Some Brainstorming...

[Talon]

...or some thoughts.

1. Tube-Setup.
Well I'd like to see if the Main (Formicarium) Campain will look on a later stage like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V91E4R3T1q8

This is not supposed to be a comercial for AntsCanada, but I think this clip shows best what I mean.
Serval Outworlds connected by tubes and maybe sattelite-nests or moveing the colony to a bigger/better nest/formicarium.

Perhaps you can occupy a hostile colony nesting site after wiping out the original inhabitats.

2. Moveing the Colony.
The Queen shoud be moveable. I think about a kind of button you click, then she become a powerfull and moveable unit but her 7 Workers vanish/die. Click the same button again and she will nest again, the 7 workers will breed again. Nesting should take a while. And of course, her royal highness will not lay any eggs, if shes not nesting.

Also you should be able to move your Cocoons, or better get moved by your workers. Maybe their relocation will cost half of it totalys construction had cost. For example. Moveing lvl 1 Worker will cost 10 Food. Lvl 2 will cost 20 Food. Lvl 3 will cost 30 Food.

This way you may be able to put lvl 3 at places where you normaly couldn't upgrade them, but I think for that price it is okay.

These Features can be important for Missions and as above said for the Formicarium-Campain.

3.Mission Editor.
You said sometime ago, this feature will maybe come, but on a late stage of development. I ask you to think again about that. To be fair, most user-made-missions will be crap. But some will be true pearls. You can feature those good missions, and maybe you can recruit the makers to work als freelancers for you.

I've many Ideas what one can do with the game mechanics that are yet in. And well... now I played the game more then 50 hours. I need more stuff. ;D

4. Critters/Insects
Well you surely got serval long lists of Animals you shoud add. I could post an other long list. But that's not my point.
They should be eating. I think about a Mantis that rampages throw the map, kills nearly everything and all your Colony has to do, is to harvest the path of destruction... well this shoud not happen. The Mantis shoud eat the caterpiller if not threatened.

5. Feeding the Formicarium
Well thats only a short Point. I know most Ants are Scavangers. And I know some Ants gather Seeds. But it is a lot more fun, if they have to hunt their prey. Maybe you could give Feeder-Points after every Mission, so the Player can choose how many and wich kind of food will be droped. Maybe Seeds, maybe some Larvae or Tiger-Beatles or the Male-Scientists unhappy pet Bearded Dragon.

The Costs of Feeder-Points shoud be similar to the amount of food of the choosen prey.

 

[Raptorofwar]

1. Small colonies to attack would be interesting, but why when we will eventually have full blown colonies to attack? The satellite nest idea is interesting, but probably impractical since workers would need to carry brood really far.

2. This is a great suggestion! Maybe make the queen really weak in combat and slow, so it can't be take lightly. And not laying eggs during this period is important.

If one moves their queen to a satellite nest, I suppose satellite nests could be plausible.

Moving nest tiles seems unnecessary. The whole point of the upgrade system is to build up large areas of brood. One can always just demolish them and rebuild them somewhere else, so why bother having a command to directly move the tile?

3.Missions editors would be cool, but it'd be hard for a game with so many paths for enemies, AI differences, and timed events. It'd be difficult to incorporate a cohesive and easy to use mission editor, I presume.

4. Mantids are not usually big fans of smashing things. They're stealth hunters, picking off ants one at a time. They'd be cool additions, though.

5. There are already insects dropped in the Formicarium from time to time, as a food reward.

 

[Talon]

1. Small colonies to attack would be interesting, but why when we will eventually have full blown colonies to attack?

I'm sure. In the Future, we will have to wipe out hostile nests.

Moving nest tiles seems unnecessary. The whole point of the upgrade system is to build up large areas of brood. One can always just demolish them and rebuild them somewhere else, so why bother having a command to directly move the tile?

My thoughts about that are a mix of how this game works, how it works in reality, and how to adapt reality to the game.

Think about Mission 2.2, but form the view of one of the lower colonies.

3.Missions editors would be cool, but it'd be hard for a game with so many paths for enemies, AI differences, and timed events. It'd be difficult to incorporate a cohesive and easy to use mission editor, I presume.

I never said it would be a easy task. All I do is to ask the crew, to think about the priority of an mission editor. Nothing more, Nothing less.

4. Mantids are not usually big fans of smashing things. They're stealth hunters, picking off ants one at a time. They'd be cool additions, though.

It was not my point, that I want praying mantis in the game (and hell, yes i do). You got my point?

5. There are already insects dropped in the Formicarium from time to time, as a food reward.

Exept telling me something I still know, what do you want to say?

Do you want to say that you don't like the idea, because some insects are dropped or do you want to say that you like the idea, and that there is a game mechanic that only needs to get a litte modified?

 

[RMP Darkness]

I like all the ideas, the statelite idea in particular was a good one and could be when resources run dry in one area making it so workers explore to find another larger and more resourceful area or colony and have to conquer/eliminate the current colony or explore the area and make it suitable for habitation to move your colony too.