Improvement Suggestions

Player retention seems to be a big issue with most servers. Some additional metrics and some additional rewards might help keep people on their servers longer. In my head its a system with a set number of levels, and at each level there are either cosmetic unlocks or small character perks or marketplace coins that are unlocked along the way. Logging into a server each day gives you a little bit of experience. Maybe each transaction or each calorie spent gives a little bit of experience. Being active when the server shoots down the meteor or completing some objective gives a lot of experience. And then going inactive on a server reduces some experience. The punishments need to be pretty minor, because people have lives and things come up, but serial leaving every server on the 3rd day should ultimately result in not unlocking the extra perks that come with this system. A little incentive to stick it out when things get a little tricky might help a lot with keeping people on a server rather than just re-rolling the second someone faces a little bit of resistance. Other bonuses that I can see are that there could be metrics that might also be useful for server admins, maybe if it tracked people leaving early they could restrict joining if they have a big negative score. Or people might be inclined to join games later than the first 3 days because they would be closer to the objectives finishing. Not a fully baked idea and I'm sure there's a lot of room for improvement, but feels like something should be tried and this is something that would likely be helpful.

When voting to ratify a constitution, non of my friends can vote unless I port forward our server. Even though they are playing on a game that is being hosted from my computer already. I feel like the game should not need to re-direct you to a website to engage in core mechanics of the game, it should be self contained.

I noticed that the Participation Trophy gives a decoration bonus of 5 for 2 logs in crafting. This decoration is immediately available, even without a specific profession. After looking at other decorations, such as: Hare pelt (1.5 bonus), stuffed animals of all kinds (which give from 3 to 5 decoration bonus), their crafting cost is much higher than that of the Participation Trophy. Here's my suggestion: reduce the decorative Participation Trophy bonus to a bonus commensurate with its value - 1.5 bonus units, like a Hare pelt.

Instead of working radius in my opinion power and electricity should be connected to machines by wire from some pole or something. It should suppress energy theft by neighbours :)

Summary Servers converge into a single monopolistic city with high concurrency and compounding advantages. New settlements founded 1–2+ days after server launch struggle to gain footing. Off-market exchanges (direct transfers without pricing) weaken server-wide signals. This proposal adds lightweight, additive mechanics—Customs & Tariffs, Production Subsidies, and a server “Market-Only Trading” toggle—to diversify play, strengthen price discovery, and keep late joiners/small towns viable without "rewriting" ECO’s economy. Problem Statement P1. Monopolistic City Gravity An early cluster of players coalesces where the future dominant city will form. Their concentrated activity drives exponential compounding within hours; once that cluster formalizes into a settlement (typically by the end of Day 1), the advantage accelerates. Late entries (Day 2+) feel increasingly pointless outside that hub. P2. Off-Market Exchanges (“Corruption”) • Small groups/co-ops often bypass markets (direct transfers, zero-price trades), weakening supply–demand signals • This problem compounds inside the dominant city. In practice, the same corrupted co-ops frequently establish the monopoly settlement itself, shaping the server around a de-facto vertical that crowds out solo or late players. Update Goals A – More viable settlements via its real specialization and competition. B – Stronger price signals; route trades into transparent market channels; cut zero-price leakage. C – Minimal disruption; optional, server-configurable mechanics. Proposed Features 4.1 Customs & Tariffs (Settlement-Level) What: Settlements set tariffs on cross-settlement transactions. How: • City A creates a tariff rule: origin settlement = B + category / specific SKUs • When a resident of B buys in A (or vice versa, per rule), a tariff surcharge applies. • Purchases matching the rule add a tariff; revenue → city treasury. • Professions/individuals may modulate rates (e.g., Engineers −50% on Iron pipes). UX: • Shops show base price (struck) + tariff line + final price; tooltip (“Tariff → City A Treasury”). Outcomes: • Specialization, organic customs unions/federations, incentives to spread across the map. Safeguards: • Rate caps, logs, optional cooldowns. 4.2 Production Subsidies (Settlement-Level) What: Settlements subsidize selected goods/categories for residents to grow local industries. How: • City sets discount/cashback (%/#), funded by treasury. • Applies to resident purchases in local shops within borders (or per scope). UX: • Base price + “Subsidy −X%” = final price; subsidy badge with tooltip. Outcomes: • Offsets tariff friction, steers demand, policy lever for the mayor, cheaper essentials for late joiners. Safeguards: • Budget caps, spend visibility, conflict warnings when rules overlap. 4.3. “Market-Only Trading” (Server Toggle) What: When enabled, removes players’ ability to directly authorize ownership of any movable/immovable property outside regulated channels. Behavior: • Direct transfers off (items, vehicles, deeds etc.). • World drops private by default unless enabled by settlement law within borders. Early-game (pre common currency): • Personal currencies allowed, BUT: → Goods exchange must go through shops, not free barter. → Authorization transfers must go through the Notary. Notary (settlement object): • Acts as a legal registry for authorization transfers between settlement members. • Government sets policy controls: price floors by category, quotas, per-transfer fees, waiting periods/cooldowns, limits/bans. • Players use the Notary for non-market transfers within configured limits. • All Notary actions are logged to the mayor. Why: • Keeps price discovery transparent, limits collusive dumping, and gives solo/late players a fairer field while preserving trust-based play through regulated mechanisms. Player Experience & Economy Impact Positives • Decentralization: more autonomous towns with identity/specialization. • Richer politics: customs unions, federations, negotiated corridors. • Future professions possible (inspectors, police, counter-smuggling). • Better late-joiner viability: subsidies and targeted tariffs create onramps. Trade-offs & Mitigations • Tariffs may feel punitive: pair with targeted resident subsidies; apply caps and cooldowns for stability. • Notary is settlement-bound: available only after founding; operates within borders. • Collusion risk: even on sizable servers, a few coordinated co-ops can crater prices and crowd out solos/late joiners—especially when they also found the monopoly city. Treat unregulated exchange as a governance/economy issue now (Market-Only + Notary), leaving room for future law/crime systems if desired.

