Third post in the ColonySim devlog series. This one covers the reworked event system, global effects, and how weather finally started to matter.

Events with consequences

Events used to be simple: something happened — you clicked a button. I wanted more — the player should make decisions, and those decisions should have consequences.

Now every event offers choices, and the buttons show what will happen. For example, "Accept (+1 villager)" instead of just "Accept". Three event types to start:

• Caravan — offers a random item, and you choose how to pay.
• Discovery — a random resource, but with a health risk.
• Fire — a random building catches fire, and you need to decide what to do.

Global effects

Many events now apply temporary effects to the entire colony. Effects can be positive or negative — they show up in the UI as slots with progress bars. It adds the feeling that every decision carries weight.

Weather — not just a backdrop

One thing that bugged me: a blizzard is raging, but the baker keeps baking, the lumberjack keeps chopping — nobody cares. Now buildings are split into indoor and outdoor. Weather modifiers only affect outdoor work. During a blizzard, the lumberjack stays home while the baker keeps making bread.

A simple change, but it really shifts the strategy — you need to plan which buildings matter most in bad weather.

The tavern is no longer free

The tavern used to just give free happiness. Build it — colony is happy. Way too easy and didn't create any interesting decisions 😅

Now the tavern consumes alcohol — cider or beer — and provides a global happiness effect for the whole colony. No alcohol — no bonus. You actually have to plan your brewery production.

Other improvements

• Diet settings — a dedicated screen for managing allowed food and drinks.
• Unified fields — rye and corn grow from the same "Field" resource, you choose what to grow.
• Smart reassignment — idle workers automatically find something to do after finishing their task.
• New sprites — sawmill, lumber camp, and pier got new art.

What's next

Livestock is on the roadmap. I want to add chickens, cows, and sheep, so grain can be turned into eggs, milk, and wool. A new production chain should make the colony's economy deeper.

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