Rather than discussing mechanics straight off it's more important to discuss what is the point of a Cantr toon.
IMHO playing a Cantr toon is an oppritunity to group RP. Hunger, violence, resources provide the backdrop to RP against. (There is also very good RP than is idependent of the environment). This group RP may just be people working near each other, working closely together, or a more structured group with laws and such.
Let's review the life of a Cantr toon at a very high level.
1) Hungry - While your not spawned hungry you are spawned without food and it doesn't take you long to figure out that you need some. You have to figure out whether you can gather or work for your dinner.
2) Protection - You want a device or others that protect you from animals or toon with violent intent. There's a latent desire to get a shield with is hard to supress.
3) Goals - This is the heart of Cantr. Each toon decides on a moment by moment basis how much they work for themselves and how much they work for others, and how much they work getting other people to work for themselves.
This is not to say this is all a Cantr toon does, it just provide the backdrop to the RP.
The players motivation is to figure out how to get what they want thought the combination of the environment and the character there.
Let look at a few common examples (there are more ways to run a character than there is to put DNA together. these are just a few)
Sideshow: The goal for the character is to be the entertaining sideshow and ambition is muted. They just want to eat, help out here and there, but be very entertaining doing it.
Sheeple: They are loyal to a group or the leader with little ambition. The group takes care of them well enough to keep doing it. This include guard types and workers alike.
Alpha wolf: Having people loyal to them drives them. Creating the plan isn't the driver, it's leading the plan and being able to decide for themselves and others.
Lone wolf: Has thier own sometimes obcessive plan.
There are many other types but the truth is that most characters are a blend of these types. They may be funny, have thier own horde, work for no reward, and lead a group within a larger group all depending the individual day to day situation.
Now considering all that...
IMHO the very manual effort of doing things in Cantr distracts room the RP and should be automated somewhat. The main question is:
"Is keeping track of resources and tasks fun in and of itself?"
My answer is "No" ... how you do tasks is not the real game.
At the moment your actaully playing manually giving/taking matters a great deal. For each individual player/toon there is a set of things that is necessary but not worth RPing about.
So if your with me so far here is the suggestion(s)...
:Allow/because: You allow people to do X because they are indivually allowed. By default anyone can do anything.
Example of Xs
1) gather all or specific resource
2) take all or specific resources or objects (can be limited to an amount .. 1 bone knife .. 200 grams of food per day)
3) use a device
4) enter a location manually
5) hunt (per type of animals if over a certain amount)
These allow/because would be visible when you attempt to do something.
A man in his twenties asks you not to do X ... Ignore Y/N?
revent: This is the method of preventing an allow/because
1) ask (default/the example above)
2) prevent ... like being dragged off a project
3) drag to...
4) hit with...
A man in his twenties asks you not to do dig for hematite under pain of being hit with a crossbow. .. Ignore Y/N?
What if I freind of mine is threating to kill me if I go into my own home because he messed up his settings? He is "confused" say something RP and funny and then drag him away from his current location.
:Help: A method of working for someone
You basically partipate on any task for an precentage reward (or no reward). You are also allowed to ignore the reward even if offered. It wouldn't cover every situation but it would cover a few basics:
1) Anyone who works on this project I will offer food.
2) Whatever that person wants worked I will do no charge.
3) The results of my project go to a location of my choice [provided no one is preventing and I have keys]
More complicated things are still RP.
You have a list of projects you want done. People go down the list in the order you make. If they don't have the tools and you have multiple tools they "borrow" your spare (it doesn't come out of your inventory). If they can't help (max people/no tool) they skip to the next project.
efend: autoattack
Can't think of a good way to automate and still prevent someone from helping a trusted freind that has gone "crazy".
:Trade:
I will trade [anyone/this list of people] [this amount of resource/this item] for [this amount of resource/this item].
Will not function if pockets are full. Can access a location as a storehouse.
:Worklist:
If I am X I will work on Y for Z percent of the time.
X:
hungry
tired
damaged
Y:
1) gather all or specific resource
2) take all or specific resources or objects (can be limited to an amount .. 1 bone knife .. 200 grams of food per day)
3) use a device
4) start a project
5) go to a location (provided unprevented and have key if needed)
You set up the order you want it to go though:
1) If I am more than [50% hungry] I'm [gathering my own rice] dang it.
2) If I am more than [44% tired] I will do nothing.
3) If I am more than [33% damages] I will go into [this location].
4) Help
[80% charcter x]
[20% chracter y]
____
[0% myself getting wood]
[0% myself picking flowers]
____
[default rest]
In the above example 80% of work goes to chracter x and 20% goes to character y. If character x or y can't keep you busy (tools/etc.) you work on your own projects.
____
That went long but the basic thing is just as in life things that are routine are no interesting. Gathering carrots manually is only interesting the first time you do it. After that you just want fed and want something else.