The Military and DSA in Theotown holds so much potential in giving the game more dynamic events and related disasters. With that said, I'd like to present my crazy ideas that I can think of as of now. 1: Agency
Instead of just DSA Agency, it should just be "Agency". Players can rename the Agency however they want. (I could already think of naming it to Umbrella Corp). Just like in the game, players should place the initial headquarters first then zone the surroundings to expand that agency. One city can have up to 4 different agencies that depends on the population level. Players can modify the placed headquarters into one of the categories: Infrastructure, Security, Science, and Civil Services.
Infrastructure Agency: This agency can provide public works (deployable services), economic management (buffs), and rebuild projects (speed up rebuild or restore buildings automatically). This agency responds to sinkholes and earthquakes.
Security Agency: This agency will integrate the SWAT feature of the game. This agency provides public order and safety (deploys SWAT for riots and drug raids),reduces drug use in it's radius (buff), and high security surveillance and enforcement (reduces crime and drug trade near the area). This agency can deploy riot control units to mitigate riots and lootings. This agency can also build a military recruitment department.
Science Agency: This agency is basically the original DSA of the game. Apart from the original mechanics and content of DSA, there are more stuff that could be added to this. This agency can buff your healthcare system (hospitals near it's area), deploy hazmat team, develop vaccines and cures (If successful, permanently buffs all the hospitals in the city. It has a chance to fail and create a lab leak),and research upgrades for industries and military. This agency will be quite complex and dynamic when it comes to disasters. Outbreaks(revamp see below), ground zero (zombies), Military aid (automated deployment of health workers), radioactive grounds, and the original DSA contents can be responded by the Science Agency.
Civil Services Agency: This agency can provide buffs to your existing agencies and services. This agency can also provide facilities that protect and house civilians from threat. (disaster shelter) It can automatically deploy evacuation busses through out the city.(Traffic is still a factor in it's efficiency). It can also deploy Search and Rescue Teams in destroyed buildings to recover survivors (If not deployed, survivors will be considered dead).
To balance things out here, special deployments can now cost you money (not the paid one) but services remain free. Take note, they are just named "Security Agency" or "Civil Service Agency" but are types. You can definitely name your Science Agency into "Umbrella Corporation"
2: Disaster Levels
Disasters should have its own levels. Level 1 disasters are fires, flood, riots, tornado, sinkhole, and illness. Level 2 disasters are earthquake, public chaos (city wide riots and lootings),drug epidemic, lab leaks, outbreaks, ground zero (patient zero zombie), nuclear meltdown and explosions.
Level 3 disasters are Geliumium Virus, UFO, PICKLE, anarchy, zombie outbreak, epidemic, and mole-zilla.
Level 1 disasters can easily be responded by services and agencies.
Level 2 disasters now require special deployment in order to mitigate or stop the disaster. Services can still respond to Level 2 disasters, but will fail (30-70 chance).
Level 3 disasters will challenge players in balancing the city wide collateral damage and resources till it's mitigated, neutralized, or passes. Military intervention is a must in Level 3 disasters; if none, the city will fall.
3: Military
I know it's a city building game, but the military in the game lacks interaction with the city.
The Military will now have a personnel population which can be increased by building a military recruitment department inside the Security Agency. Increasing the number of barracks will increase the number of personnel your current Military base can hold. The level of preparedness of the military can be increased by initiating drills (costs money) and ordering weapons and vehicles from an arms factory (arms factory can be introduced by the Science Agency to the industries. Also costs money). Increasing the garages will increase the number of vehicles you could use. The Military base itself can act as a secondary disaster shelter for the citizens but can only be enabled when Civil Services Agency is present. The Military has now the option to send in stationary troops to agency buildings, government buildings, and services buildings. It will look like humvees entering the buildings. Note this will only be an option if there's an active level 2 disaster. When a level 3 disaster hits, players can now manually deploy squads and military vehicles to respond in the city. deploying military units will cost weaponry and vehicles. (Assume the situation is dread in level 3 disasters) Military bases have unique HP, but it syncs with the number of personnel you currently have. On level 3 disasters, players have the option to declare martial law. This will temporarily disable citizens moving in and civilian cars travelling the main road (except highways).
