Disease infection rates: need of a re-balance?

[Listy]

So I'm about two years in on my colony now, and have a better feel for the new game. Its the usual Rough Cassandra.

One thing I'm noticing is that the disease rates are off the chart. and its really beginning to be aggravating. Its gotten so bad that at any time 1/3 to 1/2 of my colony is out of commission with Gut worms or parasites, then we throw on the usual cycle of diseases and you're starting to see a significant chunk of your colony out of play.

Its gotten so bad that the amount of Xerigum I'd have been producing for a colony two to three times the size isn't enough for a ~10 man colony.
Add in the Asthma of a colonist, and we're getting real issues to the flow of the game, with your work force out of it, or in constant mental break mode due to pain. Its really frustrating.

I will note Gut worms however are a cool attack vector, massively ramping up the food requirements. That I can handle, the Mechandrites however are the bigger issue. They never seem to go away even with medicine and cause such a mood de-buff.

(Its not helped by Components BTW, and needing a skill level 10 for producing them. I have lots of structures set up for use but can't afford to equip the rooms or maintain them.)

[A Friend]

Diseases are too random. Maybe they could be triggered by other factors.

Maybe gut worms can be tied to the cleanliness of your food storage.
Parasites for eating raw food.
While Mechanites could be caused by being near mechanoid corpses for too long.

Make it feel more like "Shit, I should've taken care of this earlier" instead of "What the fuck is this BS."

Edit: Grammar Nazi-ing my own post.

[makapse]

You are not supposed to use med on the gut or parasites but just treat them and let them work. even treating the parasites only reduces the pain an i have never had gut worms to tell about it. The parasites actually increase some starts while giving pain so if they improve manipulation, for example get them to craft some very good quality items or if the movement is increased, haul a lot. Also make the dining room exceptional to improve the mood  of the colony and try to reduce the negative moods on the sick, you should be fine.

[Listen1]

Diseases are too random. Maybe they could be triggered other factors.

Maybe gut worms and can be tied to the cleanliness of your food storage.
Parasites for eating raw food.
While Mechanites could be caused by being near mechanoid corpses for too long.

Make it feel more like "Shit, I should've taken care of this earlier" instead of "What the fuck is this BS."

Really liked this suggestion. Quality of meals also should matter.

[hwoo]

Diseases are too random. Maybe they could be triggered other factors.

Maybe gut worms and can be tied to the cleanliness of your food storage.
Parasites for eating raw food.
While Mechanites could be caused by being near mechanoid corpses for too long.

Make it feel more like "Shit, I should've taken care of this earlier" instead of "What the fuck is this BS."

Really liked this suggestion. Quality of meals also should matter.

Be rewarded for forward thinking. Be punished for mistakes.

Exactly how the rest of rimworld works. I 100% agree that diseases should have the same effect.

[Delgar3]

I'm not even through my first year and my newlywed couple right after a beautiful ceremony got sick, one with malaria and one with the flu. OF course the doctor got malaria because it just wouldn't be Rimworld any other way. AFTER finally recovering from both the flu and malaria, they both got hit with parasites...such a rocky first start for this happy couple.

[Shabazza]

Diseases are too random. Maybe they could be triggered other factors.

Maybe gut worms and can be tied to the cleanliness of your food storage.
Parasites for eating raw food.
While Mechanites could be caused by being near mechanoid corpses for too long.

Make it feel more like "Shit, I should've taken care of this earlier" instead of "What the fuck is this BS."

Nice suggestion. You should add this in the Suggestions forum.
It would offer more strategic decisions and add some more depth to the game without being as annoying as it currently is.

[keylocke]

a lot of people suggested adding hygiene to the game before.. but the people who doesn't want to add water into the game or are against adding more "unnecessary" tasks keep blocking the idea or something..

[Listy]

Diseases are too random. Maybe they could be triggered other factors.

Maybe gut worms and can be tied to the cleanliness of your food storage.
Parasites for eating raw food.
While Mechanites could be caused by being near mechanoid corpses for too long.

Make it feel more like "Shit, I should've taken care of this earlier" instead of "What the fuck is this BS."

We have a winner! Soon after Asthma was introduced I did make a similar suggestion as the way it works now is a bit cloud cuckoo land.
I do like the idea that the hive has a fleas problem. Sort of like the parasites from Covlerfield. Just makes those Mechanoids even more of a pain.

You are not supposed to use med on the gut or parasites but just treat them and let them work. even treating the parasites only reduces the pain

Great more micromanigng now allowing medical kits and banning medical kits?
Pain is constant and total, or at least seems to be so welcome to Mr -10 mood debuff. And as for the dinning room suggestion, again the issue is this a fairly new colony, and the lack of skill 10 crafter means I can't produce components, and I've yet to be able to start producing luxuries like art.

Its gotten to the point where I'm getting frustrated enough that I'm considering cracking open the dev console and solving the mechanites that way. Which is a sure sign to my mind something gone wrong with the playability/flow.
Which is a shame, as its a perfectly good idea, just on top of the way the story teller slings diseases around with gay abandon its too much. I mean already this play through I had one colonist with five diseases. Asthma (x2), flu, Mechanites and gut worms. In a colony of  ~6 people. As "A Friend" (the earlier poster) said "WTF is this BS?"

Maybe having environmental diseases and random diseases would work? Environmental ones such as gut worms, Mech parasites and asthma are related to conditions, then you have the random ones such as Flu, cancer and Malaria.

[Tynan]

What biome is this? Be aware that disease rates vary a lot by biome. And in fact one of the biggest challenges of the jungle biome is the constant disease - just like in real life.

[DFKabuto]

a lot of people suggested adding hygiene to the game before.. but the people who doesn't want to add water into the game or are against adding more "unnecessary" tasks keep blocking the idea or something..

Adding every confounding factor that someone comes up with is exactly how to take this game from interesting and challenging to just annoying.

[Rahjital]

What biome is this? Be aware that disease rates vary a lot by biome. And in fact one of the biggest challenges of the jungle biome is the constant disease - just like in real life.

If it's so, I can't imagine jungle to be really playable. My temperate colony had plague once, gut worms and muscle parasites twice each, and malaria three times, all in four seasons. Along with the rather frequent infections, the hospital is in use almost all the time.

[Fungus]

I always play jungle and I've noticed a big drop in disease since I started keeping a dedicated cleaners on duty at night. Less mess being created then so they tend to get things spotless. Some new legs  and mechanites help. Hehe.

Also, I've not had a case of malaria or plague that's affected more than one colonist in years. Normally illness affects captives or those in hospital... hence why I figured it's related to cleanliness. It also makes sense.

[Listy]

What biome is this? Be aware that disease rates vary a lot by biome. And in fact one of the biggest challenges of the jungle biome is the constant disease - just like in real life.

I was aware of that, and this is Temperate Forest.

[makapse]

err microing med kit? Its just banning med kits for everyone and only allowing it while there is a lifethreatening infection or something. I mean do you treat every normal wound with meds?