Sounds interesting, although I'd like to know more about the big red alert. When a new settlement becomes available in far future (I hope) and I decide to pursue it, will I lose everything or "just" the expansions? Since apparently the upgradable buildings will not be maxed out in one run, it is understandable that we have some sort of reset, including expansions, but what about the so-called Emissaries? Will they be gone too?
Also, in this far future with a new settlement available, why one should have everything reset just by changing the active settlement? It's not like a blizzard would bury everything in the snow, right? Well, in the Vikings case could be :p
Any rewards you gain............ You keep.
Anything you build in the settlement will be gone and you start a brand new one, This means all copper, goods, buildings, diplomacy and expansions.
Any diamonds you spent will be lost.
Emissaries you keep forever, Look at your main city hall, you will see a new tab labeled "Emissaries"
When you open it you will see a few blocks. When you gain an emissary you place them in the block,when you get more you either swap them or buy more blocks with diamonds, these you do not lose.
The settlement resets and you start all 20 quests again. There have been many comments and discussions on beta about how this is actually a contradiction, as the story line asks us to build a self sustaining village, yet by the end all we have its a bunch of buildings, most of which arent even connected by roads or producing.
This is just the way it has been designed. Perhaps when they do new types ( eg. Egyptians or others ) they may change it. Its something new and they probably ( hopefully ) are taking note of the interest and comments and may in the future change a few things.