Gather our forces!

[QueryEverything]

@QueryEverything I too hope Luke reads the thread.  I know others in the past have also requested a means of getting crop seeds other than the riverboat merchant, but my request that didn't make the list.  I wouldn't have thought adding a minimize button to the statistic info box would have been that difficult either.  Oh well.

Not really necessary though to have the new crop seeds come that way, the work around now which @RedKetchup (Garden Walls) , @Necora (Maple & Pine sets), & Kral (he released a full range of trees in CC, I couldn't find a separate mod though), which is by the use of modded foresters, is quite a good one.  You place your Forester down, you send your gatherers in, and there you are, beautiful fields full of XYZ products.  Also, being able to use custom traders, there are a couple available, with the most recent one being @kid1293 new Alotofseeds here.

Whilst I agree having the ability to have new seeds available from gathering them in the wild, or from a greenhouse, should have come in the game, the work arounds now are excellent, and I no longer miss this missing feature.  All we really need to do now is ask the modders nicely for more types to be made

As for the blasphemy of modders moving on, @embx61 was absolutely right, modders will move on to new and amazing products, it's natural game evolution, and as much as I love Banished, the newer games that aren't treated as Abandonware by their creators will attract players & modders alike.  My hope though that Banished will keep it's status alive because of the modders, and not because of Luke.


{edit}} Updated my first comment to also include the new mod @kid1293 has released:  Alotofseeds

[embx61]

Thanks @QueryEverything

I also hope that Banished will stay alive and flourishing.
At the moment I have no desire to move to other games to mod

So you guys are stuck with me at least a good bit longer

[Abandoned]

How soon they forget.  @QueryEverything dear, back in Feb sometime you criticized my opinion of modders abandoning this game in favor of new games (been there, done that) as being defeatist. I then took flack from elemental and others.  Now you are agreeing with embox61 and defending his comment.  I agree with him, I said it first, and I've experienced it many times before, been there, done that!. Oh, so now you are saying I was absolutely right, right?

And I happen to like seeing the crops planted and harvested in the fields as Luke intended.  It is more and more difficult to get seeds because of all the unnecessary items in the game. Dear, don't tell me about specialized traders, I know all about them.  I've even written stories about them. This thread was a request to get something added by Luke that didn't come with the came.

I have asked "nicely" for items to be made and even went to the trouble of summarizing a to-do list of other people's request, however items I asked for and ones at the bottom of the list did not get done because of other asked for, more and more storage barns and beach houses and butchers etc.  The modders can and do make whatever they like.

so, dear, my hope is that you will soon move on to a new and better game. (Not Luke's)  End of Discussion

[RedKetchup]

I have asked "nicely" for items to be made and even went to the trouble of summarizing a to-do list of other people's request, however items I asked for and ones at the bottom of the list did not get done because of other asked for, more and more storage barns and beach houses and butchers etc.  The modders can and do make whatever they like.

can i ask what you asked nicely and you didnt got ?

[Abandoned]

@RedKetchup , no, it doesn't matter.  And regarding the minimize button, I don't think it can be done anyways.  It's the statistic box shown in the screenshot, I usually keep it open to keep an eye on everything. But that top line is where it shows the sick or homeless or workers without workplace so that is probably why there isn't one.  With the update that info box will be bigger with the new added flags but it doesn't matter, I don't think I will update.

[embx61]

@Abandoned

I see were you are coming from regarding many items in the game.
It is a sort of evolution what happened. Someone made a crop and suddenly the guy (I think it was Kralyerg) was overwhelmed with request's to put this crop, that crop, and that crop we not even find on earth, but who knows it grows on Mars in the game. LOLOL

So here we are 100+ crops further and a lot of them are gameplay wise worthless besides the look. But for a lot of people the look counts too though.
More variation on the farm fields.

I said it before. With the tons of production chains added the game has gone beyond it limits.
Lots of products in mods, mine too, are just for Trade as there is no way to make good use of them because of the limitations of the modkit.
Sure, some modder will find a hack or workaround to utilize something but it will come to an end unless Luke expands the modkit.

