EDIT:
Mod Beta now released: https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=34485.0
Afternoon all.
I've recently started re-introducing myself to C# after a decade hiatus, and have decided to invest some time in trying out a couple of custom mods for Rimworld. One of such is Scuttlebugs.
Scuttlebugs introduces a new insect pawnKind to the game, that can infect colonists with a single scratch, impregnating them with Scuttlebug larvae. It's an often repeated trope of sci-fi, and I wanted to avoid making a Xenomorph-styled mod.
After a 24 hour gestation period, if the larvae has not been surgically removed (with a custom 'Extraction' operation bill), 2-3 nubile Scuttlebugs will burst forth from the colonist (killing the colonists in the process) and scamper off to reproduce and so forth. Killing the colonist is also not an option, as the death event itself triggers the 'birth' of the larvae. This means that should you wish to operate on the poor hosts, you'd better have a decent quarantine ward available!
I've so far gotten a crude tech demo up and running - but I'm still working on the transmission element of the hediff.
I'll keep y'all posted on development and probably throw up a demo vid at some point soon.
Demeggy
First build almost ready, although the more I develop it, the more I feel like converting it into an Aliens/Xenomorphs mod... (but for now, we'll stick with the brief)
(http://i.imgur.com/hkzssCy.png) (http://i.imgur.com/Tgu86qU.png) (http://i.imgur.com/m3VNQXs.png)
Implemented:
- Scuttlebugs can be hosted in escape pod refugees, so check anyone you're rescuing for signs of sickness, high hunger factor, impeded movement and high blood pumping
- After 24 hours, a host will 'birth' 1 - 3 nubile Scuttlebugs. By default, Scuttlebugs are permanent Manhunters, and will seek out the next host
- Bugs die as soon as they transmit their larvae into a Host, downing the colonist in the process
- Larvae Extraction can be peformed as an Operation Bill if you have: at least 6 medicine available in stock, a Doctor with a minimum Medicine skill of 10 and completed research in the new Xenobiology research project
- Bugs are highly vulnerable, and can be downed with a single shot - so a quarantine facility for infected patients is probably best
I've decided to avoid spawning the bugs on a hosts premature death, as I felt this was overly punishing for players - so if you don't have the means to extract the larvae directly, you can euthanise your colonist to prevent the spread of bugs.
I'll give it a couple of quick tweaks and look to upload later this eve if I get time.
Demeggy
This sounds awesome!
Will they evolve if not killed?
Quote from: Kolljak on February 27, 2017, 08:26:35 AM
Will they evolve if not killed?
At the moment, I'm not planning on that as I'd be drawing way too close a parallel to the xenomorphs from the Aliens franchise... but I am planning a 'queen larvae' that has different outcomes to the normal types!
Dude, for the love of everything, team up with someone here on the forum that is making the Alien Mod, since you know tons of C#, this can make we finally have Xenomorphs, this is something I dream since I started playing RimWorld, something like Xenos lifeform!
You two could even make a new mod from that, and keep this one split from the other, try to consider it, please!!
It looks amazing so far, cant wait to test it!!
Quote from: Yautja on February 27, 2017, 05:21:27 PM
Dude, for the love of everything, team up with someone here on the forum that is making the Alien Mod, since you know tons of C#, this can make we finally have Xenomorphs, this is something I dream since I started playing RimWorld, something like Xenos lifeform!
You two could even make a new mod from that, and keep this one split from the other, try to consider it, please!!
It looks amazing so far, cant wait to test it!!
