[idea] Climate and utilities

[phees]

Different areas have different climates.

You would need a heating facility for cold areas and connect it, you would need air conditioning in hot areas. You could change the heating/cooling settings of these, changing the energy need of the machinery. You would just adjust between 0-100% and depending on the actual outside temperatures, this would result in more or less unhappy prisoners.

The climate zone, the prison is located in, would add to the grade of difficulty. Prisons in extreme climate zones would be more expensive to run due to heating/cooling.

Other effects:

COLD CLIMATE
Shorten the yard times, or prisoners will freeze.
Have blizzards with near zero visibility outside, which would make escapes easier.
Prisoners will buy lots of hot beverages from vending machines/kiosks.

HOT CLIMATE
You would have to install water fountains in the yard.
People will shower more often.
People will buy lots of beverages from vending machines/kiosks. Also ice lollies.

MODERATE CLIMATE
You might need both: Heating and cooling. The required energy level would be low, though.
You could sell both, ice cream and hot beverages.
We could have seasons!

Edit: Clarified the idea a bit.

[a__gun]

Ive heard of micro climates but think this is a bit extreme lol. Too small an area to justifiably be able to say there are different climates. Unless your talking about different prisons entirely....that could be interesting

[phees]

No. I did not speak of different climate zones within one and the same prison
Guess I will edit my post.

[Das_Wuff]

The sadist in me would set everything but the staff rooms to unbearably hot and wait for the prisoners' heads to pop off... but that's just me. Interesting idea, though

[phees]

Or set the temperature just above minimum, so they are slow and don't fight much...

[koshensky]

I really like this idea, and it merges well with other things that are being suggested around and about the forums - implying that the community is leaning toward somewhat of the same end-goal.

In sandbox, it just adds an extra element to the game (pun intended? who knows) for those of us who have built many a prison and want something more challenging to happen. I think the real value of this would come in when campaigns start to make an appearance however, where we can move from the death-row campaign up to the arctic campaign and have to deal with an entirely different issue, as opposed to just building a different type of room.

[phees]

Exactly.
The differences could be made part of a storyline.
Maybe for trying to prevent or at least delay the execution of a prisoner, you might be transferred to the northernmost prison, where you have to try to work with bitter cold, not always enough food, electricity breaking down, water pipes freezing and bursting etc.

You would have to build very centralised shower rooms so the pipes stay clear, probably work with large holding cells so that heating will be more efficient. Theu pside is: You don't need freezers

[ronanc]

+1 to weather effects that require the user to create new systems to cope with them.

Also nice to see everyone "geeking out" over systems ala Chris in his Rezzed talk. I love where this game is headed

[largestherb]

seasons and / or weather extremes would be fun.

fog, flooding, heat wave, snowed in.. could add a few fun elements o:

[phees]

You would need to install thermal imaging cameras in foggy settings. Great. And, again, dogs would be needed there in combination with guards.

Also good: A catastrophe like earthquake or flooding.
You would have to secure the prisoners, prepare evacuation, bus by bus, then get a bit of time to rebuild some basic cells and finally get your prisoners back, bus by bus.
Another grant could be tied to that, also.

Nice scenario.

[ronanc]

You would have to secure the prisoners, prepare evacuation, bus by bus, then get a bit of time to rebuild some basic cells and finally get your prisoners back, bus by bus.
Another grant could be tied to that, also.

Nice scenario.

Hmm... that sounds fun. Just a small matter of programming

[phees]

Actually, I do not think so.
CCTV is already being implemented. Fog of war as well. Infrared imaging would only take credit of the day/night cycle. I guess it is planned in anyway.
Also, the scenario itself would be pure scripting.

Am I missing something?

[cookiesnbeer]

Had similar idea, but not with climate - a weather affecting needs of prisoners, weather can change quite fast - a few days of heat (more exercising in yard and showers), a mild weather day and a rainy day - raising need for comfort and entertainment, a cold day - stuffing bellies!. Weather forecast would be a nice thing also, maybe some additional research to unlock, if that wont add to much complicity. Not sure, should I make a new thread for 'weather and forecast' idea or let it be here?

[nemuro]

Very nice idea. Especially if it needs some management from your part(have the prisoners dig to remove the snow to be able to use the yard, etc, without the different seasons being only esthetic.
You can't have summer all the time.

[christopher1006]

You aparantly have never read the book "Holes"..