Too much meat variety?

[Morrneyo]

I just usually wondered. Why there are so much meat variety?

I understand human meat or insect meat, they give bad mood to colonists. But why they are so much good-for-nothing meat variety? Killing all animals produces independent meat of the species, and it requires independent stockpile tile. Can't we just simplify the classification, like :

1. Mammal meat
2. Bird meat (This one already exist, quite strange)
3. Reptile meat
4. Rodent meat (includes squirrels, rats, chinchillas, capybaras, alphabeavers etc)
5. Canine meat (includes cats, cougars, panthers, etc)
6. Feline meat (includes dogs, wolves, foxes, wargs, etc)
7. Insect meat
8. Human meat

[Foefaller]

First, you have Feline and Canine mixed up (dogs are canines, cats are felines)

Second, I think this is already in the works for 1.0, or at least it is on the leather end, where you are often stuck with a bunch of leftover <20 stacks of leather because you can't combine them to craft anything. It might not be though, especially since other than space, having a meat type for most animals isn't as much of a dealbreaker (as you can cook a simple meal with 10 types of meat just fine.)

[fiziologus]

@Foefaller, in current state games all meat possible combine for cooking, leather for craft not.

@Morrneyo, independs meat allow (in future, now not (perhaps not), its autogenerated) define stats (rot speed, nutrition, stack size etc) for each and close game mechanic to IRL. Or define preferences (possible now), say colonist/exotic_live_thing like (or more, eat) warg meat only (or vegetarian if no warg near) and unhapy/reject if eat other meat.
And if simplify the classification enough "small animal meat", "big animal meat", "insect meat" and "human meat" (stats all meat same, different only icons), or just "animal meat", "insect meat" and "humal meat" (different mood impact).

[AileTheAlien]

There's a mod Simplified Meats which does this already.

[gipothegip]

As stated, they're re-organizing leathers into different types, rather than a leather for every animal; as having many different types of leathers with the same stats causes clutter.

I feel meat is fine as is, it hasn't caused too many issues. As it is right now, all meat works the same (with the exception of human and insect meat) and can be used interchangeably.

However, to expand on the idea in the OP, maybe there could be different qualities of meat wherein certain kinds of meats are more desirable / palatable than others; that is, they'd factor into the quality of a meal, or have a separate thought like "ate high quality meat" or "ate poor quality meat" that'd slightly modify their mood.

[Bolgfred]

Same for meat and leather, there should be an option to mix it.
This could be a toggle for the butchering job or a stockpile setting.

When used, the specific item turns into "mixed meat / leather" and can be used in a  more general fashion.
As for meat, humand and insect meat should be excluded, and for leather, all special attributes get lost, becoming a standard type(as most leathers are already).

By this way, both sides would be served: They simplicity of things to prevent clogging your stockpile with useless items, and on the other side the uniqueness, which will become nessesary one day (food preference for specific meat types - "Space Muslim: Doesn't eat pork or longpork")

[Mufflamingo]

There's a mod Simplified Meats which does this already.

ITS A STEAM ONLY MOD. DRATS T_T