by Ariander » Wed Dec 29, 2010 1:16 pm Very new to the game as a whole, so please feel free to take any suggestions with that in mind and a large dose of salt.
These are all very non grind/skill oriented things - so I'm not sure anyone will give a fig about these ideas. But as a new player, one of the things I love about the game is the building functions and the fact that the players can create (or destroy) the landscape. After you've been grinding for a few hours, very fun to exercise some creativity in decoration and design imo. 
BUILDING CUSTOMIZATION IDEAS:
1) windows for cabins (the side panel), houses (the face) and inns (face and side panel) - skills: carpentry/glassmaking
2) Flower boxes and window boxes for decorations that could be installed with windows or a selection of items, like containers, that could have flowers added to them and then be placed on the ground (for decoration)
3) A gardening skill - so that things planted with this skill could be specifically landscaping oriented, and not for harvesting - example: take existing plants that have flowers and create copies with a variety of colors. When planted, they don't do anything except look nice.
(and when clicked on could have the option to "tear out" or "dig up" rather than harvest) Maybe having flowers could attract more moths or bees too. 4) Dyes and paints - dyes could be used in tandem with creating: bedspreads (sturdy bed in dif. colors and possibly patterns), rugs (dye different threads and cloth to make different colors of rugs (and maybe sizes?) and used when making clay for pots, jars and bricks (to get a variety of colors)
5) the ability to construct small ponds or fountains (masonry) If not near a well or water source, could make these have to be filled by hand so building them and filling them to working condition could take quite of bit of time. (Think about filling a pool requiring 100's of gallons of water with 10l buckets *g*)
6) Gardening again: add a few different colored pixels to grass tiles and make these available via gardening or landscaping to add some variety to ground textures built inside villages or owned land.
7) Benches! (They don't have to actually seat 2 sprites - just look like they do - heh!)
8) Firepits (masonry) that could be filled like troughs and coops and other items, with wood and then burned for fireside gatherings (can't be picked up and moved - must be "destroyed/torn down)
9) more types of garland that could festoon house fronts or hung from posts for decoration
BOTH DECORATIVE and USEFUL:
1) Like palisades in terms of time and materials consumption, but for villages - fenceposts or other paved road liners that could be available only inside village claimed land and only alongside paved tiles (or stomped paths) and would still act as barricades to movement (though probably like fences, be relatively easy to vandalize/destroy)
2) Like runestones, but allow for check of input. SO, for example I post on this object (sign or whatever):
What is the password:
And a user clicking on this object would be prompted to fill in a set of letters
(Could be a fun way to allow for things like treasure hunts, games of chance, etc. to be created by players for players w/o need of coding intervention)
3) Some additions to landscaping and sculptures to enable players to create a temporary "owned" area for like a fairground or market and invite other players to attend (sort of like creating a mini park so players can create their own festivals and gatherings)
4) a chest that acts as normal, but has a "grab" option available - so a person who builds one could fill the chest with a variety of items and then drop it on the ground for another user to click "grab" and get, at random, one of the items inside the chest. (Great way to offer prizes for player-run events) If the chest is destroyed - all the objects inside would be as well. (Make it lockable)
and finally...
5) a treasure system - whereby cartography has a whole new level of interest. You could literally "bury" items at spots in the ground, create a map marking the spot the item was buried and then these items can be chased after, fought over and dug up.
(Could even add a net to water tiles that could pull up treasures in the water)
