Get use to it... (dynamic pawn traits)

[EvilEngineer]

So after running a colony of Pyscho, Bloodlust, Cannibals... I found it rather hard to keep new recruits due to demoralizing activities of my colony.  Sure, we'd wholesale capture raiders, stabilize them, chop off their legs so they couldn't move,  harvest their non-vital organs for profit, and await slave traders to carry them away.  Those that died, they were lunch...  and their skin turned into human rugs and bedding for the new prisoners. 

However, after the 30th time eating a fine meal of human flesh and fava beans, you'd think my new colonists would get use to it.  We are evil, stop breaking down. I went over this in the recruitment indoctrination while they were a guest in my prison cells.  They had a choice, join me or be stripped for parts and sold.

What I propose is that pawns dynamically get use to the way a colony is run for better or worse.  Or at least don't suffer demoralization if they weren't the one doing the action or any where near it happening.  Selling prisoners, euthanize, and harvesting organs all currently effect all pawns even if they aren't close to it.

Ex.... eating human / zombie meat repeatedly reduces the overall effect of the demoralization over time and eventually it goes away permanently.  Possibly they develop a taste for it and gain the cannibal trait.

Soldiers who fight again and again, witnessing the blood and violence of war gain the blood lust trait. Or at least dead bodies don't phase them.

Someone who likes drinking too much gains the alcoholic trait.

After the 300th raider gets sold to slavers, the colonists stop caring... (the bastards did try to kill us after all)

[HalfmoonSmile]

I like this idea, but think it'd need to be more nuanced to not be exploitable or cheesy.

If some colonists developed bloodlust/cannibal as you're describing, an even greater ratio ought to develop PTSD (maybe their rest/joy meter fills slowly and they wake up at random), maybe commit suicide, or face other issues in exchange for lower overall negative event debuffs. That'd illustrate not everyone copes the same way with trauma (others might permanantly losing the ability to be social or do medicine, but not cross into full psychopathy). Some people just aren't cut out to be murder machines, no matter how brutal their surroundings. Additionally, a balanced chance at positive/negative traits emerging would lead to more storytelling potential than a straightforward leveling up to cannibalism through cannibalism mechanic.

[pigman999999999]

welcome evilengineer to the forms also i like how your thinking

[Menuhin]

I think it is unlikely that will happen largely for balance reasons, and because Tynan does like to have some things be kept as permanent.  And so for the same reason he does not put in a way to fix scars, dementia, bad back.  I think it is unlikely he'll put in a way to add or remove traits.

Although I somewhat agree with you, there is a lot of fun and diversity that could be added to game play if you wanted to make colony of cannibals.  Which atm is too tedious to get only colonists with that trait to make it very viable in vanilla gameplay.

If Tynan were to implement a system to change character traits though, I think I'd rather see it behind some form of player interaction.  Like an expensive neurotrainer to be capable of adding/removing certain traits.  Not just a small getting over the mood impact for a period of time and then it just goes away.

[StorymasterQ]

If Tynan were to implement a system to change character traits though, I think I'd rather see it behind some form of player interaction.  Like an expensive neurotrainer to be capable of adding/removing certain traits.  Not just a small getting over the mood impact for a period of time and then it just goes away.

I'd like to to think something in the lines of an event-based change. For example:
Emmie looked at a piece of awful art. What should she do?
[ ] Study it (maybe lose/gain a point in Art)
[ ] Critique it (maybe lose/gain a trait involving Art, plus a lose/gain in mood)
[ ] Move on (definitely gain a negative mood for observing awful art)

[TheDirge]

When running a cannibal colony where everyone one was already a cannibal and trying to "convert" new recruits with your proposed idea, i'd say let it happen but with side-effects because lets be honest, almost anyone can turn into a cannibal if needed but not without consequences let going utterly insane.

So if an option is added you where you can select what traits you want them to get, in this case cannibalism, they might also get unwanted traits such as Depressive, nervous, Volatile, Chemical fascination.

but i like the idea because it allows colonists to change and adapt to crashing on a rim planet thus making the entire situation a bit more realistic.

[b0rsuk]

I have a related idea.

