[Brainstorming] Potential Settlement Modifications

[Revuu]

I want to be able to build those Protectron chambers. Push a button and a protectron comes out to protect your settlement. 

Even more interesting now that we have multiple versions of Protectrons.

 

Frankly I'm amazed there is no in-game feature to add robots to your settlement defense force. 

 

Oooh. Triggered on a tripwire or searchlight? I'm surprised we don't have it too, now you mention it. I'll throw it in.

[alucrad90]

 

 

a way to train settlers to use power armor when on guard duty and hop out when their not on guard heck maybe if you have max level blacksmith perk you can train them to repair it  

They already do that when you multiple armor in one settlement, Annoying thing is they just leave it anywhere after that...

 

 

That might not be too hard to fix? Or maybe it would.

 

Idea: Settlers are forced out of power armor after combat. The armor is then teleported back to wherever it was before, or the nearest empty power armor crafting station.

Cons: If you're there at the time it happens, it'll look pretty damn weird.

 

 

Institute has the teleport tech so it'll not be so weird with the teleporting PA

 

[Revuu]

 

Idea: Settlers are forced out of power armor after combat. The armor is then teleported back to wherever it was before, or the nearest empty power armor crafting station.

Cons: If you're there at the time it happens, it'll look pretty damn weird.

Institute has the teleport tech so it'll not be so weird with the teleporting PA

 

Unless you're not Institute. Or, maybe have it return if...

 

PA is within the Settlement area.

Player is NOT within Settlement Area.

 

And so as long as you drop your PA in your settlement, some kind settler will walk it to its station when you leave.

[Ernest Lemmingway]

 

a way to train settlers to use power armor when on guard duty and hop out when their not on guard heck maybe if you have max level blacksmith perk you can train them to repair it  

They already do that when you multiple armor in one settlement, Annoying thing is they just leave it anywhere after that...

 

 

Just remove any fusion cores from the PA. Settlers won't be able to use it.

 

Also there already is a mod to add robots to settlement defense. Check it out on the Nexus. At this time it's one of their "hot files" so it appears on the main page.

[Guest MonsterFish]

 

 

a way to train settlers to use power armor when on guard duty and hop out when their not on guard heck maybe if you have max level blacksmith perk you can train them to repair it  

They already do that when you multiple armor in one settlement, Annoying thing is they just leave it anywhere after that...

 

 

Just remove any fusion cores from the PA. Settlers won't be able to use it.

 

Also there already is a mod to add robots to settlement defense. Check it out on the Nexus. At this time it's one of their "hot files" so it appears on the main page.

 

 

Yeah but the problem with that mod is that it just... adds robots. There's no way to activate or deactivate them or put them in pods. They're just there.

 

[Aluminium]

In the core game, there's a really dumb quest where you help set up a raider base only for it to become a permanent pain in the ass during Minutemen side-quests. 

 

Thus, why not allow the player to set up a raider base for themselves? Without the non-sensical gorn like corpses and cages hung everywhere, just a bunch of rather mean people who prefer to take the easier option when it comes to survival. It could feature some new gameplay features, since an outlaw town can't live by civilised standards. Learn to survive without the commerce! For example: 

 

1. When a settlement is first set up, you must choose between installing either a Minuteman beacon or a Raider one with custom lines - that's the item upon which most Raider structures are dependent. 

Instead of getting cash through trade once you've built the shops (which you either no longer can build or get severely, horribly reduced money yield), you build a Raiding Station (or several) and assign settlers to it. From this point on, the money starts flowing immediately, but depends on the number of raiders and various other factors. For example, build a Shooting Range to get a Defense bonus and improve the raiding income, or do some quests for Bunker Hill (known to cooperate with Raiders) and only THEN do you get some actual commerce.

 

2. "Thanks, BoS, your framework for shaking down helpless farmers will help our own quests a lot" 

 

3. Bounties! On your head, that is. You are safe inside your own little patch of Old West, but out in the 'Wealth, on your own, there'll be hell to pay. 

 

4. Time for the next level. Pay Zeller a visit and learn to brainwash settlers for immense defense bonuses, or, when you have enough manpower and money, build a "Trap Beacon" and start your own little Slavery Market. Never go to sleep worrying about money again, but be prepared for increased Railroad activity.

 

5. This time radiant quests could involve exactly the stuff Minutemen were trying to prevent - robbery, kidnapping, sneaky supply theft for added flavour... as well as setting up ambushes for the BoS/Gunners/Minutemen ensuring you retain exclusive rights to your turf. "Plant X mines in a location known for good guy patrols" is also an idea.

