A bunch of random suggestions in different areas.

[Dustphos]

Please don't mind how unorganised it is.

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Food Crate!

For current Early Access/Testing features, I'd recommend just a Crate with texture of Bread or Berries slapped on it. A more detailed suggestion, maybe instead of Crates, you can have Linen Bags of foodstuff (except that it's an actual 1x1x1 block, like you wanted) with the surface picture being a tied knot along with all the creases.

Food Cart - Another Food Crate suggestion. This came about just as I typed it out deeper in the suggestion. It's not exactly 1x1x1 block that you wanted, unless it is a Station that is manned by a Colonist and require a Storage Crate nearby for the Colonist to access. Foodstuff being traded with will come from the Colonist tending to the Food Cart Station and Storage Crate, and that Colonist will access the Stockpile of the Player who hired him. Currency can be Coins (Gold and Bronze) and Resources (see next suggestion).

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Stockpile (Organisation)

Now, I know that you have addressed the item stock dancing issue in your latest (45th) blog, that you'll make the '0 item in stock' suggestion a reality so that the stockpile stops dancing. I like it. But still, I want to suggest something to it, especially if you (probably, eventually?) add even more items into the game, which will clutter the stockpile.

Search Box - Directly searches for item in the stockpile. Not that important if there's more organisation set in place for the Stockpile, to be honest.

Dropdown Category - Depends on what kind of items they are, the stockpile puts them into specific categories.

1. Resource - Items that naturally spawns in the world. e.g Wood, Leaves, Copper, Tin, Iron, Stone Block, Seeds, Saplings...
   
2. Material - Items that is used in other recipes. e.g Planks, Copper Nail/Part/Tool, Straws, Berry*, Wheat/Flour/Bread*, Flax...
   
3. Work Station - Blocks that Colonists interacts with. e.g Crate, Workbench, Grindstone, Furnace...
   
4. Tools (and Ammo) - Items used by Players and Colonists. e.g Pickaxe, Axe, Slingshot, Bow, Iron Sword, Crossbow, Matchlock...
   
5. Ammo (if separate from Tool) - Items needed to be used by tools. e.g Stone, Arrow, Bolt, Lead bullet, Gunpowder pouch...

There's probably more that can be added, but as of current this is probably enough.

*Maybe you'll consider (Foodstuff) as a different category, when you add more food-based items into the game. Livestock, Fruits, more Crops...

Favourites/Quick Bar - A single row list of items that you can 'save' inside the stockpile window so that you can quickly access items you always pick, without needing to look through the entire stockpile in search for it. Stockpile's window can be slightly shrinked upwards, allowing the Favourites/Quick Bar to be placed closer to the Player Hotbar.
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Item Suggestion

Apple/Tree/Leaves/Sapling (or any Fruit tree, really) - Keeps the doctor away. Seriously! Just throw it at them... Wait, NO! Don't do it!

This came about when I had a bad defense setup, triggering a Siege Mode and ultimately end up with 0 colonists and 0 food. Without a way to get food manually, I had to cheat to keep going. And the feeling sucked! So... Apple/Fruit Trees! It can be a 2-blocks high tree (Apple Leaves on Wood). Sapling takes a couple of days to grow like a normal tree. When you manually harvest the Apple/Fruit Leaves, you get 1 Apple/Fruit and possibly Leaves Taiga/Temperate (unless you want to add even more leaves into the game).

Colonists must learn to harvest an apple/fruit tree, so you'll need research. Probably Berries (they need to learn how to differentiate ripeness), Apple/Fruit (what they look like) and Apple/Fruit Sapling (what they grow from). Once an Apple/Fruit Tree is grown, Colonists can pick the apples/fruit roughly every other day (slower but better than berries, faster but weaker than wheat).

And optionally and for giggles, you can use them as a range weapon. Does 50 damage and takes longer than Slingshot to fire. And there's a 90% chance you'll get back...

Rotten Apple/Fruit - You just had to do it, don't you? Food waster! Maybe you can feed it to your unsuspecting colonists... ...you monster!

