Posting Game Suggestions Everyday Til JC Acknowledges Salem

[reeper_aut]

Small ideas, big ideas, bugs, etc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lIP ... sp=sharing

[pistolshrimp]

Because I want to encourage others, as well as annoy JC with tons of suggestions lets do this:

Day 8: Small ideas, big ideas, bugs, etc. Guest Submission form reeper_aut

*I'm re posting and reorganizing and commenting on the suggestions he made in the post above, primarily for readability and theme, but also adding some thoughts of my own, I hope reeper doesn't mind. My comments will be in these asterisks.*

New PVE Elements:
Wolves and their darkness cousins darken/dire wolves.
*I was thinking about this the other day, and it might be cool if wolves could spawn other wolves by howling. Also about a PVE mechanic called enragement which made animals more aggressive, higher hp and damage, and gave DFD (Dark Firm Dry) Meat instead of regular meet, but had a higher are drop rate of rare. I figured maybe wolf howls could cause enragement as well as blood moons.*
Coyotes
Dog
Cats
*I think reeper is potentially suggesting a domestication of dogs and cats. I've given this some thought as well and don't have it fleshed out, but I think it would be pretty cool. I would also like to point out in this same vein colonial people actually also had pet Deer and Squirrels. At the very least I think Squirrels and Baby Squirrels should have a unique animation for when they are put into the store bought end table. It would be a very low effort way of having a pet and give more reason to buy furniture packs*

Building Changes:
Right-clicking on houses gives the option to upgrade them rather than having to build a whole new house. The finial upgrade would add a third floor (attic) to the Brick House.
Wells can upgrade a to a well that fills 4 buckets at once, then to the Watertower, and a Windmill Watertower that fills itself.
*At the very least I want the animation removed from the well, it should be instant, and also Lifting and clicking a Barrel should automatically fill it as well, giving a reason to actually build one*

New Building:
Warehouse
*I imagine this would be like the barn, a bigger space inside than its footprint, but rather than count as Inside like a barn it would could as outside so you can build sheds in it, or even a new structure like a crate which could store more than a chest but can't be locked.*

Terraforming:
Being able to make channels (building waterways)
Being able to build roads, which once connected between towns, allow for fast travel between the towns.

New Vehicles:
Wagon
Mine Cart: Perhaps rails are needed to be set for it.
Riverboat

New Crop:
Beans (pink bar) - all other bars have 2 plants, pink only has pumpkins so there is room for another crop here.

Small Changes:
Cracking Walnuts sometimes gives wood choppings
Wilted Tulips should be able to be composted

Artifact: New Civilian Bonus - Thermal
Wool, Fluffy Stuffing, etc.
*I'm really feeling this one, I like the idea of needing a thermal set to be in the deep winter from my temperature rework. Pushing this thermal onto artifacts rather than just clothing is one way to made that harder to obtain and more a late game accomplishment. I also suggest making Leafy Leftovers an Thermal Artifact, Lambskin and Fine Leather giving thermal bonuses as well.*

[pistolshrimp]

Day 9: Material Management Additions

Structure Changes:
Woodpile --> Ten woodblocks, works as a Stockbin for Woodblocks holding up to a 1010. Scrolled in but must be chopped out. Chopping down to 0 will destroy it.
Tables - Dramatically increase the amount of food that can be held in all tables.

Item Changes
Salt, is a dry good.
Big Red counts as any Any Vegetable
Mortar is made and used the same way but makes .5 liters of Mortar, can be stored as if it was a liquid.
Gelatinous Lard is a wet good too
Gunpowder becomes a dry good.
Musket Balls stack to 100.
Cornucopia now a sack that holds any food.
Sand and Black Sand becomes .5 kilograms of each type of sand, can be stored as if it was a dry good.
Star Jelly into physicians bag
Wooden handle into Toolbox
Berrymash Purgative into Physician's Bag

New Sacks
Nail Box: Holds Nails.
Kindling: Holds any Tinder
Ball of Yarn: Holds any Fibre
Fruit Basket: Holds Any Fruit
Gem Box: Holds cut and uncut gems.
Feather Sack: Holds Any Feather
Tobacco Pouch: Holds Shredded Tobacco, a Tobacco Pouch can be also put in gadget belts.

Will go into Inspirational storage changes latter.

[pistolshrimp]

Day 10: Metes and Bounds / Horses / Carts Part 2 - Town Changes

What It Does: Shifts the current role of Boundary Stones to Town Makers. Right-clicking a Boundary Stone now gives the option to upgrade it to a Town Marker. This upgrade is a Silver Cost only, and changes what the Boundary Stone looks like. This option only exists for Mayors and the Silver Drain once connected to the PClaim is now connected to the Town Bell, gives Town Claim and Bounds claim but extended to all citizens. If the Town Bell is ever destroyed the Town Marker downgrades to back a Boundary Stone, with no Silver refund.

Additional Town/Claim Changes:
Menial Labor Permission: New P Claims Permission type, which basically gives permissions for tasks that may overlap into other permissions but are required for everyday existence. For instance Lifting Objects would not count as larceny unless they were brought out of the claim. Chopping Trees would not count as a Vandalism Crime, etc.

