[B18] Rainbeau's Mods -- Lots of Stuff! Take a Look!

[dburgdorf]

Last update: 01/07/2018

Are you tired of running into characters in your game with horribly overpowered or just plain silly backstories? Are you frustrated by the number of colonists you have to feed who aren't willing to work to earn their keep because their backgrounds prevent them from doing manual labor? Does it annoy you when you find a backstory you like with the "Prepare Carefully" mod, only to notice that the gender pronouns or even the pawn's name don't change to fit your character? Do you just hate not being able to do anything about typos that you spot in backstories?

Well, fret no more! Your worries are over!

"Editable Backstories" replaces RimWorld's default backstories with a completely editable set of backstories contained in convenient XML files. Yes, that's right. It doesn't just add editable backstories to the vanilla database. It completely replaces that database.

(Well, it *does* have a "lite" option that allows you to just add to the database, but by default, it replaces it.)

You can use the mod "straight out of the box," so to speak, as I've included a set of "cleaned up" basic backstories which will be used if all you do is just install and run the mod. None of them are unreasonably powerful or, in my opinion, lore-breaking, none have hard-coded pronouns or names, and I'm pretty sure that they're mostly free of typos.

But the real point of "Editable Backstories," of course, is that it allows you to edit and add stories yourself. In the "XML Raw Data" folder within the mod's directory, you'll find files containing the full collection of backstories from the vanilla game. In the "Documentation" folder, you'll find detailed instructions to help you put together your own "perfect" backstory collection.

As I already noted, unless you're using the "lite mode" option, the mod removes all vanilla backstories from the game, so no pawn bios will ever again include material that you don't have the option to edit. This means that you won't meet any of the "Pirate King" characters, those characters created by RimWorld Kickstarter backers, whose childhood and adulthood stories are linked. However, "Editable Backstories" allows you to create your own linked stories, so if you happen to like a particular "Pirate King" pawn, you can easily add him or her back into your world, complete with any edits or fixes you deem appropriate.

Additionally, while it doesn't remove any potential pawn names from the game, "Editable Backstories" does let you to add as many new names (first names, surnames, nicknames, and/or full names) to your game as you desire.

- Rainbeau Flambe (dburgdorf)


Steam Workshop Link

Dropbox Link

Compatibility:

"Editable Backstories" requires a new game. If you try to add it to (or remove it from) a game in progress, every pawn in the world will end up with new randomly-assigned backstories. (On a related note, don't try to switch between regular and "lite mode" in the middle of a game, for the same reason.)

The mod is compatible with both "EdB Prepare Carefully" and "Verify Start."

It is also fully compatible with any mods that utilize Erdelf's "Humanoid Alien Races" framework.

Special Note:

I completely understand why backstories aren't editable by default. And I mean absolutely no disrespect to those who backed RimWorld on Kickstarter back in 2013 (or have purchased the "Name in Game Pack" since then) and got their stories written into the game as a result. But at the same time, I'm a modder. Changing things I don't like about the game is what I do. And the fact that backstories can't be edited, even though I understand it, is something that I don't like.

Credits:

Some of the C# code in "Editable Backstories" (specifically, the code that allows data to be read from XML files) derives from code in Erdelf's "Humanoid Alien Races."

The mod utilizes Pardeike's "Harmony Patch Library." (No additional download is required, as the library is included with the mod.)

[dburgdorf]

New in the b18 release of "Editable Backstories": The formerly-separate "Lite" version of the mod has been replaced with a configuration option. You can now easily switch between the default and the lite version, depending upon whether you want to replace or merely add to the vanilla backstory database.

[kaptain_kavern]

Thank you

[dburgdorf]

Archipelagos has been updated:

- Ambrosia can now sprout on islands as well as on the mainland. Also, alpha beavers have discovered the joys of island life.

Additionally, Pawns Are Capable! has been updated to fix one of the earlier fixes. Those who aren't using "Allow Tool" will no longer see error messages about the "FinishingOff" work type.

[dburgdorf]

Fishing has been updated:

- Fixed the sushi recipe. (It now requires rice and a *different* type of plant food, instead of just rice and *any* plant food, so pawns will no longer try to use the same rice to fill both requirements.)

- The minimum required distance between fishing spots has been reduced from 12 tiles to 9 tiles. (The minimum distance between traps remains 6 tiles.)

- The chance of successfully catching a fish, especially in harsher biomes, is no longer quite as low as it was, though it hasn't been returned all the way to its pre-b18 value.

- Updated the shrimp and snail graphics.

[dburgdorf]

Rainbeau Flambe - Storyteller has been updated:

- The mod no longer changes orbital trader frequency for other storytellers, though it still increases the base chance of the event occurring.

(In other words, vanilla storytellers will no longer check for orbital traders more often than they do in a vanilla game, but when they *do* check, there's still a slightly better-than-vanilla chance that one will actually show up. Rain himself will still check for the traders more frequently.)

[dburgdorf]

Smooth Stone Walls has been updated:

- Conduits no longer prevent etching or decorating of walls.

- The priority of wall smoothing has been dropped a bit so that it's above deconstruction but below other actual construction tasks.

[Mufflamingo]

Holy potato! Thanks for the editable back stories! Its time to start my kingdom! 😂😂😂

[Canute]

dburgdorf,
with your update frequence you maybe should look at
Modninja since it got revived.
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=34447.0

[kaptain_kavern]

They have an auto update detection that works with Github that is handy too.

Edit: But I'm not sure you're a github user IIRC ...

[dburgdorf]

with your update frequence you maybe should look at Modninja since it got revived.

But... but.... I'm trying to STOP updating so often! Honestly, I am! I mean, I actually took a whole month off right before b18 came out!

Seriously, though, that's not a bad idea at all. Hadn't realized ModNinja had been resurrected. I'll plan on adding my mods this evening, once I get home from work.

(And then I'll probably take a month off from modding again.)

(Yeah, right. Sure I will.)

[SpaceDorf]

How did I deserve a fan 

[dburgdorf]

How did I deserve a fan 

Geez. Took you long enough to notice. I changed that, like, nearly a week ago....

(And you deserve a fan for contributing lots of great ideas to mod development and for being amusing in a good way.)

[dburgdorf]

Basic Bridges has been updated:

- The mod is now compatible with "Nature's Pretty Sweet." Most notably, it's now possible to build boardwalks over salt fields or wet sand.

- The mod now also works the the "Mod Sync Ninja" updater.

[dburgdorf]

Smooth Stone Walls has been updated:

- It is now possible to smooth basalt rock walls from the "Nature's Pretty Sweet" mod.

- The mod now also works the the "Mod Sync Ninja" updater.