Less food than Berries. Maybe it'll also kill your Colonists at random. But there should not be any Apple/Fruit Guards... Please don't.

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Bigger Trees? - Plant saplings on top of each other! Grow bigger trees!

I was looking forward to adding some nature to how the colony looks, but then saplings only grows to the standard 3-wood height with a cap of leaves. Hoping that the idea of growing bigger trees (4,5,6,7 and 10-wood height) is planned for in the future.

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Papyrus Plant - Needs Reseach. Purchasable from Shop.
Papyrus - Material.
Book (or Papyrus Book/Codex) - Product. Requires Planks and 3 Papyrus. Made in Workbench
Writing Set - Requires Book, Charcoal, Berries and Linen Pouch.
School - Needs Research. Research requires Writing Set, Life Science Bag, probably several other stuffs too... Material requires Planks, Copper Nails, Copper Tools and Writing Set.

I just have this thought about 'buffs' that the Colonists can enjoy, without touching into any of the magical/fantasy stuff. The way the idea work is quite different from how every station works. The closest resemblance is the Grindstone/Oven combo, which infinitely makes Bread. Or theoretically, if you put everything on infinite creation.

Simply put, a School will require Writing Sets for the Colonist Teacher to 'teach' fellow Colonist on how things work around the colony. Also, unlike how other Stations work, each School/Teacher combo will work on only one subject. Every working cycle will provide a benefit for the working Colonists, based on what the School/Teacher is teaching.

• (Optional) Every benefits are 'gated' by the need for the Scientists to research the subjects.
  
• (Balancing) The more workers there are, the more Writing Sets are required. Alternative idea, Teachers take longer work cycles. Counter-balance is having more Teachers per subject.
  
• Pruning - Gain extra Berries when Berry Farmer* harvests.
  
• Fertilisation - Chance to gain extra Wheat when Wheat Farmer* harvests.
  
• Cultivation - Chance to gain extra Flax when Flax Farmer* harvests.
  
• Forestry - Gain Planks when Forester harvests Wood and Leaves.
  
• Prospective - Chance to gain extra minerals when Miner harvests.
  
• Excavation - Increases Digger's work cycle speed.
  
• Architecture - Increases Builder's work cycle speed.
  
• Industralisation (1 for each station) - Increases <Station>'s work cycle speed.
  
• Recipe (1 for each station) - Chance to gain extra <Stockpile> when <Station>'s work cycle concludes.

*Possibly requires a name-change for the category if you ever add more types of farmers into the game. Example being Fruit Farmer, which can replace Berry Farmer as a category.
*You may also consider gating every types of farmer behind a Research, thus making them the same as Industralisation and Recipe categories. Cultivation, for example, can have 4 types: Flax, Alkahest, Wolfsbane and Hollyhock Cultivation Research

Some of the names are probably outside the time period of the game and needs changing. I'm just using them as a suggestion.

I can't think of something for the Guards. Sorry!

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And on the subject of Guards...

Arrow Quiver - Product. Requires Research. Optional item that Bow Guards can use, but not necessary. Increases the work cycle speed of Bow Guards (to Player's speed).

Bolt Quiver (or Case) - Product. Requires Research. Optional item that Crossbow Guards can use, but not necessary. Increases work cycle speed of Crossbow Guards (to Player's speed). Required for the use with Crossbow Repeater.

Crossbow Repeater - Tool. Requires Research. A costly weapon that allows Players to fire 5 Bolts before a lengthy reload (thrice longer than a normal Crossbow). Deals the same damage per bolt. Requires Crossbow Bolts and Bolt Quiver/Case. I'm not exactly sure the time period that you are sticking to for this game, so this is just for thoughts.

Crossbow Repeater Guard - Requires Crossbow Repeater, Crossbow Bolts and Bolt Quiver/Case. Same damage x5, same range, 4x reloading speed. (Balancing) Guards immdiately uses all 5 bolts, even if it is on the same target. Thus, Players need a specific setup for Repeater Guards to not waste the ammunition shooting at nothing. If there are enough targets, they will shoot until the first one dies, then second, third and so on, with any extra ammo wasted on the last target.

