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Great idea, will give it a spin next colony!

This list is incredibly useful! Thanks!

[lucrative]

not sure how many hours a day he works on it but it doesnt feel like the 8h i would expect from the changes in each update and the time between each update
then again its ONE person and coding can take a long time, so might just be that.

IF you think it is both lucrative and easy, then start some competition - can only be good for the market. I welcome your addition to the genre!

There is a reason this genre is ignored by most developers - it is a very niche and hard to satisfy client base. I'm not sure we do ourselves any favors by being overly venomous of the best attempts in years to provide good entertainment for money.

[guess]

That means you have to use up three tiles, and it can't be adjacent to a circuit-wall, which is an issue when space is at a premium.

Install the circuit and item before the circuit-wall, and I guess it will solve the issue.

Thanks again Igabod! Totally understand your desire to stay vanilla friendly - in general I vastly prefer such mods, too.

Separately: any chance (for any mod makers) to make a hand-held torch? Would require little wood, be equipped and generate light, but degrade very quickly - within a day or so.

Thanks Igabod!

I use the campfire normally right when landing, but tend to skip it once I have a bigger base. Often there is a gap between when that happens and when I get outdoor lighting researched, so it'll be great to have a balanced stopgap in the interim!

Also, does your mod currently use the "Lamps" menu like floor lighting? I can't remember as I haven't played on it since A9 (but will in my next game). Would be great if the two were consistent at least in that respect.

I won't be able to do this myself, but a few ideas on conditions:
* A "Drying table" must be outside and receiving sunlight.
* Drying a piece of meat/veg takes less work than preparing a meal but also is less nutritious/buffing.
* Dried food must be kept dry, or else it is ruined instantly. (This only matters if water mechanics somehow enter the game.)
* For the ambitious - add a new mineral called salt, required for the drying process. Maybe a bit of steel too, for the tin.

Maybe Viceroy could ad a few basic extra lights so users don't have to download an extra mod.

I agree, as the ones available aren't really balanced for use with this mod. Specifically, it would be great to have a starting outdoor lamp with low radius, and in addition to the advanced ones offered in other mods.

My personal favorites are:
Floor Lights
Advanced Lamps

[My guess]

My guess is that alpha development on RimWorld will wind down in the next year or earlier. Perhaps there will be more updates/DLCs/sequels, but the core will soon be at a point where updates do more harm than good - specifically because they reduce the number of compatible mods. Just my guess, and something I'm totally fine with.

That assumed, I'm very curious what the next steps for Ludeon are. I know at this point it would all be notional and prone to massive change. I also know there may be other reasons for Tynan to keep his cards close to his chest early on. That said:

• Are you inclined to develop further games within the RimWorld universe? I think it's a very rich IP.
  
• Are you inclined to develop another game in the same general genre (DF-esque)? Or another genre? Any particular interests?

Personally, I'd like to see a Galactic Civilizations/Distant Worlds/Civ type of game within the "RimVerse" (either on a planet, or in space). I think 4X games are similar to DF in that they are incredibly rich storytellers, but even with the advances in automation and graphics (more the latter than former...) in the last decade, they still are woefully unfun management headaches/spreadsheet consultations for much of the time. They also tend to lack character as they get bigger and bigger, and maybe the approach of managing a few leaders rather than every underlying would help personalize them. Would really like to see Tynan's take on making this genre a more engaging storyteller, one day. Just my 2 cents.

[The mods so far are amazing additions to the game. That said, I do think the best mods for this game are yet to come]

I probably look at modding at some point. At least then I can contribute and get things in that I want to see myself, even if it's just for me or a few people. Glad this is a moddable game.

Likewise.

The mods so far are amazing additions to the game. That said, I do think the best mods for this game are yet to come - and probably won't even start development until the game is "final" and the core code more stable. For big mods (e.g. massive new features or total conversions) the development cycle can take longer than a current beta phase of a few months. This is one reason that we might want to "support" Tynan finalizing the core features of the game and ending the alpha phase of development sooner rather than later, just to reduce the amount of mods lost with each update. That doesn't mean he can't keep developing a expansion or sequel (or separate title), just that the modding community will have a solid base to build on, and with expansion to Steam etc will know all basic players are using the same core.

