About the Martian Community

[Nero616]

Hi.
Playing the game with my Wife (Sitting on the same computer, discussing what building to place next and for what reason), I found that having more than one dome makes the whole thing feel less like there is one community of colonists working together but two semi-independent colonies that happen to share their life support grid.
Colonists don't leave the dome except to work in an out-of-dome workplace or in order to move into a different dome.
If a child is born in one dome but now lives and works in another, he never sees his Siblings or Parents again, if they stay there.

I understand the whole thing from a Gameplay standpoint, and I even agree, but it hurts the Immersion.

How to solve:
1. Have comfort or sanity penalties for Martians who have loved ones that live in another, unconnected dome. Living far away from your Family with no opportunity to call them or visit them in your free time, not knowing if they are well would affect you after some time.

2. A way of connecting domes early game. Like having two domes in a way that both have an airlock in the other one's service area. That way they could use that to visit each other and go to the Pub together.

3. A railway/train system to connect all the domes with stations and rails, no matter how far they are from each other, as long as they have a rail connection and a station. Maybe also usable for transporting large quantities of resources quickly. This should be late game, even after the shuttles.

Like I said, this is about immersion, not Gameplay.
The Gameplay has room for improvement, but that has been pointed out several times.
(And also, Immersion and Gameplay have been mistaken for each other)

 

[Bronzewing]

I've heard that connecting domes is coming as DLC. Not sure where that comes from though as no one said where that information came from.

 

[Nero616]

Until this is confirmed, it is just a rumor.
I hope it's true, and I hope it is done in a good way.
If it is in one of the first two DLC's I will be useing it since I have season pass.

 

[Bronzewing]

Yes I have the season pass too, so hoping it will be one of the first things added too.

 

[Nero616]

I really think there should be relationships, as a hidden mechanic or something. Like every Colonist having friends and family either on Mars or on earth, with penalties for being separated from them for a long time, a huge boost in Sanity for the Sol when they are reunited and a loss of Sanity when one of them dies, with a possible sanity breakdown if it wasn't for a natural cause.

With a button to prefer family members of the current Colonists when ordering another passenger rocket.
This isn't a gameplay necessity, but it would enhance the human aspect of the game. At least, that's how I imagine it.

Currently, as far as I know, a child just spawns in a dome that has at least one male and one female with a comfort level above a set minimum number. The child is just there, plays on the playground and goes to school until it is old enough for a job. It doesn't build friendships and doesn't miss it's parents when it moves to a dome that is children only. If the game has a concept of two colonists being related, it is not observable ingame.
Also, why don't they talk to each other on the street? Why not stop occasionally and talk to someone?
Ideally, a Family would work with spouses who are parents to the children that are siblings to each other.

Incest would be possible, but we would be allowed to prohibit it. (for balance purposes, it would only be considered Incest if they are first cousins or closer) In fact, it should be by default.
Inbred colonists would have a higher chance of developing flaws and loose health and sanity faster. Those penalties increase for every generation of inbreeding and after a set number of generations, the ability to reproduce simply stops.
But maybe just don't make it possible. This is still a very taboo and mature topic.
I like the game already as it is, but with a bit more immersion towards the Human aspect and some additions to it, it could be a game to love.

A Mars Colony isn't about a bunch of isolated communities consisting of a bunch of isolated individuals with no attachments to anyone or anything. Or at least it shouldn't be.
Rather I want to see interconnected communities and Families.
Even if that is just a gimmick or something. Parents holding their kids hands, people hugging or talking in public spaces, couples kissing during sunset, occasional arguments...
It would make the Colony feel much more alive.