Cheers, I've got no objections letting whoever's making the Aliens mod use my code, as long as it's credited of course - as I have other plans once I've gotten this up and off the ground! We'll see what happens :)
Quick tech demo this eve just to showcase the mod 'working' ingame. I have a few things left to do on it before I release a first build, but it's almost there!
https://youtu.be/gJF-ULOm-ek (https://youtu.be/gJF-ULOm-ek)
(Apologies for the hushed tones, the wife is sleeping in the next room ;) )
Currently running this with a few mods, so if there's anything on there I don't talk about, but isn't in the original content, it's other peoples mod-stuff :)
Demeggy
Quote from: demeggy on February 25, 2017, 08:44:15 AM
#1: After a 24 hour gestation period, if the larvae has not been surgically removed (with a custom 'Extraction' operation bill), 2-3 nubile Scuttlebugs will burst forth from the colonist (killing the colonists in the process) and scamper off to reproduce and so forth.
#2: Killing the colonist is also not an option, as the death event itself triggers the 'birth' of the larvae.
Those two thoughts don't seem to make sense side by side. The creature is going to kill the colonist. But you can't kill the colonist...It just doesn't make for recognizable story.
This is a story: "Sorry, Jeff, but you've been infected; I've got to kill you and incinerate your body before they hatch, because there's no chance of a successful surgery out here."
The more you think in terms of adding interesting bits of story experience, the better your mod will be.
Quote from: AngleWyrm on February 27, 2017, 11:38:38 PM
Quote from: demeggy on February 25, 2017, 08:44:15 AM
#1: After a 24 hour gestation period, if the larvae has not been surgically removed (with a custom 'Extraction' operation bill), 2-3 nubile Scuttlebugs will burst forth from the colonist (killing the colonists in the process) and scamper off to reproduce and so forth.
#2: Killing the colonist is also not an option, as the death event itself triggers the 'birth' of the larvae.
Those two thoughts don't seem to make sense side by side. The creature is going to kill the colonist. But you can't kill the colonist...It just doesn't make for recognizable story.
This is a story: "Sorry, Jeff, but you've been infected; I've got to kill you and incinerate your body before they hatch, because there's no chance of a successful surgery out here."
The more you think in terms of adding interesting bits of story experience, the better your mod will be.
I wouldnt say so. Killing the host is an unfortunate choice to have to make if you dont have the resources or knowledge to extract the larvae.
Note killing them DOES stop the larvae from hatching now, if thats what your quote was referring to.
I'd say you'd still have to incinerate the host. Otherwise they might spawn from a corpse.
Quote from: TrashMan on February 28, 2017, 09:14:11 AM
I'd say you'd still have to incinerate the host. Otherwise they might spawn from a corpse.
Only problem with that is that corpses arent actually pawns after they die. They become containers, and any hediff code running on the pawn before it died stos running. Ill add it on a features list though.
In terms of bug visuals, ive gone for a lamprey styled parasite looking insect. Thoughts? Part of me was originally planning a crab/termite appearance.
I like the look of those flesh worms ..
tweaks I thought of :
24h sound a bit short to check, find and extract the worms
Can you put colonists in cryo caskets to slow down the infection ?
And what about infected animals, maybe a different strain of worms ?
Quote from: SpaceDorf on February 28, 2017, 12:40:16 PM
I like the look of those flesh worms ..
tweaks I thought of :
24h sound a bit short to check, find and extract the worms
Can you put colonists in cryo caskets to slow down the infection ?
And what about infected animals, maybe a different strain of worms ?
Nice ideas! At the moment, the duration is incredibly flakey, so I need to try and get that working correctly.
Cryosleep caskets's need testing too - but they'll be something you can hold back the infection from.
Just to confirm - Cryptosleep caskets hold back the infection!
I'm loving every and each new post you make, specially the one you replied to me! hahaha
And the animals ideia... would make a nice "event", like... if you have more than, lets say, 10 animals under your control, there is a chance to show an event that one(or more) of your animals has been infected, but you have to look in every single of then to find the one and remove it before its too late!
Btw, I agree with 24h being kinda short, specially where the research is on the tech tree, maybe... 72h in 3 different phases?