[alucrad90]

 

 

Idea: Settlers are forced out of power armor after combat. The armor is then teleported back to wherever it was before, or the nearest empty power armor crafting station.

Cons: If you're there at the time it happens, it'll look pretty damn weird.

Institute has the teleport tech so it'll not be so weird with the teleporting PA

 

Unless you're not Institute. Or, maybe have it return if...

 

PA is within the Settlement area.

Player is NOT within Settlement Area.

 

And so as long as you drop your PA in your settlement, some kind settler will walk it to its station when you leave.

 

 

We made a teleport machine with parts of tech from institute, it can only teleport in a short range.

 

That's enough I think

[Zenevolution]

 

I hope to see a mod where when you "store in workshop" any item from any settlement it can be placed back down through any other connected settlement.  A mod like that would make me so happy... I could just tear all that stuff down from the Castle and drop it down on my island with no worries!

Already doable if you link your settlements together, need to have a perk for that tho (tis in charisme tree)

 

 

I know you can link settlements together and share basic resources but I'm talking about a mod that lets you share already built items.  Say I craft a really expensive turret and place it in sanctuary, I want to be able to press tab to "store in workshop" then go to the island (a linked settlement) and place down that exact turret I built and stored in sanctuary.  Currently only basic resources (copper, wood, steel, etc.) can be shared via linking unless I'm missing something entirely.

[LB89]

A few ideas I had during my current game:

 

First, some troops you can send on settlement-missions. I mean, you are a bigwig of at least one major faction, you shouldn't need to drop everything because one of your settlements at the other side of the map has a (for you) minor problem.

Usually, they would act like guards, walking around the settlement and giving a small boost to defense, but you can instead send them on a mission, removing their bonus for a few days and, depending on numbers, skill and equipment, they either succeed, giving some happyness and caps, or they fail, crippling their bonus for another week and causing unhappyness in the other settlement. If you do nothing, the blow to morale will be even worse.

Bonus points if one can call them with the flare instead of generic Minutemen when close to their settlement, and if their absence (mission- and health-based) caused the raid-meter to rise.

 

Second idea, why only gathering and scavenging, when you could also send your settlers to hunt for meat, bones and leather? Usually molerat, radstag and mongrel, but sometimes also mirelurk and yao-guai.

 

Third, while transportation of materials is already there, transportation of finished goods (armor and weapons) along supply lines, similar to the mailbox in NV, would

definitely be nice, as it is quite bothersome to not only gather good equipment, but to also distribute it to all the different settlements.

 

And finally, mock battles: after building a fortress in the wastes and manning the walls, I always wonder, how good are my defenses truely? And it is bad stile to simply slaughter your own settlers just to check, so instead, you can call for a mock assault. After dividing the settlers (and yourself + companion) into teams, everyone equips their paintball guns (as in, everyone is essential for the duration of the battle, but out once they fall, they stay down) and gathers at the siren / at an assault spawn point. Battle continues until one side is dead or you call for an end.

[Revuu]

A few ideas I had during my current game:

 

Oooh, loving all of these. Some have been touched on (in part) by other posts, but as always someone elses ideas adds even more flesh to the ideas. This is why you make idea stew!

 

 

First, some troops you can send on settlement-missions. I mean, you are a bigwig of at least one major faction, you shouldn't need to drop everything because one of your settlements at the other side of the map has a (for you) minor problem.

 

Usually, they would act like guards, walking around the settlement and giving a small boost to defense, but you can instead send them on a mission, removing their bonus for a few days and, depending on numbers, skill and equipment, they either succeed, giving some happyness and caps, or they fail, crippling their bonus for another week and causing unhappyness in the other settlement. If you do nothing, the blow to morale will be even worse.

 

Bonus points if one can call them with the flare instead of generic Minutemen when close to their settlement, and if their absence (mission- and health-based) caused the raid-meter to rise.

Sounds good. And it also merges perfectly in with any potential 'settler skill' stats. Level up the ability to fight in a group of settlers and have them be your mission squad.

 

Following with this idea, and something I may have mentioned before: the ability to send your settlers out to pre-emptively assault nearby raider camps (for a good cause, of course) to lower the raid chance for X amount of days / weeks.

