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A new plot type: Unique (New Bugle rant)

Irealys

Well-Known Member
Banned
Messages
830
I saw that once more the newspaper plot is gated towards the end of the industrial tech tree and that is a real shame. This is a plot that would ABSOLUTELY be best used early in the game. Daily articles commenting on your progress have a much more interesting impact as you go along than it will have if you unlock it three quarters into the game. But putting it in the last building class to be unlocked in the industrial tree means that most players (that play without unlocking all plans/classes) will have accumulated a fair share of settlements, progressed trough the story, saved people and just generally did stuff that players could have enjoyed reading an article about as they come home from their adventures. Similarly to how the radio works in F3 and F4, early in the game this feature provides positive reinforcement, the feeling that you are making a difference but as you get further in the story and achieve much bigger things, there is a diminishing return. Here's an easy way to see what I mean.

Let's take the idea of an article about a small settlement joining us. If this happens in the first week, after I barely unlocked any settlements, this article can give a sense of "we're on our way towards building something". But if it happens while in game you retook the Castle, the article about a settlement joining is nice but considering what you did, it feels a bit less impactful. If on top of that you saw the Brotherhood arrival, discovered the Institute and fought at Bunker Hill... then that article about that small settlement seems like it was a real slow news day.

Now I understand that this plot cannot exist in SS2 as a basic level industrial, those are for junk gathering. Or the next one either. And so on and as an industrial plot the only place it makes sense to have it is there, as a production plot. But this is where I feel the need of the gameplay surpass the need for the structure and self limitation to be looked at. If it makes sense as a plot but doesn't make sense gameplay-wise, can we find a solution?

And my solution would be to have a new unique type of plots for situations such as these. This is a plot that (best of my knowledge) doesn't provide any gameplay advantage and would be most enjoyed in early game so by having this new Unique plot types (name isn't great so name it how you want) you could have it unlocked by meeting Piper or something similarly logical and early enough for players to get the most out of the experience this plot offers. Right now this is the only plot that I really thought about but I'm sure there are other situations where this could apply, buildings that thematically fit in late game unlocks but whose gameplay is better suited for early game.

Thank you for reading.
 
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I saw that once more the newspaper plot is gated towards the end of the industrial tech tree and that is a real shame. This is a plot that would ABSOLUTELY be best used early in the game. Daily articles commenting on your progress have a much more interesting impact as you go along than it will have if you unlock it three quarters into the game. But putting it in the last building class to be unlocked in the industrial tree means that most players (that play without unlocking all plans/classes) will have accumulated a fair share of settlements, progressed trough the story, saved people and just generally did stuff that players could have enjoyed reading an article about as they come home from their adventures. Similarly to how the radio works in F3 and F4, early in the game this feature provides positive reinforcement, the feeling that you are making a difference but as you get further in the story and achieve much bigger things, there is a diminishing return. Here's an easy way to see what I mean.

Let's take the idea of an article about a small settlement joining us. If this happens in the first week, after I barely unlocked any settlements, this article can give a sense of "we're on our way towards building something". But if it happens while in game you retook the Castle, the article about a settlement joining is nice but considering what you did, it feels a bit less impactful. If on top of that you saw the Brotherhood arrival, discovered the Institute and fought at Bunker Hill... then that article about that small settlement seems like it was a real slow news day.

Now I understand that this plot cannot exist in SS2 as a basic level industrial, those are for junk gathering. Or the next one either. And so on and as an industrial plot the only place it makes sense to have it is there, as a production plot. But this is where I feel the need of the gameplay surpass the need for the structure and self limitation to be looked at. If it makes sense as a plot but doesn't make sense gameplay-wise, can we find a solution?

And my solution would be to have a new unique type of plots for situations such as these. This is a plot that (best of my knowledge) doesn't provide any gameplay advantage and would be most enjoyed in early game so by having this new Unique plot types (name isn't great so name it how you want) you could have it unlocked by meeting Piper or something similarly logical and early enough for players to get the most out of the experience this plot offers. Right now this is the only plot that I really thought about but I'm sure there are other situations where this could apply, buildings that thematically fit in late game unlocks but whose gameplay is better suited for early game.

Thank you for reading.
Could fit in under Municipal plot, like a public benefit as information is beneficial for all like water, electricity, caravan.
Meeting Piper as unlock is fitting.
 
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