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Enjoy the Idleness

AC Feedback and Suggestions
#1

Hey,

I really like historical city building games. One of things that many games fail to cover interestingly is the idleness of citizens. It would be great to see people not just working, eating, worshiping and sleeping all day, but also let them relax at the fire, tell stories, sing, meet, talk, wander around, play (like us, eh?)… etc.
In short, I would love to not only witness the economy of the neolithic age, but the lives of people in these days.

Many games focus too much on expansion and progress. However, it would be great to have a full, entertaining and beautiful game experience while just playing a small family/tribe that don’t try to take over the entire map. Some animations and routines like the ones I described could do a lot to make this possible.

I would like to see what you – the community – think about this. Do you think this would make sense? What other animations, routines could be implemented?

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts and put them out here.

all the best

28 Likes
#2

This interests me greatly.
Art, play, rituals, simple socialization. These are very important facets of life so often ignored.

If this game were only a war game, it would not make sense, but this game appears to be a simulation game, thus it makes plenty of sense!

9 Likes
#3

I think that a few small things could greatly improve the atmosphere of the game. For instance, to have children run around and play. Art as well like people carving stuff, creating simple beads.

It is certainly not the most important part of this game, but I think this could really immerse players like me

4 Likes
#4

The children also add depth and realism. Watching your Sims care for their children (birthing, nursing, watching them play, become adults) might cause the player to become more emotionally invested in the village and its happenings.

Maybe a little dog, too lol

3 Likes
#5

Sounds good. A similar discussion we had a few years ago to another game (also KS campaign, “Kingdom Come Deliverence”)
First of all, how much realism, degrees of freedom, and violence allows for the game. Violence against children - nogo, then rather no children was the decision of Dev’s. Because the Middle Ages without violence - unimaginable.
Think it’s more a problem of our time. We no longer want to be the result - or rather the grandsons of the few - who have survived terrible plagues, wars, hunger, injustice, violence and natural catastrophes. At least they have lived long enough to give their inheritance to the next generation.:wink:
Such a simulation can not always be nice. People of earlier eras (our all ancestors) were much more sophisticated and robust, bolder and more straightforward. Without these qualities our civilization would not have been viable. Only today’s technology and knowledge enable us to act smart, compassionate and “politically correct”. In neolithics, they may be fast grotesque. But also siblings without children - not imaginable or a dying species.

Think these issues are still controversial …:sweat:

3 Likes
#6

Yes, you are totally correct about the children. Though it does harm the authenticity of the simulation, the violent component and the child component should not mix. Still, having adults relaxing and doing non-work activities would be fun. Maybe rituals and celebrating.

It would be nice if there were some way around that problem allowing for better realism. Skyrim got past that problem using unkillable children. They had children, but they could not be engaged in combat. That way, you have realism while avoiding things which are questionable.

3 Likes
#7

A compromise certainly, but what about the enslaved children, children hostage etc … Tricky the topic. Was at that time so, pardon, modern times. :wink:

#8

I think that’s something that should probably not end up in the game. It most certainly occurred, but I’m not sure that it adds too much.

As your tribe is killed off by raiders, the unkillable children might simply run away and disappear in percentage to the tribes adult population loss. This allows you to have the realism of an actual community without depicting anything questionable. In short, when it comes to violence, children are off limits.

Even in my prehistoric books, I don’t depict that. I mentioned it and allude to it as it occurred, but never depict it.

1 Like
#9

Going back to the initial suggestion, I would add that having feasts in the game could be both emotional appealing and interesting for the game mechanics. They would be important events for socialising, especially between independent groups, but also costly from the economic perspective. This is a big human universal!

3 Likes
#10

Children running away or literally disappearing in the huts could be a solution. I actually didn’t consider all the fallout of adding children. Anyway, it would be kind of great to have them in-game for immersion purposes.

Feasts make a lot of sense to me: different kinds of feast with different procedures and costs …

2 Likes
#11

Think, festivals were essential for the cohesion of the group. Functions such as the marriages market, the display of possessions and, of course, music (were they already?) Motivated and leveled off the problems of everyday life. Actually as nowadays also …

3 Likes
#12

There are so many possibilities how these feasts and rituals could look like. I am getting excited just thinking about it.

Dancing, singing, mimicking animals, summoning ghosts/elders/gods, sacrificing stuff, initiation rites, burials, harvest feasts, preparing for war, celebrating victory …

Yes, I am getting way too excited :smiley:

4 Likes
#13

Citizen free time is already in the game. How much free time activities we can do is still not clear. But a few are planned right now. We don’t like robots ( when we are not in sci fi mood ) so we are targeting to create the feel of people living in the city, not just working there.

10 Likes
#14

I’m really hoping for a “feast” mechanic, where we can have everyone eat a lot of stockpiled food (maybe even invite the neighbours around) as a way of showing off our tribes power (Conspicuous consumption being a great indicator of wealth in a society where livestock and grain are the main source of wealth).
edit Perhaps this is also a way to gain more knowledge from other tribes?

7 Likes
#15

Nice idea.

6 Likes
#16

Just sitting and watching the villagers is nice, its one of my favourite parts of The Settlers, just letting the little guys do their thing and occasionally discovering something new about what they do, fishermen were good for that.

2 Likes
#17

For the time until the release, there is the angler-simulator for you
Look at: Dovetail Games: “Euro Fishing by Astragon”

#18

it’s really great, i agree. i am all for the peaceful and happy moments :smiley:

and i am glad to see that the developers responded to this topic.

#19

Don’t know if has been dealt with but is there a sleep cycle? Be cool if they had drums :slight_smile:

#20

Sleep cycle is already in the game. In fact to sleep is the first basic need.

4 Likes