 

Added Mod Functionality / Immersion: While these settlers are 'downed' after failed missions (or, hardcore mode, killed), they become bedridden until they are healed (using a hospital area if you have designated one in your settlement, for immersion). Having a chem trader (or doctor skilled settler) in your settlement can reduce their recovery time.

 

 

 

Second idea, why only gathering and scavenging, when you could also send your settlers to hunt for meat, bones and leather? Usually molerat, radstag and mongrel, but sometimes also mirelurk and yao-guai.

Yes. And cooking actually gives a surprising amount of exp. This also ties in nicely to the planned food framework/overhaul/whatever it is I was planning to make. Yet another source of food for your settlement, without having to assign everyone to farm. In fact, would this success trigger of scavenging or fighting skills?

 

 

 

Third, while transportation of materials is already there, transportation of finished goods (armor and weapons) along supply lines, similar to the mailbox in NV, would

definitely be nice, as it is quite bothersome to not only gather good equipment, but to also distribute it to all the different settlements.

Also a fantastic idea. And it can combine (hopefully) with armouries in settlements for settlers to equip themselves. Wait until your transport arrives at the other settlement, and either manually transfer the materials yourself or have the game auto-transfer it. Transfering yourself would probably be easier to script (one less thing to do), while auto transfer might be harder to script? Also auto transfer might make it a bad idea to transfer legendary items, in case of bugs devouring items or dumb settlers running off with them.

 

 

And finally, mock battles: after building a fortress in the wastes and manning the walls, I always wonder, how good are my defenses truely? And it is bad stile to simply slaughter your own settlers just to check, so instead, you can call for a mock assault. After dividing the settlers (and yourself + companion) into teams, everyone equips their paintball guns (as in, everyone is essential for the duration of the battle, but out once they fall, they stay down) and gathers at the siren / at an assault spawn point. Battle continues until one side is dead or you call for an end.

I really, REALLY like this idea. It'd actually encourage people to build the entrances to their settlements as tower defence death-traps, and have fun with it.

 

 

At some point, I need to write-up a concept post for a settler framework / overhaul mod, too.

[Shinteo]

I have an idea for Railroad.

 

Build a trapdoor, and link your settlements with underground tunnels. Potential way of fast travel for Railroad affiliate players.

Those guys seems to be perfectly at home underground anyway.

 

Also able to assign settlements as Railroad safehouses, and enforce it with a wall full of turrets. This will mean that many of your settlers are synths, and may make it easier for the Institute to infiltrate.

[Mexicola88]

would be nice to be able to build oil rigs or do fracking in the ground or go mining for gold, silver and copper and all the other materials and build refineries to make actual gold of raw materials. All this stuff would take much space sure but the idea isn`t that bad i think. another idea make empty water bottles refillable with purified water from the water resources you have in the settlements. with that you could easily produce vegetable starch out of corn, tato`s and water.

[pepertje]

Not sure if it's already been posted (I have skimmed through the 4 stickies), but maybe an idea would be to add something like a mayor's office (a terminal or Book of Law for that settlement) through which the player can determine some aspects of said settlement. Most obviously, this could be a way to negate the "you're supposed to be the good guy leader" mentality the settlement mode has. Possible governing systems could be:

-Prospering, led by a mayor. Standard settlements. Income based on production values.

-Raider Outpost, led by a Boss. Here there be raiders, income based on the amount of armed residents.

-Slave camp, led by a Master. Income based on the number of slaves. This is obviously the go-to for the more kinky mods as well

-Trading hub, led by an Executive. Income based on supply lines running through the settlement.

 

These are just some thoughts, though, since I can tell there will be a huge demand for slave settlements at some point, why not nail that feature?

[Seraphim's Call]

 

Functionality

make them work

 

 

 

 

Faction Transportation

Depending on which faction you have sided with (okay, I can only think of stuff for Institute and BoS), you can access their special mode of transportation between bases with their specific item built.

 

Brotherhood Vertibirds

You can have Vertibird landing pads in some of your bases. Vertibirds will always be available in any bases assigned as BoS bases (see Immersion). As with standard Vertibird flight, you can command them to land mid-flight to drop you off wherever you are. Careful choices of settlements and vertibird pads allow you to pretty much criss-cross most of the world and get anywhere without using actual quick-travel. This could potentially supply you with the convenience of rather-quick travel without immersion breaking from actual teleport-quick-travel. For settlements with heli-pads but not assigned as BoS bases, you can press a button to summon a Vertibird (as if you'd used a smoke), and need to wait for it to arrive, if one is free. Otherwise it's a bit immersion breaking for even your shitty outback bases to have Vertibirds all the time. And also prevents vertibird humping if you quick travel there.