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Traps and Barriers (general idea) - Spike Traps or Barriers that does not impede AI pathing (maybe if it's pitfall spike traps). Unlike the current structures, Traps and Barriers have a certain amount of Durability (or perhaps, Kills) before it breaks.

Another idea is having them as stackable entities, like Torch, but you can put several on the same tile. Each entity will deal a fixed damage and the stack is reduced. For example, an Iron-Tipped Spike does 300 damage and you can stack up to 5 as a horizontal trap (placed on wall). A 100HP monster walking into it will die, and 1 Iron-Tipped Spike is removed from the stack. When a 500HP monster walks into it, it will die and 2 Iron-Tipped Spike is removed. If there ever exists a 2000HP monster, it will walk through the 5-stacked Iron-Tipped Spike and take 1500HP damage, removing the entire stack, but keeps going.

Once again, these Traps/Barriers does not impede AI pathing. Planting them into the ground and using them as 'walls' should not activate Siege Mode. They will just walk through it, take the hit and keep on going if they lived.

Oh, and just for fun, much like shooting your own colonists, they can die to your own traps.

Future Trap ideas, especially once animations are added, can be things like Boulder/Treelog traps, Boiling Oil from the wall, Hanging Battering Rams that's for knocking stuff back instead of breaking down gates... Even a Food Cart being driven offroad and crashing through the crowd.

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Melee Weapons

For giggles, I used the Iron Sword and tried to attack the Monsters. I was pleasantly surprised at the increased in damage compared to punching them. And I love it. So I want to suggest a few more stuff.

No Melee Guards suggestion, don't worry. It's been suggested so much that by now it's dreaded, and you've explained why it's an issue trying to implementing them.

Note: All recovery times are compared with Punching. All of them requires Research. All of them can also be used for any future Advanced/Expert Military Science Bag.

Spear - Same damage as Iron Sword, and you can reach 2 blocks further away. Can hit multiple enemies on the same height level and within range. Requires a slightly longer recovery (work cycle) time.

Halberd - More damage than Iron Sword, and you can reach 1 block further away. Can hit multiple enemies on the same height level and occupying the same space/block. Requires longer recovery time

Dagger/Dirk - Same damage as Punching, and you have 1 less reach. Hits only 1 enemy, with chance to instant-kill the Monster. Faster recovery time

Mace - More damage than Iron Sword. Hits only 1 enemy. Slightly longer recovery time.

Flail - More damage than Mace. Hits only 1 enemy, with chance to displace Monsters by 1 block to the side (of Player). Longer recovery time.

Zweihander - More damage than Iron Sword, and you can reach 1 block further away. Hits the First enemy in front, but also cleaves 1 additional enemy up to 1 block away on each side of the First enemy. Longer recovery time.
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Micro-management

I find myself enjoying micro-managing many things in my Colony. I hope that you'll consider letting us able to specifically set individual <Station> Colonists to work on certain items.

But otherwise, I also like to build and set up buildings and dormitory. One problem with this is that the Colonists simply likes dashing to the nearest available bed and, coupled with the weird AI pathing of the Colonists, they sometimes disrupt my organisation and colony efficiency by sleeping in a different building.

<Job> Banner - When recruting new Colonists with an open employment, they will immediately spawn at the <Job> Banner and begin working. All <Job> Colonist will priortise Beds nearby the <Job> Banner, instead of themselves, when returning to sleep. Unlimited Range*. Does not provide Safety Zone. When Monsters attack <Job> Banner, <Job> Colonists are killed. If no <Job> Banner is found, Colonists default back to the Colony Banner or themselves.

*(Balancing) If unlimited range is too powerful, because Players can plant Construction Banner at any location and hire all the Diggers/Builders, then it can be defaulted back within the Safety Zone. Maybe a Level 5++ Research upgrade to plant outside of Safety Zone radius?

You do not need a 'Recruit <Job> Colonist' Button for this. The default is awesome enough. And I just really like to micro-manage their dormitories.
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That's all. Enjoying this game. Stay great!