “expedition”.

Yes, but it is really easy to implement, its just a “guard” order on an moving object.

Yes, right now thats what i also do, but if you have your village on an isle its already far away and the most resources are more in the mountain anyway. But as the game progresses i think/hope there will be also more rare and special ressources that are only findable in some places on the map. (Like a crystal on top of a mountain, or some special flowers in a swamp.) These would not found elsewhere and be really hard to get if you have no expedition mechanic of some kind.

Thank you very much for you answer and input into the idea! =)
I hope that some kind of mechanic like this will make it into the game.^^

Hello jomaxro,
thank you for welcoming me! :slight_smile:

Now Ridesdragons and 8BitCrab,

while it would help with stone, it surely gives Problems with other ores.
The isle thing was not for dwarves btw. The dwarves could have a shortage of flowers for potions when you build a base into a mountain. (Wich in my opinion is the only way a dwarf schould live.) Or other things that might be added later in the game. At all, it was just an example.
Monster spawning right now is another story, there schould be a way to make places safe, unless that happened you mostly are restricted to you home town anyway. (Sending out the Soldiers mean if you have bad luck your People are dead when they are back.)

What i actually planning with these suggestion is to break the “trader is the best” gameplay right now. If i want ores i also could just get a farmer to grow trees, sell them, buy ores.
But that isn´t really as fun as doing it yourself, and as mining far away from your base isnt fun because of the long ways, i came to that idea. Then again, given some “special locations/resources” and stuff in future updates it could be areally great game mechanic to have.
But thats why its a suggestion, because i think it could improve the gameplay and open up possabilites and gameplay after you have a solid base with a good defence.

And Zardimooo,
yes thats what i have in mind. Except that i was thinking it as non-heartling.
But i like the idead with the troop supporter! I guess thats where i think when you use a Mule you could upgrade it the way you need it(if you have the resources at that time for that).
The looting order is a problem, if you not make an own “working group” out of him i guess.

1 Like
8

How about a new craftingable flag like the new safepoint flag we got with alpha 14.
With this, they could change the KI, so that Heartlings stay by the nearest flag and work there, sleep there, eat there.
All in all they make a “new” village, If you mine enough, you could deplace the flag, and your Workers would go back to the old flag.

the Mule could use there as a trade route.

1 Like
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well i would prefer the idea of heartling since they’re available in early game and the job is a pretty basic task which is needed nearly at the beginning, while animals require an already working village with decent supply like crops etc.
A big backpack or basket on the back would be a fitting item for job creation and once you do some progress with your village, the hearthling can get the ability to command some fitting animals. These animals can be still used inside the villages with fitting routes for transportation, but outside they would need workers or guides which perform task like gathering/distributing loot. Maybe one heartling with several mule. I just think about efficiency of such mechanics, especially if you just started to build your village, every worker has to do his job and if carpenters or farmers start to collect stuff, it really slows down the whole village.
The main idea is just to stick completely basic stuff like collecting items outside of your village should be performed by 1 single hearthling, while the others should concentrate on their jobs. The animals would be still a huge upgrade if you think about the amount of items you need to carry later.

workers mine or cut wood, while one specialist hearthling gathers the loot or resources at a rally point (i would suggest the rally point should work like the guarding stance of the soldiers and not physically placed like spiro suggested, otherwise a hearthling has to run to your stockpile, pick up a flag, run to such point and place it and walk back to his job =inefficient),mules will travel between your main flag and the rally point if a ceratin amount of goods is gathered or you call 'em manually.

maybe they add also minecarts and rails with the engineer clas, so it would be a fast way to transport goods/hearthlings between some spots. The mule commander would be still usefull since he slower but definetely more mobile than a railroad.

1 Like
10

Hey Spiro,
yes this would be another approach and i must say,
its one idea that i really like. While i would say the person who work under
the second Flag schould been choosen, i really like the idea of setting up
a small Camp or town and Trade between your Cities/Camps.
Would be an awesome endgame content. Trade Routes
would be then only need guards.

But until then i hope they work out the Monsters so you didnt get overrun
on da 14 or so. :smiley:

And Zardimooo;

hm i see your point there. I think especially after what Spiro did wrote,
that a Hybrid of all would be the best choice. So putting all whats in this
thread until now together it would look that way in my mind:

Your hearthling Job is the first you get and will be one of the first classes
someone needs for their town to get working fast. He do care for his cities
and a small part around. Later ingame when you in need for resources from
another location on the map you will set up a secon small city wich get a
trade route trough the Mule (wich later becomes a minecraft maybe).
These small cities or whatever are always stay there and until not all killed,
will always house some hearthlings. These are created by that Flag Spiro
did talk about.
Then too you will small camps, thats what then will be worked out over
the rally point an will be only for “getting stuff there and go on” and will
most likely only useful if there will be always some special ressources on
the map somwhere, so you need to go there.

Surely much of this is up to how devs create the game and what mechanics
they implement, but thats why a suggestion.

2 Likes
11

hmm they also could rework the trapper, to a specialist who needs to move his hunting grounds if they get exhausted. I mean, currently i setup an area and get endless support of jerky and leather, without costs or other restrictions. Maybe if they introduce some clothing maintainance, so we have to repair or even recraft the clothing of our hearthlings. So we can have realistic hunting camps in the wild, with heartlings cutting wood, foraging, hunting and and setting traps. At the current state the rabbids which are hold by the shephard aren’t really neccessray.