Idea: Pushcarts!

[elwood612]

Now hear me out! I'm aware that game balance is a thing, and far be it from me to suggest making hauling overpowered. But I think that there's an option here for a cool mechanic that doesn't trivialize existing hauling mechanics.

Introducing: the Pushcart upgrade. This would be an upgrade for resource producing buildings (sawmill, carpenter, etc).

Note: this would NOT be an upgrade for worker stations! Simply because I don't think that would fit very well with the game as it currently stands (what happens to the upgrade when you switch the building to Builders? Do the carriers always have a pushcart? etc)

So.

1st step: research the upgrade. This probably costs some knowledge, and would be researchable after the Iron Furnace. Yep, it's late game, but let's face it, the late game needs some love.

2nd step: upgrade each individual building you want to benefit from pushcarts. This works the same as any upgrade already in the game (advanced funnels, farmhands, etc). It costs some iron and some knowledge.

3rd step: ???

4th step: Profit. When a carrier (or the building's own workers) picks up a resource from the upgraded building, they use a pushcart to transport the items: instead of balancing the items on their head, a pushcart sprite appears in front of them with the items. This doubles (at least!) their carry capacity, but villagers with pushcarts get a significant movement penalty when not on roads. Pushcarts would probably magically disappear when the items get delivered, I feel like you don't need the realism of keeping track of every single pushcart.

This incentivizes having a robust road network. It incentivizes building a select number of strong buildings rather than spamming many weak ones. It helps alleviate the need for insane population numbers, since you can get away with fewer carriers overall. And it gives the late game some flair, since the occasional pushcart will now be seen walking down the roads, adding to the sense of progress you've made since the beginning.

You could also have fun with certain biomes: maybe cold snaps put ice on the roads and make the pushcarts unusable? Maybe heatwaves cause carriers with pushcarts to becomes exhausted and need to eat more often? Who knows.

As always, loving the game, and loving the new updates. I'm on day 120 of my first veteran playthrough, having a real blast. Thanks to all the developers!