1 - Incubation (24h, cant detect without cryptcascket)
2 - Increase hunger rate (thats where you start to notice something weird and can single check the colonist and find the parasite, 24h)
3 - Parasite gerated, need more 24h to get out of the host, the colonist now have trouble sleeping and focusing on tasks
And maybe... like insects, make the flesh/meat eatable? Maybe only for animals or for anyone, just a thing to go extra on this, or even take the skin of it to craft dusters, hats, etc, what do you think?
Quote from: Yautja on February 28, 2017, 11:23:24 PM
I'm loving every and each new post you make, specially the one you replied to me! hahaha
And the animals ideia... would make a nice "event", like... if you have more than, lets say, 10 animals under your control, there is a chance to show an event that one(or more) of your animals has been infected, but you have to look in every single of then to find the one and remove it before its too late!
Btw, I agree with 24h being kinda short, specially where the research is on the tech tree, maybe... 72h in 3 different phases?
1 - Incubation (24h, cant detect without cryptcascket)
2 - Increase hunger rate (thats where you start to notice something weird and can single check the colonist and find the parasite, 24h)
3 - Parasite gerated, need more 24h to get out of the host, the colonist now have trouble sleeping and focusing on tasks
And maybe... like insects, make the flesh/meat eatable? Maybe only for animals or for anyone, just a thing to go extra on this, or even take the skin of it to craft dusters, hats, etc, what do you think?
The extended period with increasing symptoms is certainly feasible, as hediff's can be easily setup to work in stages. I'll report back once I've got the initial timing issues sorted.
In terms of infecting animals, we'll see how much time I plan on throwing at this post-release!
Nice!
Cant wait to see the release and post-release then! hahaha
Waiting for report then! If you need any help with ideas, images, etc, I can try to give a help =)
I was watching the video, and it looks amazing but... there is something that just seems off.
When they hatched, I noticed they just sprinted towards colonist. Which is fine as it was stated in the op, the only problem is why?
Why do they only exist just to infect? I get you wanna stay from xenomorphs, but I just don't get why and how this creature would continue to exist. And more importantly, because it does not eat it should (theoretically) go extinct in no time. Since say it does not get killed first (which would be difficult given its speed) and spreads then what? If it consumes the planet, it is stuck there no food nothing to infect just slowly dying? Xenomorphs, form hives and everything. I'm just not really getting their lifecycle, is all.
I feel like, having more time for it to hatch is good, but what about, it taking some time to reach sexual maturity? Like in a few days it will be old enough to infect you, so you have to hunt them. If you don't then you will be dealing with big infectious worms. I'm not saying having longer incubation time (as many others have suggested) isn't the answer, but it just feels Less interesting. It just seems like oh well I either put you down or try to race the clock, hoping I can freeze you before it pops, and then just downs my others pawn rather than. I need to place them in a locked room so it can't escape and grow. I know quarantine them, but really if you think about it how? They attack you if you ae lucky and they miss, (you pull back just in time) they will still give chase, and I'm just not seeing a way to kill them, other than putting turrets in your medical bay. You know?
Quote from: Dragoon on March 02, 2017, 06:59:33 AM
I was watching the video, and it looks amazing but... there is something that just seems off.
When they hatched, I noticed they just sprinted towards colonist. Which is fine as it was stated in the op, the only problem is why?
Why do they only exist just to infect? I get you wanna stay from xenomorphs, but I just don't get why and how this creature would continue to exist. And more importantly, because it does not eat it should (theoretically) go extinct in no time. Since say it does not get killed first (which would be difficult given its speed) and spreads then what? If it consumes the planet, it is stuck there no food nothing to infect just slowly dying? Xenomorphs, form hives and everything. I'm just not really getting their lifecycle, is all.
I feel like, having more time for it to hatch is good, but what about, it taking some time to reach sexual maturity? Like in a few days it will be old enough to infect you, so you have to hunt them. If you don't then you will be dealing with big infectious worms. I'm not saying having longer incubation time (as many others have suggested) isn't the answer, but it just feels Less interesting. It just seems like oh well I either put you down or try to race the clock, hoping I can freeze you before it pops, and then just downs my others pawn rather than. I need to place them in a locked room so it can't escape and grow. I know quarantine them, but really if you think about it how? They attack you if you ae lucky and they miss, (you pull back just in time) they will still give chase, and I'm just not seeing a way to kill them, other than putting turrets in your medical bay. You know?
