Mods making the game "to easy"?

[SilentP]

I've got a few hundred hours in RimWorld and I must say that I absolutely love the game.  I also love the mods that our awesome community has created for us.  I just wrapped up a nice game on an ice sheet with the average temperature hovering around -20°F.

The thing I'm noticing is some of the mods like "Prepare Carefully" "More Vanilla Turrets" and "Stacks XXL" seem to reduce the difficulty curve of the game.  For instance "Prepare Carefully" gives me the option to customize my pawns, thus removing pyromaniac traits and preexisting medical conditions.  "More Vanilla Turrets" give me the option to build gun emplacements to mow down enemy raiders regardless of available weaponry. "Stacks XXL" allow me to cram 1000+ meals in a 10x10 cooler without having to worry about more space and more air conditioners.

Do you guys think these mods make the game to easy?  Am I just playing on a low level and should up the challenge? I'm currently on Randy Random with Intense difficulty.  I ask because I'm starting to find the game to be a bit boring.

[b0rsuk]

Is there any single Rimworld mod that makes the game harder ?

[hoffmale]

First off, I'm one of the more hardcore gamers (just to give a bit of a reference frame).

I personally think mods that directly affect in-game elements (other than pure cosmetics) can really screw with the (intended) balance curve. And while some diversity in play based on the available gimmicks might be momentarily interesting, in the long run you start to rely too much on them (and the imbalance they produce).

To be clear: I don't condemn the usage of mods, sometimes the best gaming experience comes from mods! On one hand, if you really don't like components breaking down on you or managing power usage to keep all your base running, sometimes you might be better off with mods that do that for you or trivialize it down to an acceptable level. On the other hand, there are reasons why some mechanics are implemented that way (e.g. components breaking down = no infinite expansion/upkeep costs), so manipulating them affects the balance and difficulty of the whole game, which will influence how you perceive it. The choice is yours!

For me, I generally like mods that give you more control, better information displays or friendlier UI. I also like to try mods that introduce new gameplay elements for one or two games (for diversity and thinking about things from a different perspective), but I mostly try to only use mods that keep a healthy amount of difficulty (I do like challenges!).

@b0rsuk: I made some slight modifications to enable permanent heat wave/permanent cold snap. Does that count?

TL;DR: Play what you think is fun, but reevaluate your choice if you think the game gets boring 

[stu89pid]

Yes there are settings in vanilla and mods you can download that make the game unchallenging.

Using EDB to get 3 starting colonists with all great attributes then yes that makes the game very easy. But playing a game on Phoebe on base builder in a temperate zone with year round growing periods also makes it very easy.

I"m not really sure what you are getting at though. EDB adds another level of control to you in terms of difficulty, it doesn't require you to choose settings that make the game easier. The same with your choice to download other mods that make the game easier.

[Boston]

To be entirely fair: in my opinion, the vanilla game is shit, compared to the kind of stuff certain mods can add.

Like, it has gotten to the point where I don't play the game until a couple weeks/months after an update, so my chosen mods can update.

A big thing for me is storage: vanilla storage suuuuuccccckkkkkkkssssssss. Yeah, sure, just go throw all that stuff (food, ingredients, materials, etc) right on the floor, guys, don't organize it at all, just leave it right there. /s

I mean, humans have known about shelving, boxes and assorted containers since the early Stone Age. There is no reason whatsoever that storage has to be so hilariously inefficient, to the point where storage is going to be taking up a substantial portion of your mid/late-game colonies. None. Hence, various storage mods. Not the nonsensical :fit 100000 things into a 2x2 room", but actually "realistic" storage.

Another thing is combat. There is very little rationale behind an assailant taking a bullet to the torso, then running around for several days in-game, all while shanking people and having multiple mental breakdowns. Hence, Combat Realism.

Yet another thing is agriculture and cooking. In vanilla RW, we are limited to, what, 8 crops, and 3 or so recipes? Using Vegetable Garden, I can now grow 20+ crops, and make food that actually seems like it would be pretty tasty. Stew made from bear meat, beans, corn, potatoes, carrot and mushroom, compared to a "lavish meal"?

Plus, Vegetable Garden adds things like Salt (for preserving meat and vegetables), different textile crops, and expands the crafting options in the game. For example, in vanilla Rimworld, you grow cloth, then throw it on a sewing table to make into clothing. In VG, you grow cloth fibers (cotton, linen, hemp, wool), then weave it into cloth on a loom, then sew the cloth into clothing on a sewing table.

Sure, there are mods that make the game easier, like the numerous OP-as-fuck turret mods, easier-crafting of components, and buffed-to-hell-and-back trade, but those are crutches. Many mods make the game harder, or, at least, more grounded in reality.