Payment Changes: Law & Lore Bonus removed, top Towns no longer get money from Player Stalls in Providence. Offer Citizenship costs Silver and has a cool down affected by Major's status and town size. However, cost of maintaining a town goes to 0 and the only costs are related to Offering Citizenship, and maintaining the Bounds Claim, so Town Bells can still run out of money and lose benefits. Town Charter price should be raised to 10k.

New Structure - Merchant's Barrel: Number that can be built is related to number of citizens in the town and the town size so they can't really be spammed. Would work like Player Stalls but with 3 slots, towns take a % of sales that the mayor sets as well as a tax for weeks when there are 0 sales. But there is no intial rent required. Breaking the barrel scatters the items and the silver inside.

Invoke Eminent Domain Changes: Minimum cost cheaper but no longer flat and scales based on size and the Status of the player that has their Homestead there. Overall meaning it will be cheaper and easier to deal with claims where no one lives, but harder to Invoke Eminent Domain over places where people live, especially if they have played the game for a while and have a high character.

Why it's Good for Salem: Allows Towns to get the benefit of Bounds, also as the structures already exists, upgrading from a Pclaim to town feels more natural and and benefits from work previously in place. Also as Town Markers are built from Boundary Stones they would be indestructible meaning they don't really need to be protected. Thematically the boundary of a town or a claim is not a literal thing on the ground but marks on a paper. Having to build walls and braziers around your boundary stones has never seemed like an intuitive or meaningful element of game play. Permissions fixes, Merchant Barrels, and Imminent Domain changes make living in and managing a town easier, while implementing cool towns to citizenship and town expansion nerf the abilities of throw away towns.

[pistolshrimp]

[b]Day 11: Mason's Room VIII - Rehab[/b]

What It Does: This is simple room with a few beds in it, very similar to the hospital room, however, sleeping in these beds dramatically speeds up recovery from drug withdrawals, ie Satan Salts and Bollocks.

Why it's Good for Salem: It's a pretty neutral change for Salem but keeping in line with Mason's scaling advantages which, while not always needed, are pretty useful when they are.

Dev Effort Required: LOW. Mostly just a new room and NPC to create, no new items are needed.

[Ronch]

Have witches vampire thermal from other players nearby.

I'm still fleshing out my ideas for witchcraft but my goal would be to increase paranoia about witches and to do that there should be close to (but not none) indications that there is a witch nearby. Your idea could work well if it was subtle enough and or had a big enough range, like are you cold because you are on a cold spot or is there a witch nearby. At the very least it should be a curse.

All of the ideas shared here so far are worthy of consideration.

But if your objective as you stated is to garner interest from JC, then we should be sharing our ideas on the topic of tweaks and update-changes that JC left with us as his future update plans and ideas for his game.
ie:
1,...Witchcraft. (overhaul)
2,...Horses and other beast of burden additions to the game. (additions)
3,...JC considering gluttony system tweaks or an overhaul. JC has left the decision in our hands as to whether it is going to be just tweaks or a total overhaul of the gluttony system. (update)
4,...Thermal(s) and or additional environmental effects upon game play. (update).

But, most of the offered ideas that I have read here so far are -->not<-- directed toward what JC has left us with as to his future planed update(s) to his game.
Which IMO will not bring JC to a table of "what we want updated" that's been created with this thread.

Also IMO, JC will come to the table that "he created for us" ...You know, the "table" containing his ideas that he asked our feedback upon concerning his update ideas listed above, the update plans that he left for us on these forums just months before he abandoned us to our just deserts.

[pistolshrimp]

But if your objective as you stated is to garner interest from JC, then we should be sharing our ideas on the topic of tweaks and update-changes that JC left with us as his future update plans and ideas for his game.

My objective is much less optimistic and high browed. I definitely don't think any of my ideas could be good enough to restore interest in Salem if its lacking for him. This is simply an high effort patch when thread with the hopes of annoying JC with well intentioned ideas.

1,...Witchcraft. (overhaul)
2,...Horses and other beast of burden additions to the game. (additions)
3,...JC considering gluttony system tweaks or an overhaul. JC has left the decision in our hands as to whether it is going to be just tweaks or a total overhaul of the gluttony system. (update)
4,...Thermal(s) and or additional environmental effects upon game play. (update).

1. I will get to witchcraft, I have the basics but not well enough to write up.
2. I did a Horse and Cart system. (Metes and Bounds)
3. I have a 4 part complete Gluttony replacement already written up, but I have maybe 7 posts that need to come before because they all build off each other.
4. I did a Thermal and Season overhaul, including Heat Exhaustion and many temperature based affects on the world.

I do see your point tho, and when I run out of some of the ideas I have planned I will check to see what ideas JC was throwing around. I have another guest post coming so I didn't want to do any multipart posts just yet, but I will get back into some more meaty ideas soon. Also, as I for-see this taking a long time, I am spacing out my ideas, I have a bunch already written up tho.