 

Institute Teleportation

Use the Institute Teleportation between bases with the technology installed. Again, quick travel for a game with quick-travel disabled.

 

Minutemen Artillery

I dunno, load yourself in?

 

Railroad Something

If the other two factions have quick-travel, I feel like the Railroad should too. I just can't think of anything unique to them - maybe you sit on a Synth's shoulders as they sprint off?

 

Limitations

Both of the above would likely require a certain amount of settlers in a base to function, or a lot of electrical power to maintain. This limits you from just slapping a teleporter or pad down in every settlement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Minutemen, something I'd think would be ridiculously awesome would be the U.S.S Constitution, or any other old ship. The Minutemen find it, and fix it up, making it the go-to transport for The General. With working cannons once GECK is out. Because dammit I want to fly into some battle with a giant flying mast ship and fire the full broadside Treasure  Planet style.

 

 

As for the Railroad, someone mentioned trapdoors. Now, if you notice, the Railroad tends to find and use Old War outposts, like the Switchboard. Maybe the Railroad finds themselves in control of an underground train system used by the Enclave before they evacuated the Commonwealth, on their way to attempt to save Raven Rock before the Lone Wanderer blasted it to hell. Would make sense.

 

 

Now I want a mod where the Railroad takes back the Switchboard...

[Skewered]

I'd just like more available activities for my settlers.

 

Hunter - They kill animals in the surrounding area, providing food for the settlement.

Maintenance Man - he fixes turrets and generators for you.

Animal tender - Dumps food in the trough for brahmin.  Would be nice if he could milk them, but I know getting that to work well/look good would be almost impossible.  Obviously more animals would be nice to combine with this.  Like if there were chickens, he would scatter chicken feed on the ground.  Pigs, sheep, goats, horses, etc...  (Of course this being Fallout, the animals would all have 2 heads or glow in the dark or something)

[deltadeath93]

there are a ton of settlement  crafting mods. so much so they actually wipe out  each other in the mod manager system  the game can only handle so many. myself I have over 21 settlement crafting mods alone what we need is a one off  one mod to rule them all sort so instead of running 21 separate mods  I can run 1 mod that combines  all the others into a single mod allowing the game to better handle it and with less of a chance of something   being missing. as is my case due to so many mods running I currently cannot  craft shops as the  tab for crafting shops no longer appears due to so many mods  running. I suggest  someone take all the best  most downloaded  crafting /home armor etc.. mods and  try to combine them  into as few as possible to cut down on the load order.

[moddinggamer6646]

there are a ton of settlement  crafting mods. so much so they actually wipe out  each other in the mod manager system  the game can only handle so many. myself I have over 21 settlement crafting mods alone what we need is a one off  one mod to rule them all sort so instead of running 21 separate mods  I can run 1 mod that combines  all the others into a single mod allowing the game to better handle it and with less of a chance of something   being missing. as is my case due to so many mods running I currently cannot  craft shops as the  tab for crafting shops no longer appears due to so many mods  running. I suggest  someone take all the best  most downloaded  crafting /home armor etc.. mods and  try to combine them  into as few as possible to cut down on the load order.

 

actually what you are experiencing sounds like the keyword limit

[deltadeath93]

 

there are a ton of settlement  crafting mods. so much so they actually wipe out  each other in the mod manager system  the game can only handle so many. myself I have over 21 settlement crafting mods alone what we need is a one off  one mod to rule them all sort so instead of running 21 separate mods  I can run 1 mod that combines  all the others into a single mod allowing the game to better handle it and with less of a chance of something   being missing. as is my case due to so many mods running I currently cannot  craft shops as the  tab for crafting shops no longer appears due to so many mods  running. I suggest  someone take all the best  most downloaded  crafting /home armor etc.. mods and  try to combine them  into as few as possible to cut down on the load order.

 

actually what you are experiencing sounds like the keyword limit

 

 

how  can I fix that? is it an ini setting?

[moddinggamer6646]

 

 

there are a ton of settlement  crafting mods. so much so they actually wipe out  each other in the mod manager system  the game can only handle so many. myself I have over 21 settlement crafting mods alone what we need is a one off  one mod to rule them all sort so instead of running 21 separate mods  I can run 1 mod that combines  all the others into a single mod allowing the game to better handle it and with less of a chance of something   being missing. as is my case due to so many mods running I currently cannot  craft shops as the  tab for crafting shops no longer appears due to so many mods  running. I suggest  someone take all the best  most downloaded  crafting /home armor etc.. mods and  try to combine them  into as few as possible to cut down on the load order.

