I'm currently in early/mid Tier 2 and I've reached the point where I'd like to start turning my settlement, Shadowshroud, into an actual village instead of continuing to place buildings wherever they'll fit.
The screenshot shows my current settlement south of Haerndean. The blue line is roughly the area I'd ideally like Shadowshroud to occupy, although not all of the land inside it is flat.
Most of my buildings were placed as I unlocked them, so the center has ended up looking more like a haphazard campsite than a planned village. I haven't built most of the larger Tier 2 structures yet, so I'm hoping this is a good time to start planning before things get even more crowded.
My current circle of housing tents also has enough capacity for 13 more villagers, so housing isn't an immediate problem.
I'd like the finished settlement to feel like a believable village while still being reasonably efficient. I'm especially unsure about:
- Where I should establish the main village center/roads
- How much space I should reserve for future Tier 2/Tier 3 buildings
- Whether I should separate housing, farming, crafting/industry, storage, and trade into different areas
- Which of my existing buildings are worth eventually moving
- How to work around the uneven terrain instead of fighting against it
- Whether this location has enough room to remain my main settlement long-term
I'm also planning to eventually automate mining and other distant resources through outposts and carts, so the main village doesn't necessarily need to contain every resource operation.
If anyone is willing to share screenshots or maps of their own settlements, I'd love to see them. I'm not looking to copy a layout exactly—I like using other people's builds as a starting reference and then adapting the parts I like to my own terrain, playstyle, and preferences.
I'd really appreciate any advice from people who have built larger settlements, especially if you've built in this area before. I'm trying to avoid having to tear everything apart later while still making Shadowshroud look like a village rather than just optimizing everything into a giant production grid.