[pistolshrimp]

Day 12: Salt and Sugar Changes

What It Does: Spices, Salt and Sugars were pretty important in colonial times, this changes adds a bit of variety to the ones that currently exists and add some more, in preparation for them having new importance during a future Gluttony Overhaul.

Salt in recipes becomes Any Salt,
Sugar --> Any Sweetener

Coarse Salt ---> Coarse Sea Salt which is now found only on Ocean Beaches. (White)
Salt Boulders can be found when mining which can be chipped for Coarse Rock Salt (Pink Boulder, pink salt).
Either Coarse Salts can be put into a Smoker to Smoked Coarse Salt. (Brown)
Or Placed in a Kiln to make Coarse Black Salt. (Black)
All types of Coarse Salts can be ground into salt using a Grindstone and then that Salt can be stored in bags and barrels like other dry goods.

Sugar ---> Cane Sugar
Honey counts as Any Sweetener

New Skill: Maple Tapping ---> Allows a Maple Tap to be built and placed on Red and Grand Maple Trees, which slowly fill up with Maple Sap, speed is connected to Temperature, colder = more sap faster. Right-clicking a bucket on your Maple Tap fills up the bucket with the sap. Also also for building of Colliquative Pressure Cooker. Unlike old Pressure Cooker this one only accepts liquids, 10 L, and then can be placed in a Stove.
Placing 10 L of Maple Sap in Pressure Cooker yields 1 L of Maple Syrup. Maple Syrup counts as Any Sweetener

New Potable Plant for Gardening Pots ---> Sugar Beets. A Sugar Beet can be placed in a clay or copper pot filled with water and boiled to turn the contents into 5 or 10 L of Beet Pulp. Placing 10 L of Beet Pulp in Pressure Cooker yields 1 L of Molasses. Jar of Molasses is removed from the shop. Molasses counts as Any Sweetener.

Blossoms picked from Fruit Trees can be placed in Glass Distiller to make .1 L of Blossom Nectar. Blossom Nectar counts as Any Sweetener.

Drinking Molasses: Gives Bracing Buff, prevents hypothermia (even if body temperature is bellow 97), although it does not warm the body so if the buff goes away before your body temperature rises you will get hypothermia , Bracing also and prevents Fractures while under its effects.
Drinking Maple Syrup: Sugar Rush: Run faster, no withdrawals, can stack with satan salts.
Drinking Blossom Nectar: No specific buff but increases the effects of other buffs by a percentage related to how much you drink. Meaning if you drink 1 L of Nectar other buffs will increase in effectiveness by 10%.

Why it's Good for Salem: None of this is very big of and in itself although I think Maple Syrup is a very New England thing and is really missing from the game, and puts a little more power into Temperature and also brings back the Colliquative Pressure Cooker which just feels like a win.

[Ronch]

I do see your point tho, and when I run out of some of the ideas I have planned I will check to see what ideas JC was throwing around. I have another guest post coming so I didn't want to do any multipart posts just yet, but I will get back into some more meaty ideas soon. Also, as I for-see this taking a long time, I am spacing out my ideas, I have a bunch already written up tho.

Fair enough.
...Although I still see/know your 'approach' to dialog with JC about his game's updates, is the wrong approach, or rather, your approach is blind to JC's historical-demeanor here, but more importantly an unwise approach to his position here as the 'owner' and sole-developer of Salem.

[pistolshrimp]

I still see/know your 'approach' to dialog with JC about his game's updates, is the wrong approach, or rather, your approach is blind to JC's historical-demeanor here, but more importantly an unwise approach to his position here as the 'owner' and sole-developer of Salem.

I really don't understand your criticism here. Maybe you could word it another way.

I am going to clarify my intentions here one more time, as it seems to be coming up more often than I thought it would when I started.

What this is NOT: I am not a game designer, I do not have every aspects of every change figured out. I am not even a top teir salem player. I do not think my ideas are so grand as to convince JC to come back.

Nor is this some sort of worship piece to Salem or JC. While I think disappearing is completely understand it still sucks. HIS game is good, but it also has a few major flaws. We can ignore them and say well they;re HIS flaws, but that doesn't make the game better. I will not hesitate to call what I percieve are the flaws out, but not as a harsh critique but as a dialogue for improvement. I will also do so with a grain of salt, as I said above I know my place.

What this IS: When need inspiration I look all over the place, to bad ideas and good ideas, hoping they will conjure something new inside of me. Sometimes that new idea is are drawn from the source, or sometimes it completely unrelated, but fire needs a spark. Maybe you don't work that way. Maybe JC doesn't work that way. Maybe JC stares a blank wall until an idea comes to him fully formed. In the chance that JC DOES like inpiration from time to time I am creating this thread. Currently there are 0 other new idea being posted on the forum right now. If anyone want to make a thread called "JC, here's some suggestions based only on the things you already want" I will happily read and support that thread in whatever way seems fit.

I will probably touch on every mecahnic JC has mentioned wanting to add or change. But I will cover other stuff as well. I can't see how that is wrong or will make him less likely to return given his currently community invovlment seems to be hovering around 0%. What I will do is edit my main post to give an overview of some of the major changes I have suggested as well as highlight mechanics JC has already said he wanted.