 

actually what you are experiencing sounds like the keyword limit

 

 

how  can I fix that? is it an ini setting?

 

 

its not a ini setting

here's some more information about it

 

The formlist cap bug is caused by the accumulation of menu category keywords. There is a hard cap on how many of these keywords can be loaded into the game. Because of this all of us modders have to wisely use these keywords with an eye to how it will effect everybody else. That is why you've seen a large amount of co-operation between modders moving from the use of menu category keywords in their own mods to using menu category keywords contained in shared modders resources like Settlement Keywords (SK) and Armor and Weapon Keywords Community Resource (AWKCR). This is a great start, but there are things that need to happen still to fix this issue.

 

Modders need to understand that making a compatibility patch for your mod to use these resources is a purely cosmetic change, unless you delete your own menu category keywords from your mod.

 

Modders with smaller mods, specifically outfit creators need to contribute to the solution by no longer creating a new menu category keyword for their mods.

 

Modders need to understand that one new menu category keyword from each new outfit mod adds up, and frankly no matter how awesome your outfit is, in the current situation it doesn't merit having it's own menu category. You need to either make your outfit craftable at the Chemistry station under Utility or you need to start using AWKCR for your crafting stations.

 

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3767665-ten-rules-to-get-a-mod-setup-with-a-lot-of-workshop-crafting-mods-to-work/

 

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3771195-new-crisis-on-horizon-mod-menu-category-formlist-cap-bug/

 

[Guest Comrade DR. MAHUJ DIK]

Ok those are my ideas:

Builder settlers, it just sound ridiculous that I alone can build a 30 meters tall concrete wall on hangmans alley in 2 hours! You should define what to build and leave, after some time (depends on the number of builders) it would be built, specialized settlers could reduce the materials requirements.

 

A fucking armory, I want my settlers to make theyr own guns and ammo if they have resources, maybe they could create an gun/ ammo shipment to be sold to merchants.

 

A lab:

*Seize tech, ok so Im fighting enemies with unique tech that could be usefull, what to do? i know! destroy it! For fuck sake why i cant try to steal the secret of ballistic fiber from the railroad after storming theyr HQ, maybe get schematics from theinstitute before blowing it? What about vertibirds? I dont want to become a wasteland nazi just for the vertibirds!

 

*Science bitch! i want to be able to research and upgrade my own settlement1 why cant i try to create guardposts with mounted miniguns, or even gattling lasers. Why the fuck should I sent a provisioner to die with my shot instead of fixing a truck or military vehicle? I want to steal Mr hadys schematics from the galeria and give them meanless tasks! Like building! or cleanning the floor!

 

*chems! I want to order muy settlers to produce chems for proit or personall use!

 

My own faction, thats quite simple. The minutemen are pussies, the railroad, secret agents wannabes, the BOS, nazis and the institue ishated by everyone... Why cant i make something like the order of the tato eaters or any other stupid faction! What if I want to lead a bunch of mercs and need a traing ground/ HQ. or to become a mafia boss? or to create a cult of sex worshippers!

 

training grouds. Ok this one is needed ASAP. I dont have time to save my settlers asses every week! For fuck sake ive learned how to survive why you cant! I want something that allows me to put settlers to train for levels and combat perks, whats the point of giving them power armors and miniguns if they cant even kill raiders with pipe pistols and leather armor?

 

protection against the natural selection. Once i built a huge concrete wall in sanctuary with robots, guards and turets on it, thinking that maybe some settlers could fall from death Ive put railings to the interior, then some raiders came... and the idiots went to the top of the wall and jumped to their deaths!!!!!! No raider entered it all, the 3 dead settlers decided to jump outside so they could have a better aim! I got so pissed that ive made the retards monument, a giant  concreate tower with lights saing FUCK YOU AI! and carried theyr bodies there.

[AsariX]

An ingame-method of changing textures on objects.

Obviously, this would be useful for clothing items etc, but, there are other applications:

-Televisions with picture slideshows on the screen

-Textured walls! Instead of spending buildmeter points on frames with cat pictures, select a wall and assign it a texture that has frames with pictures baked into the texture! To do this properly, these walltextures would need matching materials textures as well. With proper materials use, it will look pretty much as if a painting was actually sticking out of the wall, while in reality it isn't!

