[IDEAS] Villager needs and interactions with each other and the player #216

Skivling commented 2024年10月20日 09:46:16 +02:00

I had an idea that villagers should need to eat, therefore there needs to be enough farmers and farms for that village, with a variety of crops grown there. During their work cycle, farmers could actually farm their fields and replant the seeds, then share equally between everyone. If people are malnourished or don't have their favourite food or enough variety, they begin to complain which could also affect mood and prices when those are implemented.

However, farms only provide basic crops and some villagers would want baked goods like bread, or cooked meats. There is a butcher villager type which could manage herds of animals in fenced off areas - if animals can breed then the butchers can keep the numbers stable and kill occasionally according to other villager's needs. Maybe they'd hang with the animals sometimes, hang at furnaces other times (esp. after they've killed an animal and have meat to cook) during their work cycle. It would probably be farmers who'd take wheat and bake it into bread.

During 'free' time but when tavern keepers are working is when villagers might go to taverns to eat. Farmers and butchers could be seen visiting the taverns to stock up the food supplies. While thinking about this it would also be nice for the other villagers, carpenters and blacksmiths, to have a role in this localised economy. Perhaps buying furnature from carpenters (#203, #175) is much easier and cheaper than crafting. Blacksmiths might need resources from the player in order to build tools for the other villagers so they can do their jobs.

This would all make villages and villagers much more interesting, but there would also need to be some player involvement - it's a game after all. Maybe, as a member of the village, they could be asked by villagers to perform certain tasks and be paid in a bit of gold. And they are the ones with the ability to build new houses, new buildings, new farms, and bring in more villagers, so they have a reason to ensure they're all happy and well. That also benefits them when they wish to trade.

I had an idea that villagers should need to eat, therefore there needs to be enough farmers and farms for that village, with a variety of crops grown there. During their work cycle, farmers could actually farm their fields and replant the seeds, then share equally between everyone. If people are malnourished or don't have their favourite food or enough variety, they begin to complain which could also affect mood and prices when those are implemented. However, farms only provide basic crops and some villagers would want baked goods like bread, or cooked meats. There is a butcher villager type which could manage herds of animals in fenced off areas - if animals can breed then the butchers can keep the numbers stable and kill occasionally according to other villager's needs. Maybe they'd hang with the animals sometimes, hang at furnaces other times (esp. after they've killed an animal and have meat to cook) during their work cycle. It would probably be farmers who'd take wheat and bake it into bread. During 'free' time but when tavern keepers are working is when villagers might go to taverns to eat. Farmers and butchers could be seen visiting the taverns to stock up the food supplies. While thinking about this it would also be nice for the other villagers, carpenters and blacksmiths, to have a role in this localised economy. Perhaps buying furnature from carpenters (#203, #175) is much easier and cheaper than crafting. Blacksmiths might need resources from the player in order to build tools for the other villagers so they can do their jobs. This would all make villages and villagers much more interesting, but there would also need to be some player involvement - it's a game after all. Maybe, as a member of the village, they could be asked by villagers to perform certain tasks and be paid in a bit of gold. And they are the ones with the ability to build new houses, new buildings, new farms, and bring in more villagers, so they have a reason to ensure they're all happy and well. That also benefits them when they wish to trade.

Wuzzy commented 2024年10月21日 03:53:14 +02:00

Summary:

• Villagers have hunger
• Farmers replant seeds
• Villager mood goes down if hungry, affecting prices
• Villagers use the furnace
• Butchers butch
• Villagers gather in tavern at evening
• Make carpenter stuff cheaper than crafting
• Villagers give quests

That’s quite a lot of things. And yes, I’ve already planned on an improved day cycle and behavior. But I don’t know how much work I want to put into this because Repixture isn’t meant to be a full-blown RPG.

While I like the direction, I think the concepts still need fleshing out and playtesting.

But one of my ideas was having a mood system indeed, with various events affecting mood, also having some internal stats (like hunger, sleep, etc). Villagers already get grumpy when they can't find a bed, but this doesn’t affect gameplay (yet). One example for bad mood would be when a villager notices you lockpick a chest. This makes them angry. Which means looting villages will no longer be without consequence.

I’m also not sure on how much I want villagers to manipulate the world. I suppose replanting crops and using the furnace is reasonable tho. But building and digging is out of scope for this game; well at least before The Golden Age milestone was reached.

