Cemeteries?

[Manco]

I think that the addition of cemeteries would add a level of realism to the game, instead of people just disappearing.

[craigroaring]

That would add a great atmosphere for those autumn and winter evenings.

[tazman1]

That right up there with the plague idea someone posted as one of the better ideas for things that should be added especially adding the two together.

Unfortunately I don't see cemeteries as being a viable option unless they add some form of spirituality or religion into that game. Note that I not saying bring a particular religion in but there are more secular ways to show such an important element to the time period.

Sadly the burying of the dead as far as recorded history goes always had something to do with the beliefs of the region so without some form of superstition (religion, mythology, any kind of belief system) I do not really see that being viable. Still a great idea that with alot of thought and effort would add alot to the game

[SlydeRule]

With some of us getting far enough into the game where our villagers just 'disappear' (they die), we need some kind of notice that they are gone. Just an end-of-day (or season) popup informing us of their demise would be good.

Add to that a cemetery (a plot of land like farmland) or a mausoleum (new building type) that we could click on and see who had died and how old they were. These can be generic enough as to not promote any religion (even pagans had burial rituals).

[TeperiBlaze]

Even the neanderthals did have funerals.

So a simple church and a plot as cemetery would be nice.
We could craft the crosses ourselves. As the village leader we could finalise their passing.

[Lailantie]

Yes yes yes, pleease developers, could you add that?

[surprisinator]

I am afraid most people here have ideas about how a cemetary would have to look like, which are modern.
In middle ages most burials did not happen in marked graves which could be found again later. They had a zone, close to a church or a chapel, where people got dug in without caskets, simply sewn into a linen. After just enough time to decompose, the bones were digged out again to make room for new dead, and bones got collected in special buildings, ossuaries. Only the Rich or aristocrats had their own coffins, the most prestigious found a resting place inside the church - of course marked burial with a stone inscription then. Individual crosses as grave markers were not in use, instead there was a monument in the middle of the cemetary (carrying an 'eternal light'). Those medieval burial sites were overcrowded with corpses pretty soon, at least in urban settlements. Hence the clearing of the earth of remains from time to time.

[Manco]

Originally posted by surprisinator:

I am afraid most people here have ideas about how a cemetary would have to look like, which are modern.
In middle ages most burials did not happen in marked graves which could be found again later. They had a zone, close to a church or a chapel, where people got dug in without caskets, simply sewn into a linen. After just enough time to decompose, the bones were digged out again to make room for new dead, and bones got collected in special buildings, ossuaries. Only the Rich or aristocrats had their own coffins, the most prestigious found a resting place inside the church - of course marked burial with a stone inscription then. Individual crosses as grave markers were not in use, instead there was a monument in the middle of the cemetary (carrying an 'eternal light'). Those medieval burial sites were overcrowded with corpses pretty soon, at least in urban settlements. Hence the clearing of the earth of remains from time to time.

Very good insight. In the 16th century, Paris had to clean up the Innocents Cemetery, and there were thousands upon thousands of bones placed in a crypt, that can still be visited in the "Paris Catacombs"; maybe designating a plot for burials would be nice, without any markers.

[Cassia]

Originally posted by Manco:

Originally posted by surprisinator:

I am afraid most people here have ideas about how a cemetary would have to look like, which are modern.
In middle ages most burials did not happen in marked graves which could be found again later. They had a zone, close to a church or a chapel, where people got dug in without caskets, simply sewn into a linen. After just enough time to decompose, the bones were digged out again to make room for new dead, and bones got collected in special buildings, ossuaries. Only the Rich or aristocrats had their own coffins, the most prestigious found a resting place inside the church - of course marked burial with a stone inscription then. Individual crosses as grave markers were not in use, instead there was a monument in the middle of the cemetary (carrying an 'eternal light'). Those medieval burial sites were overcrowded with corpses pretty soon, at least in urban settlements. Hence the clearing of the earth of remains from time to time.

Very good insight. In the 16th century, Paris had to clean up the Innocents Cemetery, and there were thousands upon thousands of bones placed in a crypt, that can still be visited in the "Paris Catacombs"; maybe designating a plot for burials would be nice, without any markers.

Oh I like this. Why not do both? Depending on the historical accuracy, of course. A plot of land with a single marker. Without changing the graphics maybe if you click on it you can get a list of who has passed. It would be more work, but neat if there were offerings left for the dead. I'm not sure what was traditional for the time or era. But maybe 3 levels like with most buildings? The offerings increase with the amount of people lost? Candles, small carvings, flowers, a bit of food. Nothing major. (I"m really not sure what was common in the culture/era) Just something interesting visually. Just a thought.