Some interesting thoughts there...
Hmm, you doth make a point. The main idea behind this mod was around finding a new way of propagating an infection around a colony, that's where the idea first came from. It then blossomed into the parasite idea.
The core evolutionary feature of the bugs is that they reproduce by hosting inside a human body. If there are no humans to host in, then it's a matter of establishing that with lore in their race Description, so I'll look into that.
Parasites don't generally have an end game. Especially those that can be fatal to their hosts. Lethal viruses for instance, left unchecked, will eventually wipe out every viable host and therefore go extinct. They're essentially degenerate lifeforms that have no long term viability, but they exist.
If someone wanted to do away with a form of life, a lethal parasite which could only reproduce using that life form as a host would be a pretty good way to go about it. Of course Prometheus went and implied that that's exactly what the Xenomorphs were, so headed back to Alien again, but maybe some Glitterworld decided that everyone not able to muster medical skill 10 was literally too dumb to live. Or maybe some Transcendent world decided to send something back out into the 'verse after all.
They could also be a biological weapon that got off its intended battlefield. Something like Autonomous Mobile Swords or Daleks, roaming the galaxy, still killing long after their creators have perished.
Quote from: Devon_v on March 06, 2017, 09:04:18 PM
Parasites don't generally have an end game. Especially those that can be fatal to their hosts. Lethal viruses for instance, left unchecked, will eventually wipe out every viable host and therefore go extinct. They're essentially degenerate lifeforms that have no long term viability, but they exist.
If someone wanted to do away with a form of life, a lethal parasite which could only reproduce using that life form as a host would be a pretty good way to go about it. Of course Prometheus went and implied that that's exactly what the Xenomorphs were, so headed back to Alien again, but maybe some Glitterworld decided that everyone not able to muster medical skill 10 was literally too dumb to live. Or maybe some Transcendent world decided to send something back out into the 'verse after all.
They could also be a biological weapon that got off its intended battlefield. Something like Autonomous Mobile Swords or Daleks, roaming the galaxy, still killing long after their creators have perished.
'Daleks'... nice choice of analogy considering I'm working on a Who themed mod in tandem ;)
The bio-weapon was my initial plan with this, but then I felt it was veering too close the Xenomorphs troph... I guess some parallels are unavoidable though eh!
Not much done over the past few days; was away at the weekend, Sun managed to fix a couple of bugs and design-oversights. Not far off a public release (the wife is away this weekend, so I intend on spending much of Saturday before the football working on things).
How has this been going?
Is this still being worked on have not seen anything since March :/
Sorry y'all, this sort of fell over as my long term project elsewhere came back to life. I might look into releasing it as is, but it would need updating to a17b.
Quote from: demeggy on June 11, 2017, 11:04:52 AM
Sorry y'all, this sort of fell over as my long term project elsewhere came back to life. I might look into releasing it as is, but it would need updating to a17b.
Relax bro, we all know you have your life! Maybe people just wanted to test it a lil' bit before you stopped hahaha
But I'm happy to know you will try to update for us to use!
Quote from: Yautja on June 11, 2017, 04:18:02 PM
Quote from: demeggy on June 11, 2017, 11:04:52 AM
Sorry y'all, this sort of fell over as my long term project elsewhere came back to life. I might look into releasing it as is, but it would need updating to a17b.
Relax bro, we all know you have your life! Maybe people just wanted to test it a lil' bit before you stopped hahaha
But I'm happy to know you will try to update for us to use!
Ill have a dabble this week, see if I can get it up to a17 standards and then get it released :)
Hi mods,
I've now gone public with the beta for this over in the Release forum (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=34485.0)
Could you please close this thread? Thanks,
D