more functional stuff
^^ I raise up this point.
In the game Dragon Quest Builders they do some interesting things…although I don’t know if they take it to the right level to make it an awesome game.
One concept they introduce is for builders, which I think would fit in this MMORPG style world. If you build something, and it meets certain specs (in their case # of beds, # of windows, # of other things) then it becomes a type of room. You can make an armory to arm your citizens when the town is attacked, ect.
While much of this tactic is employed to give the single player experience a multiplayer/team feel, I think it would be cool for builders to use in a way that hasn’t been introduced yet.
In every building game (even Minecraft) buildings are pointless husks that hold BLOCKS that have power.
I.E. → “This is my crafting house! It is a shell around my crafting blocks, and no matter the shell, the crafting blocks still work, so I made it look like this!”
It would be cool if builders could make blocks that require more then their placement to function. They required a building built around them, and that building then had a purpose. The blueprints for these buildings would be invaluable, as non-builders would want to have the ‘effects’ but might not want to figure out how to build them and make them look nice.
A basic example:
A hospital: There is no block in the game currently that heals you, or helps you deal with the environmental effects that are coming in the game. This multi-block structure would give you the option to be healed (coin cost) and would also , (depending on how it is built) also offer limited, short term protection from some environmental types…and heal any lingering environmental effects.
That is a service ^^ There are not always going to be ways to offer services in the game, other then having a player next to you. Imbuing structures with purpose via services, allows for towns to have more meaning and a diverse requirement of buildings.
Right now, a settlement is made up of …houses and stores. We only need so many houses…and so many stores. Buildings need purpose so that Settlements can have direction in which to grow into.
Just my 2 cents.