Cannibal balance - Kuru

[Touyama]

Kuru is a disease that was present in parts of Papua New Guinea. It's caused by cannibalism, which allows misfolded proteins to be transferred into an otherwise healthy body. The proteins then cause other proteins to misfold eventually killing the eater after all the misfolded proteins degenerate the brain.

I also see people cheesing with cannibals so I feel like this would add more balance to cannibalism, and challenge for more moral games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)

In particular the long incubation period of Kuru that noted in the wiki. If Kuru is implemented I'd imagine it should properly be done as a hidden debuff that can cause colonist breakdowns the older they get.

[Boston]

It has also been extirpated, with no new cases resulting in deaths for over 10 years, since 2005.

[b0rsuk]

Cannibalism should at least have higher chance of food poisoning, because you're eating meat of beings that suffer from exactly the same diseases. That's why not even human poop is used as a fertilizer. Germs and parasites would run havoc.

[OFWG]

That's why not even human poop is used as a fertilizer. Germs and parasites would run havoc.

Nope, but the food poisoning was a good point.

[Boston]

Cannibalism should at least have higher chance of food poisoning, because you're eating meat of beings that suffer from exactly the same diseases. That's why not even human poop is used as a fertilizer. Germs and parasites would run havoc.

You can, actually, you just have to let it sit long enough for it to become dirt.

In Colonial New England, once an outhouse got "filled up", the actual building would be torn down/moved to a new pit, and the dirt from inside the pit would be spread across gardens.

[TheMeInTeam]

That's why not even human poop is used as a fertilizer. Germs and parasites would run havoc.

Nope, but the food poisoning was a good point.

It's only a good point if evidence supports it.

The disease rate from cannibalism given by the only example in the OP compared against the rate of eating normal, penalty-free foods in the game suggests that cannibalism should be safer, if we're using that logic.  It's already a massively penalized act that depends on having a trait and remains a penalty for butchering if you accept most useful colonists.  A serious case hasn't been made for the need for changing it.  Inconsistent partial-realism cases being shoehorned into this game would destroy it outright if done often.

I'd like to see a gameplay argument for changing it rather than extremely shaky evidence that doesn't fit the game's time scale or other food balance.

[Ace_livion]

on the other hand, I believe cannibalism should kinda work like alcoholism, in a reverse kinda way. so if you feed your colonists human meat over a long period of time, they will eventually gain the cannibal trait.

in a kinda Huge -> None mood penalties.
so if someone have eaten human meat once every 3 days for 1-3 years, they are pretty much a cannibal by that time...
kinda emotionally build up a resistance to eating human meat.

[OFWG]

I'd like to see a gameplay argument for changing it rather than extremely shaky evidence that doesn't fit the game's time scale or other food balance.

Gameplay is a fair argument, but there's no shaky evidence with respect to people-eating giving you more food poisoning. Think of it as eating pigs, who can host a very similar slate of pathogens as humans. That's why eating pork rare is a very bad idea.

[makkenhoff]

I'd like to see a gameplay argument for changing it rather than extremely shaky evidence that doesn't fit the game's time scale or other food balance.

Gameplay is a fair argument, but there's no shaky evidence with respect to people-eating giving you more food poisoning. Think of it as eating pigs, who can host a very similar slate of pathogens as humans. That's why eating pork rare is a very bad idea.

For the record, pork requires a lower internal temperature than beef in order to be deemed safe. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/fresh-pork-from-farm-to-table/ct_index

Additionally, the whole 'you can get disease from things you eat' may be true, if the animal in question died from it. Which is not approved to be slaughtered and eaten in the first place. Most microbes have to attack the human body in sufficent numbers to actually cause severe injury, except for those who are already immune-compromised.

[OFWG]

the whole 'you can get disease from things you eat' may be true, if the animal in question died from it

Not sure why you're dying on this hill, but beef has a 'rare' cooking level that are fairly low temperature and is still generally considered safe. Pork and chicken only have 'safe' and 'unsafe'. Also check out 'blue' for beef, which is even lower than rare.

[Mikhail Reign]

Also check out 'blue' for beef, which is even lower than rare.

Its crazy watching blue beef be 'cooked'. Hiss, flip, hiss, eat.

[b0rsuk]

Additionally, the whole 'you can get disease from things you eat' may be true, if the animal in question died from it.

You can be a disease carrier. Carry the microbes, but not suffer from it. But on topic, I don't think cannibalism needs additional penalties in the game. It requires very specific and rare traits.

[TheMeInTeam]

I'd like to see a gameplay argument for changing it rather than extremely shaky evidence that doesn't fit the game's time scale or other food balance.

Gameplay is a fair argument, but there's no shaky evidence with respect to people-eating giving you more food poisoning. Think of it as eating pigs, who can host a very similar slate of pathogens as humans. That's why eating pork rare is a very bad idea.

You can make that case for raw, much less so for cooked.  Other raw meats wouldn't be far behind, and if you REALLY wanted to push realism here the human meat would still be safer than meat sitting under a roof with no cooling for a few days before being consumed etc.

[OFWG]

You can make that case for raw, much less so for cooked.

Bad cooks undercook food, leading to more (and more severe) food poisoning for meals containing human.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Cannibalism should be an addiction.  That way anyone can get it over time.  Also, if you recruit someone who is one but dont do it within your colony they might go berserk and kill someone then consume their corpse.

The diseases for eating humans are generally the same as pork, since we are so similar, its a cooking problem.  At least thats been my understanding.  Raw human meat should be a higher chance of food poisoning, same with pork.  A disease unique to connibals would be fun, it would ruin my current sea ice challenge game though lol