A quest system would be a huge change to the game and I don’t know if I want this. If I add quests, then only simple ones with no story as this isn't an RPG. But I'm sceptical because I'm afraid quests might break the sandbox nature of this game too much because they add "instructions" to the game. But maybe some other kind of reward system could be added.

Current uses for villagers:

• Trade
• Chit-chat (reveals their current needs)
• Get information about your item
• Kill for (low-level) loot

BTW, one idea I had for trading was an option to reshuffle trades when paying in bread (or other profession-specific food).

Summary: * Villagers have hunger * Farmers replant seeds * Villager mood goes down if hungry, affecting prices * Villagers use the furnace * Butchers butch * Villagers gather in tavern at evening * Make carpenter stuff cheaper than crafting * Villagers give quests That’s quite a lot of things. And yes, I’ve already planned on an improved day cycle and behavior. But I don’t know how much work I want to put into this because Repixture isn’t meant to be a full-blown RPG. While I like the direction, I think the concepts still need fleshing out and playtesting. But one of my ideas was having a mood system indeed, with various events affecting mood, also having some internal stats (like hunger, sleep, etc). Villagers already get grumpy when they can't find a bed, but this doesn’t affect gameplay (yet). One example for bad mood would be when a villager notices you lockpick a chest. This makes them angry. Which means looting villages will no longer be without consequence. I’m also not sure on how much I want villagers to manipulate the world. I suppose replanting crops and using the furnace is reasonable tho. But building and digging is out of scope for this game; well at least before The Golden Age milestone was reached. A quest system would be a huge change to the game and I don’t know if I want this. If I add quests, then only simple ones with no story as this isn't an RPG. But I'm sceptical because I'm afraid quests might break the sandbox nature of this game too much because they add "instructions" to the game. But maybe some other kind of reward system could be added. Current uses for villagers: * Trade * Chit-chat (reveals their current needs) * Get information about your item * Kill for (low-level) loot BTW, one idea I had for trading was an option to reshuffle trades when paying in bread (or other profession-specific food).

Skivling commented 2024年10月21日 07:09:13 +02:00

Replanting crops, using work nodes like furnaces , and maybe butchers butching animals is all villagers should do to manipulate the world. Any other needs are built or dug by the player who wants to improve a village. And I also agree quests don't fit the game - trading can be used to get the player to, for instance, trade some metals to a blacksmith. They'd indicate wanting specific metals in their chit-chat. Same as butchers or farmers wanting more farm space - chit-chat is a useful feature for that.

BTW, one idea I had for trading was an option to reshuffle trades when paying in bread (or other profession-specific food).

What do you mean by that? Like if I traded something and gave the villager their profession-specific food (or a food they 'liked') it would reshuffle their trades? If so, that sounds good.

Replanting crops, using work nodes like furnaces , and maybe butchers butching animals is all villagers should do to manipulate the world. Any other needs are built or dug by the player who wants to improve a village. And I also agree quests don't fit the game - trading can be used to get the player to, for instance, trade some metals to a blacksmith. They'd indicate wanting specific metals in their chit-chat. Same as butchers or farmers wanting more farm space - chit-chat is a useful feature for that. > BTW, one idea I had for trading was an option to reshuffle trades when paying in bread (or other profession-specific food). What do you mean by that? Like if I traded something and gave the villager their profession-specific food (or a food they 'liked') it would reshuffle their trades? If so, that sounds good.

Wuzzy commented 2024年10月21日 12:32:59 +02:00

What do you mean by that? Like if I traded something and gave the villager their profession-specific food (or a food they 'liked') it would reshuffle their trades? If so, that sounds good.

Yes, something like that. I would probably put that in the trading menu tho, as a special "trade". The exact details still need to be worked out. Like I'm not sure if I want to reset all trades, or only some, or add a new trading slot, or whatever. Probably some time limit should be added as well, otherwise the player could too quickly access every possible trade when stockpilng bread.

> What do you mean by that? Like if I traded something and gave the villager their profession-specific food (or a food they 'liked') it would reshuffle their trades? If so, that sounds good. Yes, something like that. I would probably put that in the trading menu tho, as a special "trade". The exact details still need to be worked out. Like I'm not sure if I want to reset all trades, or only some, or add a new trading slot, or whatever. Probably some time limit should be added as well, otherwise the player could too quickly access every possible trade when stockpilng bread.