[SilentP]

Well I added the "Mending" mod because I thought it added a bit of "realism" to the game.  Instead of growing cotton plants that automatically harvested cloth, the mod changes things around so you actually have to process the cotton fibers into cloth.  The mod also added a mending bench that allows you to deconstruct clothing and repair clothing.

So in essence, yes some mods make the game "harder" by adding extra processing steps.  I think the "Combat Realism" mod also makes the game harder by including the need for your pawns to carry ammunition for their weapons.

[Lubricus]

Is there any single Rimworld mod that makes the game harder ?

There are some, the only one I currently is running is seeds please! It makes it much harder to start grow stuff and you fear the blight that not just make the crop die but after you can't replant.

[CiceroThePoet]

Hate to be a fanboy, but Fluffy's mods are the only ones I use. They are very well made, and allow me to let my pawns become low level managers, leaving the big choices to me, rather than all the choices. Not to mention the quality of menus. 10/10. I can't drool enough. Can't recommend them enough. Doesn't impact the difficulty of the game in any fashion I can dictate, just allows me to view the game in a different manner.

(In addition to BlackHalo's "Better Terrain" which legitimately makes the terrain generation significantly more attractive, while adding a bit more difficulty to the game. Not sure if that's intentional or not. Try it. Now.)

[PiggyBacon]

I always play 2 colonies with Rimworld. 1 that is true to the core no mods nothing. The other is balls to the wall mods everything from more turrets to human sacrifices that make my soldiers stronger. Mods are nice but sometimes nothing beats vanilla. 

[Mehni]

Is there any single Rimworld mod that makes the game harder ?

Britnoth's Pandora and SID make for an interesting challenge. The storytellers from Rimsenal and the hardcore storytellers don't try and make the game easier either. I'm not too familiar with the contents of the Hardcore SK modpack, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of torment in there. Some of the Lovecraft/Cthulhu mods will probably make it harder on you as well, though other parts will be a lot easier.

Generally though, most mods do make it easier. Even some mods that advertise themselves as Quality of Life make the game easier.

[TerrorThomasCao]

The thing that bothers me about this is that, while you might be right, the mods are mods for a reason, at the end of the day, if the mod makes the game boring for you, can't you just not use those mods or make your own mods to make the game harder?

[O Negative]

I don't think many people post mods that make the game harder because there's really not much of a demand for them.
Most people who mod their game are looking for quality of life changes, which usually make the game at least a bit easier.
After a few of these mods, you'll end up with an experience that inevitably feels easier than the base game.

I, for one, don't think wool clothing capable of keeping a person comfortable in temperatures close to absolute zero (-273 degrees celsius) should be a thing.
I could, in theory, make a mod that reduces the "insulation" factor certain clothes offer. I just don't think anybody would use it, though.
For one, raiders wouldn't be nearly as safe raiding the extreme biomes, and that would throw balance off.
Secondly, people like to say "I survived on an ice-sheet, extreme difficulty."

[Sola]

I like the QOL mods, such as "Look at me, I'm the worker now!", which cuts out the steps required to override another pawn reserving an action, or "OSHA compliance", which causes pawns to treat all deadfall traps as active, so they don't accidentally die standing on a trap as it's being rearmed.

The mods you're mentioning explicitly remove some of the difficulty that comes with the game.  Making perfect pawns sounds convenient, but it's straight up making the game easy mode.  Stacks XXL is something that should at least be buildable or researchable (shelving units or organization, respectively), but to simply give it cheapens the game experience.  If the game is too easy, it's definitely the mods you're using that's doing it.

I'm not saying "don't use the mods", if that's what you enjoy, but it sounds exactly like that's what is causing you to NOT enjoy the game anymore.

[Tammabanana]

I"m not really sure what you are getting at though. EDB adds another level of control to you in terms of difficulty, it doesn't require you to choose settings that make the game easier. The same with your choice to download other mods that make the game easier.

I'm in agreement with this. You can use EdB to easy-mode it, but you can also use it to make a bunch of one-eye peg-legged abrasive pyromaniacs with chemical fascination who all refuse to haul. And you can use the Scenario Editor to add a planet-killer deadline or permanent toxic fallout, or to start off the game with no weapons or supplies, or schedule two mechanoid raids a day on a regular basis, or disable growing, etc. Or all of the above, simultaneously.

[Euzio]

It depends on your perspective really. You can choose to either go hard or easy depending on which mods you use or the settings you set them at. I play with a pretty large number of mods and mainly because I prefer the base building element rather than the combat element of the game. However, I am considering to tweak it harder on my next play through by either exploring the medieval mod or starting with no resources at all.