It is humans nature to just ask for about anything to mod. I do not care as long it is feasible and I am able to do it. But lots is not possible at all, some with hacks and workarounds, and others are fully possible but we finally end up with 30 butchers, 10 churches, 20 mills, 15 bakers, 200 houses, etc. etc.
But that is not bad because lots of people want the variety of buildings.

If another game hit the road it will be after some time in the same loop as Banished unless the developer(s) keep adding stuff to the mod kit.

[RedKetchup]

@RedKetchup , no, it doesn't matter.  And regarding the minimize button, I don't think it can be done anyways.  It's the statistic box shown in the screenshot, I usually keep it open to keep an eye on everything. But that top line is where it shows the sick or homeless or workers without workplace so that is probably why there isn't one.  With the update that info box will be bigger with the new added flags but it doesn't matter, I don't think I will update.

@Abandoned  :

it is not your fault... nor any moddler's fault....
often sometimes people ask something .. but sometimes the moddler is occupied to do something else... sometimes they finish something but had something that was haunting their mind like crazy and want to get on it.....
moddlers goes with the things, what are in their mind and also they need to "feel" it ... they are persons, not a robot or a program ^^


what you asked.... is it that ?
like it is ... is it perfect for you ?
http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=1629.0

[elemental]

@Abandoned

It was me and not elemental who made the comment.

If not, I fear that the other similar games when they start to roll out will probably take some modders away from Banished if those games have a better and more varied modding features implemented. I am not suggesting Banished will die play and/or modding wise, but it is just the nature of us human beings to go where more modding support, modding features, etc. are implemented for a certain branch of games.

Let's face it, Banished is a nice game, made by one man, but it is not the pot of cold without it's flaws as some seem to think it is.

I agree and also disagree. It's complicated.   

People do like shiny new things. New games will inevitably draw modders and players away from Banished, and they don't even have to be games in the same genre. But that doesn't necessarily mean a new game will hold modders' and players' attention. You could have a game with all the features you could ever want - everything discussed here on WOB and more - but that doesn't automatically guarantee that it will be a good game or even an enjoyable game. Features are only part of what makes a game good.

Banished certainly has its flaws but obviously we all think it's a good game. If we didn't we wouldn't be here. But will we still be playing it in 1/2/5/10 years time? Who knows. New players are still joining this community, and that's a good thing and I think it's mostly because of modding.

Asking Luke for new features is a good idea. But whether or not he wants to develop the game further...? Again, who knows... No harm in trying though. 

[kid1293]

I agree, no harm in asking.
But, if he has 'gone beyond'  Banished maybe we never get his attention. 

So what shall it be? Are we asking for a list of things or just one?

Personally I think the build menu has to be expanded.

It removes the burden of many complicated CC build chains.
And @Tom Sawyer with the North. (bricks and roof tiles)
I know @Discrepancy  wants a production requirement added,
but can't we simulate that with more slots for building material?
Or is it me being short-sighted?

edit - I'm in favor of better zoom and more clothes levels too...

[RedKetchup]

i wish there is a way to make water

i remember when i started my canals... i digged an hole in the ground ... i tagged the tile as Water and/or DeepWater...
i was very deceived when i saw there was no water particle appearing and there was no way to call that function back from the map creation where it creates the map with all the lakes and rivers....
the code is there, it does it when it create the map, but no way to call it thenafter.

[Necora]

@kid1293 I'm confused, did you send the list from a page ago?

I like the way that was done, a list of small things to larger things. It is a hard choice, but I wonder if the more we ask for the more it shows that there is a committed community to advancing the game, and possibly the more likely he is to put the time and effort into it or even an improved Banished 2.0 or an expansion pack that will allow more focus on late game scenarios. On the flip side, perhaps he would only bother to do a little thing and not something more complex. I have no idea, I don't know anything about him, but I would hope that the first case would be the one. I would like to think that if he saw a decently long list of things that will collectively improve the game a lot and that we as a community would like to see in the game, as long as they are reasonable like that list is, then he would see it as something worth putting the time and effort into.