 

However, this will need some serious consideration to develop. I'd probably start with a naming convention for the textures, so it'd be very obvious for the code that a certain texture belongs to a specific mesh. You don't want people to go through dozens of walltextures to get to a billboard texture, so to speak. With a good naming convention, it should be possible that wall textures only show up for the walls they're meant for, television textures only show uip for televisions, billboard textures only for billboards, etc.

This system could perhaps even be a framework on its own, going as far as allowing its users to even add their own textures or combine textures from different sets.

[lorenar]

The ability to assign settlers to repair, clean, craft and dismantle jobs:
- Assigning a settler to repair say a house will slowly restore the house to pristine state over the span of a few in-game days (or weeks) and it will slowly deplete the settlement's resources while until finished. If this could be done for the roads, sidewalks, mailboxes, furniture etc. it could be great. A designated mechanic could automatically repair any damages caused by raids which will save the player hours of boring and fiddly work.

- Assigning a settler to clean a house will remove all garbage piles, paper scraps, broken furniture and other forms of litter from the house over the span of several days and may or may not increase the settlement's resources in the process.

- Assigning a settler to scrap a house or say a broken vehicle will remove that object within a few days and increase the settlement's resources in the process. The difference from the player's instantaneous scrapping will be that this method will yield more and better types of materials.

 

- Assigning a settler to craft a certain piece of equipment or gear sets (please check the suggestion below for more details) will produce a piece of this equipment over several days for every new member of the settlement and store it in to the appropriate tier of the wardrobe (again, check the suggestion below) and each piece will reduce the resources of the settlement (if there are not enough resources the production will be delayed until said resources are available).

Another good idea will be the ability to assign different wardrobe stores which settlers will use to automatically swap clothes depending on what they are doing at the moment. For example a settler is assigned to farming, he/she goes to the wardrobe and changes in to the one of the player assigned farming gear sets then goes to the farming spot and starts his/her job. Then when it it goes dark the settler finishes work, goes to the wardrobe and changes in to one of the casual clothes sets and goes for a stroll around the settlement. After that the same process for changing to sleepwear before going to bead. It will be amazing if by ringing the settlement bell/alarm the settlers can run to the armory (wardrobe) and change in to one of the combat gear sets before trying to defend the settlement. The player should not have to put say 10 sets of combat armor in to the wardrobe to ensure that all settlers have combat gear when needed but the gear for every new adult settler(or settler that could use the gear, i certainly hope that the in-game clothes/armors will be converted or children as well at some point) will be created but the settlers assigned to crafting duty. Also if at some point there are more settlers that there are pieces of gear (say because it takes time to craft them and the process can be delayed by the lack of resources) then the settlers will just have to go with what they have or in the case of a raid the settlers without armor should just hide in the houses until the fight is over.

 

It goes without saying that the ideas above will go perfectly with the idea for settler perks and specialization.

Another good idea will be the player managed settlement schedule. For example the player could select the start and end time for the settlers to start work in the morning and the same for the leisure time during which they will stroll around the settlement (check the stores, use the the available navmeshed furniture and in general give the feeling of an actual living settlement). Of course the guard schedule should be separate and the option to ad shifts should be available. Another example for schedule management will be to assign start and end times for sleeping. To add additional immersion all of those times should have a buffer (again player configurable) which will randomize the start end times for the different settlers and different schedules (again guard duty should be separate as it requires strictness)

That idea will go extremely well with the addition of buildable leisure facilities. For example I relay hope that working showers, bathtubs and swimming pools will be added to the settlements and each of those when used will improve the happiness of the settlers. The way I see it is that those facilities will be used by the settlers during their leisure hours. Say a settler is assigned to farming, that is a dirty work so the dirt decals will be applied to that settler and after work he/she will go and take a shower or go in the tub which will remove the dirt decals. Then the settler changes in to one of the casual sets and goes around town, stops at the pool, changes in a bathing suit and goes for a swim or just sits beside the pool and drinks a bear with his/her fellow settlers (that also increases the happiness). After that the settler, changes again goes to his/her designated home, cooks a meal on the stove, changes again and goes to bed.
This was just an example and I am certain that there are allot of ideas about other leisure facilities which could be implemented (basketball courts which could use the balls already available in the game, working billiard tables or a working bar, TV, working swings for the children etc.).