[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Oh, I do not really scare anyone these days, I just lurk as a hobby, not as a professional scarer 😅

BBQ sounds good too. Did you put on some thematic music?

I like it, but I have a little list of things that would make it better 😉

[ChristianRasmussen]

@DoctorEldritch sorry, level of micromanagement. you lost me there for a second, what game are we talking about that you fine the level of micromanagement to be annoying ?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch It would be interesting to see people's reactions when they ask what is one of your hobbies and you mention lurking. It may be weird to them but who cares. Each to their own. 🤣😂

I always have music in the background when having a BBQ. I wouldn't say thematic music but some of the songs may have an element to it for example Lorna Shore's Through the Hellfire song. 😂

Please share your list. 🙂

[DoctorEldritch]

@ChristianRasmussen I am talking about Worshippers of Cthulhu.

For example, let's say you have 2 islands. You have cow and steak production set on one because it has bonuses for these resources, and, for example, a coal mine and iron smithy (or whatever it is called) set on the other. And some unoccupied houses on both of your islands, then new worshippers arrive.

You have no control over what specialisations end up where. So your "butcher" may end up on an island with mine, and your miner on an island with a cow farm. Then, you either put them to work and use a specialisation-changing ritual, but it would take you 10 minutes to change the specialisation of them both, or you need to select a house manually and swap the inhabitants.

Which is also something that you sort of need to do if you want a strong economy: you need to make sure people who work in a building are living close to it. The game does not do that automatically; new worshippers occupy free houses and stay there regardless of how close to their workplaces those houses are, you need to adjust it all manually. After some time, it gets tedious to do that, considering how many different production buildings there are.

That's the level of micromanagement that I find unnecessary. The game would not lose anything if specialisations were automatically sent to the islands where they are needed, or if people moved houses to be close to their jobs.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Ah, well, I mostly meet new people while lurking these days, we bump into each other in the shadows sometimes. So it is not that awkward, sometimes we even bond talking about how long each of us has been lurking as a hobby, sharing good locations with deep shadows, you know, usual stuff like that 😅

A BBQ would usually have some background music, true. Though when I visit my parents, we usually don't, we live not that far from one of those outdoor music stages, and we'd usually get the echoes of whatever music they are playing there. So we have no choice in what music we get to listen to, but on the other hand, we get live music for free.

As for the list, a couple of points I mentioned to @ChristianRasmussen above. In addition to that, I'd say I'd like it if the game sent you worshippers with advanced specialisations at the devotion level of that specialisation. Often, you get high-tier specialisations like butchers or idol carvers, but you can't put them to work because you need to ascend them, and you can't do that because their level of devotion is not high enough initially. Devotion rises when they are working, but you can't put them to work because they are not devoted enough. It is like a circle. So all you can do is change their specialisation to something else, and that is wasteful.

[ChristianRasmussen]

@DoctorEldritch I don't know why new cult members show up with a special skill to start with. Would be nice with a initiation process where the system has chosen a mark unless you chose to change it.
The housing problem really seemed like less of a problem when all the marks are in place and you produce so much of each resource, I never had to little.
And yes, they need some kind of inspire devotion for new areas or it just take to long to reallocate and remark them all.

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I've been away for awhile and have been lurking in the shadows for the main purpose not to be seen. Took a little sabbatical 🙂. The problem here is people who lurk are up to no good and not always good thing to bump into them.

Hopefully the live music is worthwhile and you don't have to suffer listening to absolute madness. BBQ's are my favourite pass time and a plus is the good music and food. It's a family tradition here.

The game does sound to have its flaws and not well though through. I will play it sometime and see if I'm up to spending time on the game and give my own feedback.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ChristianRasmussen I guess it makes sense narratively, as in, different people join the cult, before one joined, one was a butcher, and another was a lumberjack, it does add a dash of realism. As much as a game where a mark can change your skillset, anyway 😅

I am more cross that those higher-tier professions come with low devotion new members, rendering them almost unusable. What I ended up doing is promoting those "generic" ones all the time and putting them to work, and then gradually giving them marks. And those who arrive with high-tier marks end up working in temples or being sacrificed for sea beasts, or when making offerings instead.

Housing is not that much of a problem, but more of an annoyance. Tropic has that too, for example, sometimes people occupy houses far from their jobs. Often, the game tries to relocate them to be more or less convenient, but not always. The difference is, in Tropico, you have no control over where to put people, so when that happens, you're ok with it. Here, they gave you this option, but to make it useful, you need to micromanage a lot, so you do not bother most of the time. Why give this option at all then, just make the game sort it in the best way. Oh well.

That is not to say I am unhappy, it is a good enough game, but it needs polishing, I'd say.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot You should not be wary of bumping into no-gooders while lurking - they should be wary of bumping into you. 😅

Eh, it varies. Sometimes it is good, sometimes less so. Folk music can be good, but pop we do not enjoy as much. And even at its worst, it is not too distracting: at best, it is a pleasant background hum, like a band playing somewhere during a family fair, and at worst, it is a mildly annoying buzz like when someone in a train or plane has music too loud in their headphones. The main attraction is food, regardless.

Few games are fully flawless, and they did put in some effort. I just hope that they will address some of these things later on. So it may indeed pay off for you to give it a few months so they can polish it a bit.

[ChristianRasmussen]

@DoctorEldritch in Tropico you could build a transport system; and car parks. I normally build them in small enclaves, but they grow together fast. But yes, the devotion system need some polish.