Do you think we could expand further on the government and site control mechanics? I know DF is more of a world simulation than a strategy game and that we already have stuff like holdings, tribute and occupying sites mechanics, but after playing Crusader Kings for a while it seems there's a lot of mechanics that could be implemented to further flesh out both Adventure and Fortress gameplay:
-adding government types for civilizations instead of static feudal templates based on race. so we could have stuff like Dwarven Merchant Republics, Elven Theocracies, or Tribal Human civilizations.
-those government archetypes would have base mechanics but many of its rules could be procedurally generated, so for example, Civilization A could be your current fort's home civilization and they are a Theocracy ruled by a female and a set of arch bishops which are taken as consorts to the holy ruler, this is due to their god head being a deity with spheres of Fertility, Womanhood or stuff like that. while Civilization B is a Human Merchant Republic ruled by a group of barons, each one of different races because their culture has spheres regarding diversity and diplomacy or some stuff like that.
-Fortress mode not being limited to just Dwarven civilizations but instead being able to select from the current, living civilizations instead. (different race fortresses can be done with modding but i mean changing the fortress mode selection to make players able to create settlements different than a Fortress by basing the system on civilizations instead of race).
-Tribal races can form villages in the map, they are very basic sites with huts and other important buildings like worship circles or wells.
-Tribal civilizations can form in the world if a tribe or group of them occupies a territory of certain size
-Nomadic civilizations could exist with single static sites as trading/diplomatic/pilgrimae centers while the rest of the race moves around their territories. (could work like constantly marching armies or groups of traders)
-Tribal and Nomadic civilizations may raid or occupy other civilizations
-Faith, Wealth, Prestige, Holding Size, Culture, Government Type and Knowledge are now used to calculate diplomatic relations and the chance of certain events happening on fortress mode. so for example Fortress A has a huge library with a substantial amount of settlers writing and copying books from all over the world, this fortress doesnt do much outside of that so its wealth, faith and prestige may be below average but certain factions like Necromancers may be interested on raiding the site for knowledge, meanwhile Fortress B is built from a Merchant Republic and as such its citizens are very keen on making a profit so its a highly sought target from raiding based cultures both feudal, tribal or nomadic.
-Megabeast attacks could be out of this equation and instead be random happenings due to close proximity to their lairs (no more Titans crossing continent and a half to destroy your fort....)
-Evil civilization rulers may raid other civilizations based on their spheres. like raiding nearby Merchant Republics for wealth or nearby settlements from other civilizations for slaves
-Good biome civilizations may exist too, with the same kind of interactions as Evil ones based on their leader's cultural spheres. (perhaps a SPOILER related entity controls this civilization or they are usually led by a religious figure instead)
-Adventurers can form civilizations if they control a sizeable amount of sites. (would probably be like declaring the title and then retiring your adventurer, with that civilization appearing on the list when making a new fortress, or playing the main site directly)
-different types of Casus Belli may exist for limiting civilization attacks on each other. theocracies may declare holy wars to reclaim a site, nobles or rules may fabricate claims on nearby settlements. tribal/nomadic/evil civilizations may declare invasions and so on
-Economy focused civilizations may form trade routes on their territory and with other civilizations creating a path of wealth along the map. their capital settlements being the main nodes along the routes.
-Dead civilizations may be forgotten overtime, only their ruins and artifacts stating in the game but characters in the world wouldnt be able to trace their origin (they would basically be erased from the civilization records and legends after a while, their sites, historical figures and artifacts being marked as hailing from a "mysterious civilization" or something like that)
-sailing update could add merchant fleets, which move around wealth between trading ports
-Civilizations may create colonies on distant unexplored territories via sailing (once implemented).
-Colonies may have different ruling systems based on their parent civilization, unrest or lack of development may force them to rebel an declare independent civilizations.
there's a lot more but i think the list is getting too long. just wanted to get the most essential stuff in.