For recipes with multiple variants like lumber, I think it would be better to have a dropdown to choose the variant instead of a dialog where you craft the variants. Problems with the current design: There is no easy way to know what the "Order" button will craft. So you basically get a random variant. If you want to craft a specific variant all the time (e.g. the generic lumber), you always need to use the Advanced Crafting dialog, which is one click more. The game does not remember you last decision The "x/y" information will show you the amount in storage for any variant, not of the variant you want. In the dialog. this information is no longer available. Once the dialog is open, you no longer see the amount it will craft (the dialog behind resets, and even if it didn't, it might be behind the Advanced Crafting dialog) I imagine an alternative design as follows: By default, recipes will use the generic variants You can change this variant with a dropdown in the recipe list. The game will remember the last variant you selected for all crafting tables The "x/y" information will reflect the selected recipe, i.e. it will only consider hardwood when you want to craft hardwood boards There is no more Advanced Crafting button Follow-up suggestion that builds on top (has been requested a few times in the last days in Discord): For ingredients that are a tag, there could be a dropdown menu to choose one mor more specific items. This should also be remembered. In a world where one of the variants is more plenty than others, you could make sure that one is used for recipes where the variant does not matter.

Something that clogs up the trading part of the game is stores owned by players that has left the game or atleast are taking a LONG break. Would be nice to be able to set (preferably a permanent filter) for yourself in the trading tab to not show stores owned by players that haven't played in X amount of days.

A crafter can produce an infinite amount in a day, and worlds are small so goods are trivial to transport. Even with exhaustion mechanics, there is currently no point whatsoever at being the second-best carpenter in the world, unless you just want to vertically integrate and do carpentry for yourself so you don't have to trade for inputs, which reduces interdependence instead of increasing it. There needs to be some way that multiple crafters are useful, especially for players that start late in the game. The "labor" mechanic and "work parties" seem like they were initially intended to do that, but since the best crafter has infinite labor output and is the most efficient at all work without exception or limitation, it doesn't work. I'm aware this is a balancing nightmare and risks strangling the smallest servers, so it has to be done delicately.

The shipwright skill is cool and making boats is great, but other than Wooden Hull Planks for Basic Upgrade 2 (BU2), the shipwright produces no other product needed by another skill.this greatly limits the shipwright to sonly selling boats to people who need/want one, and once that have a boat…it’s kind of end of trading. I suggest adding Wooden Hull Planks to: Windmills, Waterwheels, and Large Lumber Stockpiles for low/medium consumption, and to Wooden Molds for higher consumption in brick making. I’ll also suggest then swapping Wooden Boards for Wooden Molds in the Composite recipe, which would make a more late game demand, retain the logger skill input, and add the shipwright.

Miles stones towns can achieve and get bonuses for or buffs. Like upgrading from T1 to T2 and having one of each profession and having different building types like banks, schools, museums ect.