Adobe Houses

[dcastello79]

I don't know if someone has already suggested this, or if you, the creators, have already thought of this and have intentionally neglected the idea, but I thought it would be really cool if you could implement an adobe house building option that is comprised of clay, log beams (blocks), and wood floor-boards (or something along those lines). It would be an interesting alternative to log cabins, which necessitate lots of wood...this would only require lots of clay. It would allow people to adjust the way they settle down, allowing cities to exist without as much of a wood crisis.

[Jfloyd]

I don't know if someone has already suggested this, or if you, the creators, have already thought of this and have intentionally neglected the idea, but I thought it would be really cool if you could implement an adobe house building option that is comprised of clay, log beams (blocks), and wood floor-boards (or something along those lines). It would be an interesting alternative to log cabins, which necessitate lots of wood...this would only require lots of clay. It would allow people to adjust the way they settle down, allowing cities to exist without as much of a wood crisis.

I wouldn't mind this if the mudflats got the clay pits back, and if these could only be built there.
I'd imagine this should only be done if mudflats had some rare resource or something, which would be nice.

[Gauteamus]

Can you think of any actual game mechanics to differentiate the two buildings other than cost?

Maybe the adobe can't have cellars (for some mysterious reason), but instead has a walkable roof that counts as outside as far as decay goes.
Maybe the adobe has less space (3x3) than the cabin?
Maybe the adobe cant be used for cheese production - or directly turn any cheese into gouda?
Maybe differentiation in cost is enough to make them stand apart, adobes being the valid choice in some environments, cabins in others (somehow making regional architectural differences emerge "naturally" would be nice - Jfloyds suggestion of only buildable on mudflat would work toward this (regional diffs on a small scale.)

Points for coming up with gameplay differences that does not introduce new complicated features.

[Jfloyd]

I think a smaller size, a roof instead of a cellar would be nice.
Maybe it could produce another tier of cheese on it's own.
Since it'd be in the sun more, Dry *insert cheese with a D name here*.

I personally have always wanted to live on the mudflats but right now they are 100% pointless.
Things like oasises, and new herbs should flourish in the mudflats. Also, desert like clothing please.
Give us special cattle as well, for our special cheese.

[Jackard]

as interesting as those might be they dont really seem to fit with the theme of the game

[Potjeh]

Cob does.

But what I really want is a brick house, BEFORE wolves get implemented.

[jorb]

I'd love some more houses as well, of various types and building materials, but we need a better philosophy in implementing them then the (lack of) one we have now. I would love freeform building, but it has a bundle of issues. An issue with the hand drawn stuff we have now (Apart from the fact that the houses look like shit) is that its -- on the other side of the spectrum -- probably less dynamic than it has to be.

[Fluffy]

I would love freeform building, but it has a bundle of issues.

Elaborate?

[Sweetness]

Wattle and daub does fit the theme of this game. So would turf and reindeer bones.

[dcastello79]

Well, I was initially just posting this as a raw idea, but since it has brought in some attention, I think it would be a good time for me to explain my idea a little more thoroughly.

Pros:
-You can stack your adobe houses adjacent to each other. This means that you can build them next to each other to form a little, semi-protected plaza area in the middle b/c the houses can replace the palisade options as a house/animal deterrence. However, this reduces the amount of roof space available (this mechanic doesn't need to be implemented, just an idea).
-Very useful in areas where clay is prevalent.
-Useful for building small farms on top of the houses to protect oneself from nasty critters.
-A ladder is built to access the house on the outside, since the only opening to the dwelling is through the roof.


Cons:
-Costs a ridiculous amount of clay (in relative proportion to houses). Also costs lots of lumber for beams, flax and branches for the ladders (both on the outside, and into it).
-Very vulnerable to attack, clay is not resilient at all. So, people can destroy it easily and it decays.
-There aren't really any tools to make adobe houses, so it should take awhile to build it. I dunno how adobe bricks are made, but I'm pretty sure they are dried out in the sun for long amounts of time.