Hidden traits
Originally, colonist traits are hidden. Especially at colony generation stage - you would only see their health. Over the course of days, they are revealed.

This would stop people from endlessly rerolling to get Optimist+Too Smart+Industrious.

This would also make recruiting prisoners deeper. You wouldn't see their traits. A person skilled at Social could talk to them and hopefully reveal some of them. This review process would be included in Friendly Chat, etc.

[TheDirge]

I have a related idea.

Hidden traits
Originally, colonist traits are hidden. Especially at colony generation stage - you would only see their health. Over the course of days, they are revealed.

This would stop people from endlessly rerolling to get Optimist+Too Smart+Industrious.

This would also make recruiting prisoners deeper. You wouldn't see their traits. A person skilled at Social could talk to them and hopefully reveal some of them. This review process would be included in Friendly Chat, etc.

^This

[Kegereneku]

You realize that people have fun being able to reroll for the character they want ?
It would have to be optional...

Anyway, every new character beside the first 3 are random.

[Mr.Cross]

-Snippets of b0rsuk's idea-

I think this is a good idea, however instead of it being the only choice, you should at least get the option of whether or not you want it on. And to go even deeper we could have three options, being able to see everything (from prisoners/enemies to starting colonists), to just seeing colonists (and not seeing the prisoners/enemies.), and of course you classic rimworld experience (with everything visible.)

[b0rsuk]

-Snippets of b0rsuk's idea-

I think this is a good idea, however instead of it being the only choice, you should at least get the option of whether or not you want it on. And to go even deeper we could have three options, being able to see everything (from prisoners/enemies to starting colonists), to just seeing colonists (and not seeing the prisoners/enemies.), and of course you classic rimworld experience (with everything visible.)

You're forgetting my idea requires changes to pawn behavior, HR reviews are an additional mechanic. This might not be a cheap and easy change. Tynan will probably stick with one solution rather than providing options.

[Toggle]

I just want to say though, if you were kidnapped and forced into a tribe, would you eventually adapt to eating human flesh even after a year?

[re1wind]

raiders aren't kidnapped, nor are they forced to join. Starve or become a cannibal: moral conundrums loose relevance when primal survival needs aren't being met.

I don't expect that to be modelled in the game, but i do agree with traits and mood effects loosing relevance as they get triggered more often. decreasing the numerical mood value and/or the duration of the mood are some ways to deal with them.

There's even the possibility or having a pokemon-esque method of replacing existing traits with new ones. Trigger cannibalism sufficient times and the pawn can 'learn' that trait. if they already have 3 traits they need to 'forgot' a trait before learning cannibalism.

[Toggle]

raiders aren't kidnapped, nor are they forced to join. Starve or become a cannibal: moral conundrums loose relevance when primal survival needs aren't being met.

I don't expect that to be modelled in the game, but i do agree with traits and mood effects loosing relevance as they get triggered more often. decreasing the numerical mood value and/or the duration of the mood are some ways to deal with them.

There's even the possibility or having a pokemon-esque method of replacing existing traits with new ones. Trigger cannibalism sufficient times and the pawn can 'learn' that trait. if they already have 3 traits they need to 'forgot' a trait before learning cannibalism.

Hm. Maybe an extra slot for 'learned' traits, so I don't think it would fully remove the debuffs, but something like 'Forced Cannibalism: Name has somewhat adapted to eating human flesh after eating it so many times before, although he'll never truely be okay with it', and a random chance to get that or 'Adapted Cannibalism: Name has  eaten human flesh so many times now, he's starting to like it".

[Bancheis]

I think a good median to the debate would be to allow colonists to learn 1 trait over the course of the game. Most traits are usually very clear on being beneficial or harmful (in the sense of game balance). If the colonist picks up a trait by learned habits, they automatically gain a counter-balanced trait. For example, if someone was forced into cannibalism over and over, they may develop a taste for it which (not in real life of course) is a benefit, but they may also become a pessimist or depressive.

If they are idle too much with no job or work, they could become lazy or slothful, but could easily gain a mood boost from optimist or sanguine as they might enjoy the free time.

If they gain a neutral trait (those that have their own boons and drawbacks) such as night owl or too smart, then they only gain that one trait. Seems like a good balance to me.