Plus, I really want the ability for a building to a) consume and item independently of the production chain (like a tool or fuel) and b) dictate the number of a resource produced, not in the rawmaterial template file After reading @Nilla 's testing of @Discrepancy 's newest stuff and my stuff before, I think that these would be very valuable additions to making some of the current buildings and chains much more interesting and easier to balance individual buildings against each other. I just had a good example of this, if you use the Pine Set with CC, then either the pine set charcoal is going to be super powered production wise, or the CC burner is going to be almost useless depending on what mod is on top. this is because the CC charcoal is set to a very high create value, because the building takes so long to make it. But mine is the opposite, a low create value because the buildings are relatively quick. Now I can change this for the next update, but there are probably so many of these little issues between mods that it is hard to catch them all.

And I don't know about keeping the game alive, but there are new players coming to the forums all of the time who have purchased the game for the mod additions rather than the vanilla game. There are always a few new post on the BL site, and a lot of people are drawn to it because of the mods that have been created. Certainly, that is why I started playing the game. After I lost patience with Sim City, I really wanted another community orientated and mod developed game, and Banished fit that bill perfectly. The game itself is relatively simple, it is free once you have bought the game (a MASSIVE bonus for me relating to many new games being released which often have a lot of additional pay per play options that I absolutely hate, why should I shell out a lot of money for a game then keep having to pay more just to keep playing it?) yet the modding has allowed people to expand it with a lot of imagination and various different themes and items to enhance the game. Now it would be nice to just get a bit more from the developer so we can continue doing this, because if we can, then I am sure Banished will keep attracting more people in the future.

[kid1293]

First, yes, I sent the email.

I am very split up about how to proceed. Somehow I feel like you do (and hope)
that Luke will think about us and be concerned/happy/proud about the current
developement. Then of course we should give him all support and give him free hands
to better the game. In that situation it is OK with a long list.
But - maybe he just doesn't have the time to commit himself to a long list and skips it all.
Then it would have been better with just one wish from all of us. He makes the upgrade
and he knows that he fulfilled his 'duty'.

The ten flags he gave was no big deal to code. The same can be said about building requirements.

Production requirements on the other hand... He probably has to go deeper in the program to
insert a programmable hook. Two for that matter. Item(s) needed and time span. Of course
it could be global and we could supply rugs/linen/furniture to keep a standard house going (could be fun)
but we talked about production buildings only so there must be code for that too.

For all I know, I don't want to go deep into my rowhouses again. I kind of left them. They're stable and
they live happily now. People probably want more of some things but right now I just fix bugs if there are any.

Keeping the game alive. Yes I guess it can be said that we give first aid all the time. We just don't have the tools
to make Banished immortal. Jokes aside, I feel I am running out of steam on this one. I have made the call.
Thanks for being there @Necora and I hope other people have their minds set. Not just 15 pages of wishful thinking.

[kid1293]

i wish there is a way to make water

Did you add RiverMaterial?

[elemental]

From his blog it seems that he wants to port Banished to Mac and Linux. It seems to be taking forever though.

How much dev time can we expect from a game that hasn't really changed since it was released 3 years ago? We got those new flags which was a huge surprise. It's really hard to tell what Luke thinks of Banished and what he wants to do with it.

I suggest we submit a wish list, not just one thing. He doesn't seem to be very community-focused (read - doesn't respond very often) but it can't hurt to ask. 

Better zoom
More building materials
Ability to add water tiles that look like water
Buildings can consume goods to function
Better happiness system
Fix that road bug, if it hasn't been fixed already
Horse and cart and land traders! <-- I would happily pay for these as a DLC!
Animated buildings 
Probably lots more...

[RedKetchup]

i wish there is a way to make water

Did you add RiverMaterial?

i dunno, a long time ago. i played with things that supposely added water to the map but dont remember exactly what it was