Paper lifecycle
under review
Xavier Weber
In short, have paper as 'fuel' for every administrative object, add waste paper and recycled paper.
A lot of game mechanics (contracts, laws, settlements, accounts, taxes, districts, votes, deeds, wages, rents, research, and so on) implies usage of paper writings off-screen.
To better include paper milling and have some increasing upkeep to deal with in late-game, it would be quite simple and logical to use paper (and maybe also ink/dye along) in a fuel-like component in the objects managing those game mechanics to have their status active.
For example the TownFoundation would consume like 1 paper/hour.
It means the more laws and structures you have, the more you will consume paper. Since there are several government layers now, cost will increase as the game is going on, which justify investing in more effective paper milling machine and having a good reason to mill paper in late game.
Research should really use some paper also (litteraly producing research papers and books), apart from most basic ones to unlock paper milling of course.
Getting new skill sheets from skill book could also cost one paper.
To stay on the ecology thematic, consumed paper could be output as paper waste blocks to manage.
You could either :
* store it, taking space
* burn for pollution (but giving some energy)
* recycle in a machine later in the game with water input, either giving back a bit less paper or adding carton item.
Carton could be used in some advanced recipes (composites and/or recipes using composites, in modern storages, as portable small chest?)
Z
Zachary Frederick
I agree with 100% of everything you said here but would love to add onto it with the idea of making newspaper through a printing press and it act as a “fuel” of sorts in a “newspaper stand” which provides culture as well as long as there’s enough newspaper available. This could create a whole new tiered pathway of fuel based culture points. T1 newspaper, T2 Radio (uses gold) T3 Internet (uses power for culture). I would argue that culture should almost act as a currency at this point as well to choose “civics” that give benefits to all citizens of that settlement. For example, a mining town that gets a certain culture milestone might want to adopt a civic that allows all miners in their town to use 1 less ore into crushed ore. The perks to that system promote collaboration, and interesting town creations. Summarized though, paper into culture. Oh and adopting civics puts you in a higher state of annexation as your total culture gets reduced when adopting civics. So it promotes good diplomacy with your neighbors or your own benefits get hurt in a culture war.
D
Dennis Scholz
under review