What other shops/services would you like to add to Critter Cove?

[JaGarLo]

So far, Critter Cove can offer food & drink, clothes, furniture, etc. And the roadmap also includes references to gyms, hospitals, schools and so on...

That said, are there any fan-idea shops or services you'd like to share?

As for me, I have some suggestions... (Caution! Wall of text incoming!)

1. Water Desalination

We're in an island, so there's plenty of water... However, since it's seawater, I assume the critters won't be able to drink it. The city is unlikely to thrive if there's not a reliable source of drinkable water.

Perhaps a new quest could involve fixing a water desalination plant, by finding specialized tools and components, and then find a way to clear hazards like faulty machinery and toxic fumes before the work can begin. Once it's operational, purified water will be delivered to the island. It may not taste as good as sweet water, but it will keep your critters happier and healthier, as well as increase productivity for certain businesses in the city. You can also craft bottled water that you can place in vending machines for extra profit.

2. Electricity and power sources

While there's quite the number of island projects we can undertake with the tools and machinery we already have, perhaps we can unlock even more complex buildings and services by having a dedicated source of energy powering Critter Cove.

There could be quests to fix different sources of power and connect them to the city grid, such as...

• Fossil fuels, like coal and oil. A cheap and reliable option, but it creates pollution, which makes the city less healthy and less attractive for tourism.
  
• Solar and wind energy. Clean and not dependent on resources, but their yield is affected by the weather.

With a stable flow of energy, the city's services are improved, and there's a bit more light during nighttime.

3. Upgrade your current businesses

Not exactly a new building, but perhaps with more money and resources, you can "level up" your current businesses so they provide more income and services to you, the city and the turists. These upgrades could also be dependent on the water and electricity I mentioned earlier.

But there's another catch: when leveling up a building, you need to hire a second critter so the business is fully operational. Now, you need to consider if both critters like their job and if they get along well, or at least tolerate each other enough, to get the job done.

[Queen Droxxanna]

I suggested alien abductions and the dev really liked that idea, since we already have some space ships for decorations.

[Steelfleece]

An arcade. Every boardwalk needs one. Now, I know complicated electronics aren't common in the setting so far, but nothing stops you from having mechanical games like foosball, pinball and the claw game. Could even make finding ancient arcade cabinets a quest.

[Sheral♥♥♥]

I would like a souvenir shop, to sell made items and seashells, starfish and kites for the tourists or a Marlin on a wood plank wall hanging. Add a variety of different seashells to the bottom of the ocean we can use to stock the shop.

[Crazyr3dd]

Arcade and souvenir shop sound cool!
I haven't found any kind of "fun" decor other than a single basketball, so a toy shop would be cool. Would love to have some plushies or something to decorate the room with but I barely have anything right now >.<

[Tand]

Well, the arcade thing... hm. Well, if you want to get really low-tech, you go with things like ping pong, pool tables, knock-down-the-bottle, ring toss, darts... you don't need anything truly complicated for that, and they're great attractions.

[mmel1313]

salt water taffy shop. the owner/worker could stock the candy kiosks

[Steelfleece]

Originally posted by mmel1313:

salt water taffy shop. the owner/worker could stock the candy kiosks

Anchor would just buy up the whole stock.

[mmel1313]

lol

[Lombax369]

A Surf School

There is already an empty building on the Eastern Beach doing nothing...
Plus you could fix up the nigh-infinite number of Old Surfboards that wash up after every Storm & use them for something other than ramshackle furniture.

[Sheral♥♥♥]

That's a good idea!

[Methule]

A hotel.

[Blanketfortmaster]

it would be neat to have bathing suit changing tents like back in the old days. For the tourists so they can go swimming. I have seen the otter brothers swimming. even if it might be a glitch, they do get into swimwear when one falls off the dock and he does swim back to shore. so swimming is a thing. I would like to see. Or even neat beach lockers for the tourists and residents. like a real beach, or maybe even functional tents to hide from the rain storms in. i know we are a long ways from having the rain not rain through some stuff or through the ocean. but tents like the umbrella court would be cool.

[Vaelrisian]

1)A new pier area with an arcade, some rides (like the ferris wheel that is already on the list) and carnival games and maybe a restaurant would be really cool, and really help sell the town as a tourist destination. They could even add a new diving spot at the end of the pier. A good spot for this would be the western beach, with the restaurant and hotel at the end closest to the tavern and the carnival part at the ocean end like the Santa Monica Pier in LA, or they could have a restaurant at the far end like Teak at the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida.

2)I second the hotel idea. A way for tourists to stay multiple days would really help with income, and further sell the goal of turning Critter Cove into the hottest destination. It should also come with a pool. Placing it next to the tavern and the new pier area would make the most sense.

3)A surf shop that sells beachwear, surfboards and boogie boards, beach supplies (towels and toys, sunscreen, etc.), and souvenirs would be a great use for either the lone building on the eastern beach or the unused building next to the stairs by the bait shop. It could even have an indoor surfing machine like the Surf Style store I work at, hehe.

4)An aquarium complex where we can display all the fish we've caught, along with larger sea creatures we can tame and house in the aquarium and have them do shows for tourists (but much nicer and healthier for the creatures here than at places like SeaWorld)

5)I hope they plan to add an upgrade to the cafe to give it more seating. At 15+ tourists, I get constant complaints about critters not having enough seating at the cafe.

6)A mini golf course. Make it pirate themed, like Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf in Madeira Beach, FL. "Critter Cove Adventure Golf" or somesuch. Could even be a whole minigame.

7)A scenic lookout point with those telescope things you see at many tourist spots that you have to pay to use, along with a hang gliding post and/or zipline on top of the Critter Cove mountain.

8)honestly, with all these ideas for what to add, I feel like they'll be needing to expand the main island at some point to make room for it all while still having plenty of empty space for aesthetic purposes - or even expand the town to a second island with a bridge that must be repaired before we can access it. There's plenty of empty space for a small to medium-sized town expansion island to the south between anchor's sunken ship at the docks and Oh Kay (which they could relocate elsewhere if they need to). Or they could put a second island on the other side of the dive spot off of the east beach (the one with the resource finder blueprint painting) that wraps around that dive spot, forming a larger cove than the one on the west side. They could also expand the main island by adding a new area north of the mountain accessed through the tunnel.

9)an old, forgotten star fort in a new area on the other side of the mountain, surrounded by an 'old town' type area with even more run-down and neglected residences and businesses to rebuild and rejuvenate, with a vaguely colonial-era vibe maybe?

10)some sort of nondescript, ambiguous religious worship building, unique to the setting and world.