Improving Crafting Stations with Enhanced Gameplay and UI/UX

I love the concept of leveling up crafting stations—it adds depth and progression—but the current UI/UX has too many issues that make the process feel tedious rather than enjoyable. Turning the system into something more engaging, like a mini-game inspired by cooking/restaurant management games, could make the experience more fun and rewarding. Here's some feedback and suggestions for improvement:

1. Expand Apartment Space:
   Crafting stations take up too much space, leaving little room for creativity in shaping and decorating apartments. Increasing apartment size would allow a bit more creativity with the shape and interior of the apartments.

2. Visible Experience Gain per Item:
   Display the exact experience points each crafted item provides, based on the materials used.

3. Gamify Item Sales:
   Ensure all crafted items are sellable for gold, but make it dynamic with fluctuating prices. For example, certain items could be more valuable at specific times, encouraging players to craft a variety of items rather than only the easiest ones.

4. Add Crafting Quests:
   Introduce quests for apartment owners to make crafting more interactive and rewarding. Add NPCs who occasionally visit the apartment with requests or trade offers. For example:

   • A merchant offering rare materials in exchange for crafted goods.

   • A delivery quest where you must craft an item and deliver it within a time limit.

   • "A client wants to buy a Chronosteel Hood for 200g."

   • "A Guest want to trade his 30 fibre for a heavy axe."

   • "Prepare 10 fries for a party and earn a party hat."
     
     These quests could provide unique rewards or bonuses, keeping the experience fresh and engaging while leveling up the stations.
     Make sure that the quest are updated regularly with ever progressing lore.

5. Simplify Item Collection Process:
   Once items are crafted, streamline the collection process. Remove the extra delay after items are finished (currently about a minute) and don’t send items to bag but add a chest where people can collect their crafted items when they want. This will make the workflow smoother and more efficient.

6. Integrate Rent time Information in main window:
   Eliminate the rent elapsed/remaining popup and display that information directly in the main crafting window for better usability and to make it cleaner. (see image below)

7. Individual Rent Prices for Items:
   Allow players to set different rent prices for each item rather than having one blanket price for the whole station. This would provide greater control and better accessibility for more common items.

8. Use player-friendly Time formats Instead of Fractions:
   Replace fractional hours (e.g., 0.23h power with one coal) with clear, player-friendly time formats (e.g., 13 minutes and 48 seconds, or round up to 15 minutes).

9. Rewarding Progression System:
   Make leveling up more satisfying. For example:

   • Require reaching station level 30 (rather than just 30,000 EXP) to unlock a major upgrade.

   • Offer small upgrades or efficiencies at regular intervals (e.g., every 5 levels) to keep players motivated.

10. Introduce a Control Center:
    Add a centralised control window where players can manage all generators and crafting stations. This would also solve the performance issues caused by having multiple station windows open simultaneously.

11. Add the much talked about vending machine
    The vending machine can make it easy for other people to buy what you have already crafted, making it possible to sell items while the stations are closed for the public.

12. Interactive Mini-Games

    Add mini-games for specific crafting processes, like assembling complex items or optimising material efficiency. These could be inspired by puzzle games, time-management mechanics, or even light strategy games to simulate factory management. The better the performance, the higher the rewards or crafting speed.

13. Special Crafting Events

    Introduce limited-time events that offer unique recipes, rare crafting materials, or exclusive rewards. For example:

    • Seasonal Themes: Craft holiday-themed items for special rewards.

    • Timed Challenges: Compete with other players to craft the most items in a set period for leaderboard prizes.

14. Customisable Crafting Stations

    Let players personalise their crafting stations with decorative items, upgrades, and skins. This adds a sense of ownership and accomplishment as the stations evolve alongside the player’s progress.

15. Brand Labelling for Crafted Items

    To add a unique and personal touch to crafted items, consider implementing a feature where each item is automatically labelled with the "brand" or name of the apartment where it was crafted.

Make Progression Fun

Crafting should feel like managing a mini-factory, but it’s currently missing the fun and rewards that make such systems addictive. Adding consistent rewards for achieving goals can keep players motivated and invested in their progress. Introducing lovable characters, humorous dialogue, or light storytelling could add charm and personality, making the crafting experience more engaging and relatable. Additionally, simplifying mechanics to make the system easy to learn while offering depth in progression ensures that players of all skill levels can enjoy the experience.

Quests, better UI, meaningful progression, and a more dynamic crafting economy would further elevate the entire experience. By addressing these issues and incorporating these features, crafting stations could become a standout highlight of the game.

Hopefully, this feedback inspires the team to make the crafting experience better!