When we initially discussed the role of prisoners in the game, you shared your thoughts and ideas on how their behavior should be handled. Many of you wanted them to perform work for your settlement, and you suggested a few ideas on how such a system could function.
We listened to your feedback, discussed it internally, evaluated all the options, and we think we’ve found the right approach for this feature. So, let’s talk about how you’ll be able to turn prisoners into captive laborers.
For that to work, we had to revisit the Warden role we mentioned earlier. The Prison Warden will be responsible for controlling prisoners and captive laborers in your settlement.
To convert a prisoner into a captive laborer, you’ll need to shackle them. Shackles will be crafted at the Blacksmith’s Forge. Once shackled, you’ll be able to mark them as captive labor in the overview panel, along with the tasks they’ll be assigned.
Being a captive laborer comes with certain limitations - you will not be able to turn them into settlers while they are marked as laborers and have shackles (once you turn those things off, they'll be considered for recruitment, if possible), they'll be slower and their work performance will be slower, too (with them having shackles), and they'll want to escape if they are sad/miserable.
This is where the Warden shines. During their appointed hours, they’ll work to convert prisoners into settlers and manage captive labor. By "manage," we mean they’ll oversee the laborers, ensuring they understand their role within the settlement.
You also expressed concerns about the Warden revealing prisoners' skills during the conversion process, which might feel tedious and not worth the effort—especially when you finally discover all their skills and perks, only to find out you don’t like them. So, we’re dropping that idea. It sounded cool to us and fit the role-playing aspect, but you’re probably right—after dealing with 2 or 3 prisoners with terrible skills or perks, you’d likely give up on the feature.
To avoid overwhelming the Warden with duties, we’re introducing the Gaoler job. Settlers with the Gaoler role (an old-fashioned term for jailer) will handle escorting prisoners, shackling them, feeding them, and other #justjailerthings.
So, do you like this change/feature expansion? Let us know in the comments. We’ll have one more Medieval Monday Talk, and hopefully, by then, we’ll have a better idea of the release date for the next update. Stuff like this can extend development time, but we believe it’s worth it. So, talk to you again in two weeks. Until then,
Stay medieval!
Foxy Voxel
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