Question 1:

The resource system is within the parcels you own ,and near bye it to a certain degree. The theory of buying more parcels or upgrading could show more resources could be true ,but I haven't seen it happen personally with anyone I talk to. I would increase settlement size from hamlet to village for the population ,and the extra add ons such as the tavern etc rather then praying for a set of resources. Be warned the map is kind of wonky at the moment so dont get your heart set on a place until they fix the profession list ,and various other issues.

Question 2:

You do not select which direction the added parcels go. It distributes evenly around the settlement like a circle.

Question 3:

No you cannot see any hidden resources on the map the only thing your privy to see is what the town owns ,and has directly nearby it. I would not trust upgrading an area praying for things such as "Minerals" or "Herbs" However there could be the potential if you live near a lake you may see the "Water" tags show up the closer you get to it. However I haven't seen anyone's actually "change".

Question 4:

There is no specific mechanic as far as I know showing the direct part where county lines end ,and the others emerge. I imagine it will be a fun job for map makers in the future ,and towns with landmarks will have to be used to determine if your in the wrong part of Elyria so to speak. Towns will be a saving grace ,and a good start to orient yourself on the map. Another thing I forgot to mention is land tables will be a good mark on where you can build,buy etc. Making it a little easier to navigate ,and know which map areas are available.

Be warned in the Hamlet A from County A situation if Hamlet A ends up taking resources from County B ,and County B is aware of it there may be some issues.

The last answer to the distance issue is that if your nearby a border of someone else it is probably a decent distance away. Remember an inch in the map is a far distance ,and so is simple centimeters.If you found a settlement directly on the line for bordering someone else which there are some.... your probably fairly close to the other county ,and that could be a point of contention between you ,and that count in terms of resources or the start of a good relationship with trade. I Imagine some really small shifting with the towns. Not everything is going to be laser perfect.

A warning for growth on the border any parcels across a county or duchy border, will never be part of your settlement unless dictated by both counts or dukes in a sedecim.

Also sustainability is a meme ,and is broken. Dont worry about it much at the moment.

Hi,

Question 1: the general idea is that if you add parcels to a settlement, you also provide access to the resources on those parcels. To know what already discovered resources you may add a good clue is to go back to county level and see what resources are available in the county. In your example if the county does not list sand adding parcels will not give access to sand.

A point to remember, DSS map only present resources already discovered, what is yet to discover is totally unknown (maybe there is sand yet undiscovered, but there is nothing random, so if logic is that the biome or area is not a source of sand in real life good chances there is no hidden sand in the area in game).

Question 2: It seems you have it wrong, you do not upgrade a village to hamlet, then add parcels and tavern, it is after you added the parcels and built the tavern that you can upgrade to village, so as you added the parcels you obviously chosen where you added them.

There is no more "automatic upgrade by additional packages" in SoE you only get what you buy, if you buy a hamlet you get a hamlet, only time you'll be able to upgrade it is at expo or during game.

One point to note, there is ONE exception to what i just said, if you also buy the county your settlement is in and that settlement is not a town, it will be upgraded to a town, the added parcels will be heavenly spread around and the necessary buildings will be added.

Question 3: As answered for question 2, as the only chance you'll get at upgrading your settlement will be when your character will actually be in game ( expo or after launch) you will know what is on the surrounding parcels as you'll be able to see them, walk on them, prospect and all....

Question 4: it is all map based, unless we build some ground marks or something to show borders, just like in our world, borders are only lines on maps, unless something materialize it (rivers, mountains, fences, ground marks...)

a point to note, once the game is launched, to buy land you'll generally going to use a LMT ( land management table) at the seat of power of the county of which that parcel belong. So if when you go there and can not find the parcel you search on the LMT, a good chance is it is in the neighboring county.

The main thing you have to know is that there is no more automatic upgrade of settlements, what you buy during SoE is what you get, any improvement and ensuing upgrade will have to happen during exposition or after launch and be done by your character in game.

Thank you so much for the answers. I now have a clear idea as what am looking at on the map and what to expect. Much appreciated. Stay safe and well.