4. Riots to Public Chaos to Anarchy
Riots will still function the same but with the chance of it becoming a growing threat. If the player fails to mitigate the first wave of the riots, it now becomes public chaos. Public chaos mobs will now automatically target any nearby commercial buildings and parks. This will produce small waves of deaths as it ravages your districts. Anarchy happens when the player fails to mitigate the mobs. Mobs in anarchy will now also target government buildings as their priority. This will produce large death waves especially in urban or high populated residential areas. The military will neutralize the mobs in anarchy.
5. Drugs
Drugs are now available to your citizens! Commercial buildings will eventually turn into drug dens or laboratories if police coverage is not enough in the area. Once a drug den or laboratory spawns, the surrounding areas will increase the chances of people getting sick and crime rate. If the player fails to send in the SWAT, the drug den or laboratory will turn into a drug syndicate base. The syndicate base will increase the rate of death and building abandonment in its surrounding area. This could easily be destroyed by sending in a number of SWAT Team. Upon destroying destroying the drug syndicate, riots will follow as the remaining syndicate members instigate chaos to take revenge on you.
6. Outbreaks and Lab leaks
Outbreaks can happen from the lack of healthcare services or lab leaks. Normal outbreaks can easily be responded by your healthcare service and Science Agency. Players can prevent future normal outbreaks firsthand by funding the Science Agency to develop vaccines and cures. Lab leaks happen by chances when developing vaccines and cures. Lab leaks itself cannot be handled by normal healthcare services and should be handled by the hazmat teams. Lab leaks behave like normal outbreaks but much smaller in radius. To increase the chances of containing the lab leak, players can assign military troops in the Science Agency. It's always recommended to increase the chances of the containing the lab leak.
7. Mole-zilla
He comes from sinkholes you intentionally miss out. If there's a nuclear powerplant in your city, he will prioritize to destroy it. He won't die from the explosion.
8. Zombies
I personally think zombies is a fun disaster to any city building game, but of course not always.
Ground Zero:
Zombies can happen by chances if a lab leak is not mitigated enough by the player. When it happens it will be called Ground Zero and will be marked on your city. To neutralize ground zero, hazmat units and swat units are needed to respond simultaneously in the affected area. Police can help lessen the rate of a building getting overrun by zombies in the ground zero phase. If ground zero happens in a much more populated building, the infection can happen much faster.
Zombie Outbreak:
When players fail to neutralize the ground zero event, the zombie infection begins to spread to nearby areas. (Martial Law is recommended). This will spawn hordes on the roads, and turn some buildings into infested buildings. Infested buildings usually spawn around ruined buildings. Your population will drastically decrease as it spreads to residential areas. Hordes can only form rarely as it's the main force of the undead. It's slow moving and it destroys any cars (even evacuation buses) along the way. Hazmat, Police, SWAT, Riot, and the Military can neutralize Hordes.
Unmonitored hordes can turn into a Mass of the Undead. (It will be a moving logo in your city) Mass of the Undead can only spawn once in every zombie outbreaks. It's a horde that has a massive HP and usually marches towards disasters shelters and military bases. It looks like an elongated horde sprite. Mass of the Undead heavily requires military intervention and missiles to be dealt with.
Once the initial hordes are dealt with, players can now send in military, police, riot, and SWAT to infested buildings. Upon clearing all infestation, the player can now lift the Martial Law and deploy the Search and Rescue teams to affected areas.
If the Mass of the Undead is an imminent threat, it's recommended to go Racoon style to instantly neutralize the threat.
9. QOL Additions
With all the things I suggested, this will of course require a visual representation in your screen. For example, having stats on drug trade, illness, dead population, infected population, zombified population, military personnel, and evacuated citizens.
10. Science Agency and the Industry
The Science Agency can introduce innovations to the Industry of the city. (Players can invest on the science development tabs of the agency). This will increase happiness among the citizens and lessen pollution. The Industry will prosper even more with Infrastructure Agency's buffs.
Overall this are my thoughts and ideas on Theotown. If we are able to mod events, population, and disasters in the game, I think we can bring this game to another whole new level.