This game is also the first one that's gotten me thinking about what I'd like to see in the game and feeling that it might be possible to do myself, if I'm willing to invest my time in educating myself how to do it. That accessibility is a good thing!

[I think you fundamentally misunderstand the differences in contractual obligations to early access backers and financial investors.]

I own the company so I don't have investors demanding that I grow the company or pump up the valuation. I'm in this for my own lifestyle, lifelihood, and creative satisfaction .

Erm.. I think you do have investors. Investors who expect a product sooner rather than later.

I think you fundamentally misunderstand the differences in contractual obligations to early access backers and financial investors. There is zero chance that those who purchased the game count as investors.

I also think complaints about the $30 price are whiny and without basis. My rule of thumb is that a game is good value for money if I average roughly $1 per hour or better over a year or so after purchase. Thus, I always wait for AAA titles to go on discount, usually within a few months (!). Sandbox games I'm more willing to take a risk on, because the chances are so much higher than I can tinker with it for many hours before getting bored.

By this metric, RimWorld as it stands today (A9) is good value for money, even assuming no other development adds to it. Tynan could wrap up development, stomp remaining bugs, and consider it a success. It might not be a 10-year play like DF, SimCity 4, etc - but it doesn't have to be. We as the community can't force Tynan to develop something he feels is already complete. [Note that this is my thinking aloud - not trying to represent Tynan's views at all]

There are a few big features I would like to see added, the top being good fog of war mechanics and some mechanic to move around the world with a given set of colonists (see signature links). Tynan is not obligated to do these things. I do think if he added the core mechanics of these points the modding community could help propel this game into the multi-year lifespan.

That said, I do recognize there are limits to development of this title. Maybe there are real challenges with new features in the existing engine. Maybe Tynan is ready to move onto something else for awhile - long projects in any industry can feel like a slog by the end, even the most interesting ones. So many possibilities, and most of them reasonable. I do hope we see more functionality added to enable bigger and better story telling, but accept it may come in a mod, paid expansion, or sequel in addition to the current development cycle. Personally, that is all fine - I've more than gotten fair value out of my transaction already.

A big part of that feeling is realistic expectations, which I think many complaining in this board lack.

I'm pretty sure it can - you make sure the closest connection (a wire leading directly into it, with a switch before) is the one the object has connected to.

Which brings me to your next point: Killboxes. There is no real life equivalent to the "Killboxes" we use in game and the ones in real life. Killboxes in real life are something totally different. The closest thing I can think of is The Battle of Iwo Jima, where the united states were marching uphill towards bunkers defended by entrenched machinegunners. That is still not quite the same as what we have here, though.

In general I agree with Vagabond's points, particularly this. The killbox situation in this game is about as far from realism as it gets. Same with sustaining a population underground on a a few growth boxes (which enables mountain fortress kill boxes).

In general, I'm off the view that in most cases for a game like this a near approximation of realism actually enables better gameplay/storytelling. To to get there is partly "easy" tweaking of varibles, and "hard" tweaking of AI. E.g. a mountain base with a killbox entrance should be easy to overcome - simply light a fire at the entrance and smoke them out. Or cause a landslide and suffocate them. Or...

Similarly, a outdoor constructed killbox wouldn't be rushed into endlessly. I know seiges, firestarters, etc try to overcome this, but there still is a lot of work in improving how raiders/tribals assault your base. That isn't intended as a complain, as I'm very happy with the direction the game is going, but just to voice my opinion that approximated realism and good gameplay should be the goal.

I really like this mod but I recognized that in rainy nights you literally can't see anything which is both unpleasant when you want to organize things at night and obstructive if you have to fight. Please alter this a bit so it's getting less extreme.

I believe this is as intended, and like it that way. I suggest adding a mod with improved lighting options (indoor and outdoor) to address your two concerns.