Additional Research Features for Kingdoms & Castles

[Daowulf]

If you're anything like me, finding ways to improve your city and optimize your resources is one of the most fun feature in Kingdoms & Castles. One of my favorite ways to do this is through research! Discovering new technologies, whether in the annals of the Great Library or from far off lands with incoming merchant vessels, is an exciting way to advance the culture of your city without expanding its well-planned districts. With that in mind, listed below are some additional research options that I think could be fun additions to our Kingdoms & Castles!

Great Library/Merchant Vessels:

1. Advanced Medicine - Doctors heal peasants faster and reduce plague virulence
2. Weapon Sights - Increase range of all Ballista towers by +1
3. Ambassadors - Decrease time between merchant vessels. When research is completed, improve relations with all AI Kingdoms and Witches by +1
4. Cultural Exchange - Increase likelihood of Special Research purchase on Merchant Vessels and reduce price by 10%.
5. Blast Furnaces - Blacksmiths produce tools and armaments 15% faster
6. Crop Rotation - Increases production of all farms under the influence of a windmill by +1
7. More Efficient Builders - Increases builder and mason speed by 10%
8. Rigorous Curriculum - Peasants learn new trades 20% faster.

Now, it is also true that modern Western scholasticism was born in medieval monasteries. With that in mind, I thought it could be interesting to expand our research capacity to special research that can only be completed at a Cathedral.

Cathedral

1. Evangelization - Increase Viking conversion chance by 5%. Increases Church and
Cathedral radius by +1
2. Saints & Scholars - Increases knowledge of Libraries & Great Libraries in the radius of a Church or Cathedral by +1
3. Conversion by the Sword - Additional 25% chance to convert the last viking in any raiding party in a Cathedral's radius (does not affect catapults or ogres).
4. Holy Warriors - Increases damage dealt to Dragons and Ogres by 10%. Decreases
relationship with the Witch by one-tier.

Finally, as an added bonus I thought it could be fun to add a new building, and one new statue, to the game that interact with these new features. The building is the University. Universities provide happiness to houses in their radius. it is a 5x9 structure (same size as the Jousting Arena) that must be built within the radius of a Library or Great Library. The construction and staffing of the University with 12 "Professors" increases the happiness of houses in its radius, and increases research speed by 15% (base +3% with an additional +1% for each Professor on staff). It also reduces the number of years between Viking raids by 1. The statue would be called "The Scholar" and depicts a robed man holding an open book above him with one arm, while the other arm is reaching out below and behind him, depicting the joy of enlightenment. It functions similar to any other statue and is gained as an achievement for surviving 250 years in survival mode with all research unlocked and a standing University. Production buildings in its radius receive a 5% speed boost.

As always, I am open to constructive criticism and any additional ideas the community may have on this topic! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

~Daowulf