[B18] Just Better Pawn Generation V1.0

Started by The13thRonin, March 13, 2018, 02:14:27 PM

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The13thRonin

Download link for modular version (The mod compilation is broken into components that can be switched on or off): http://www.mediafire.com/file/v3k2sl88j552fy4/Just_Better_Pawn_Generation.rar

Download link for the all in one package (all mods reduced to a single file):: http://www.mediafire.com/file/wy54owusnb23lhj/Just_Better_Pawn_Generation%282%29.rar

Download link for the STEAM version (For our STEAM users): http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1330474055

What does this mod compilation do?: Completely overhauls the way all pawns are generated to get rid of certain mechanics that many players find frustrating or even downright unfair. The mod compilation greatly reduces the amount of useless pawns that are generated by the game and also greatly reduces the amount of god-like pawns created by the game so that all pawns are more useful and balanced. Over 40+ hours and many spreadsheets and flowcharts went into ensuring that the new pawn generation system is as balanced as possible while still retaining a lot of the fun variety that Rimworld can offer.

Why does this mod compilation do this?: Because some players do not enjoy how the system of pawn generation can unfairly gimp many pawns to the point where they are useless or extremely undesirable as colonists while buffing other pawns to the point where they are god-like.


I present to you, a vanilla pawn. He survived the apocalypse only to doom your colony.


Proof that Darwinism doesn't apply to vanilla Rimworld.

Is this a cheat mod?: No. This mod does not make pawns more powerful overall. It simply reduces the amount of useless and god-like pawns and balances generation around a middle point so that pawns aren't necessarily a lot better or worse than other pawns, just different.

But there's nothing wrong with the way the Vanilla game generates pawns!: If that's how you feel then this is not the mod compilation for you. But I would say that a system that generates pawns that are by a significant degree better than or worse than other pawns encourages many players to min-max and I think it detracts away from the experience of the game.

I don't like x feature!: The reason that I've made this a mod compilation and not just a single mod was to bring some modularity to it. Different parts of the mod can be turned on and off. With this said the mod compilation is balanced towards being used all together.

Specifically this mod compilation makes the following changes:

QuoteMinimum Age mod (created by myself):

•   Pawns can no longer ever spawn without an adult back-story (achieved through the raising of the minimum age of generated pawns raised to 20).

QuoteNo More Random Skills (Assembly editing courtesy of Spdskatr):

•   Removes all random skills (both random and age related skill bumps). All skill points will be derived from backstories. This is an essential part of the balance.

QuoteEditable Backstories with custom backstories (framework courtesy of dburgdorf):

•   6 child backstories and 78 adult backstories that are completely balanced. Each pawn will be assigned no less or no more than 50 points. Each skill (e.g. Melee, Cooking, etc) has an equal share of the total possible points that can be assigned so no skill is unfairly biased. The combination of child and adult backstories still lead to a widely varied possibility of different skills.
•   Pawns will never be incapable of any work. They will sometimes be very bad at a type of work if their points have been assigned elsewhere but they will never be fully incapable of a job (with the one exception of pyromaniacs being incapable of fire-fighting).

QuoteOverhauled Traits (created by myself):

•   Many traits that are either entirely negative or unbalanced (too positive) have been removed, including:

Abrasive, Annoying Voice, Beautiful, Chemical Fascination, Chemical Interest, Creepy Breathing, Depressive, Greedy, Industrious, Iron-willed, Jealous, Jogger, Lazy, Misandrist, Misogynist, Nervous, Neurotic, Pessimist, Prosthophobe, Psychically dull, Psychically hypersensitive, Psychically sensitive, Sanguine, Slothful, Slowpoke, Staggeringly ugly, Teetotaler, Too Smart, Ugly, Very neurotic, Volatile, Wimp.

•   Some traits have been altered such as:

Brawler: No longer gives skill buffs and debuffs. No longer gives negative thoughts for holding ranged weapons.

Green Thumb: No longer gives skill buffs. +25% plant working speed, +25% growing yield.

Kind: +25% social chat impact.

Fast Learner: Buff to global learning reduced to 50%.

Pyromaniac: No longer causes pawns to randomly have mental breaks. Mental breaks will only occur when a pawn is past their mental break threshold. Fire starting sprees are the only mental breaks a pyromaniac can have meaning they'll never snap and butcher another pawn.

•   Some traits have been added such as:

Academic, Animal Whisperer, Butcher, High Pain Tolerance, Precise Miner, Radiation Resistant, Sculptor, Silver-tongued


A Just Better Pawn Generation pawn ready to colonize some inhospitable Rimworlds.

Install instructions:

Simply take the zip file and unzip all of the contents into your Rimworld mods folder. In game open the mods tab and turn on (tick) all of the different elements:

RF - Editable Backstories
Overhauled Traits
No More Random Skills
Minimum Age

Try to ensure these appear low in the mod list. The order of each file in the compilation does not matter.

Compatibility and known issues:

Where possible I have done everything I can to ensure compatibility with other mods (many of which I use myself). All additions are made through patches which should not conflict with most mods. There are some extensive modifications of the vanilla trait files through patches so any mod touching the vanilla trait files may cause this mod compilation to not work or vice versa depending on load order.

The mod compilation will throw around about 10 yellow errors in the log relating to commonality of traits being 0. These are safe to ignore and are not known to cause any issues with the game. Unfortunately this was the best way to edit out some of the vanilla traits without causing more severe issues.

The future?: I'm looking at releasing patches to fully integrate this mod compilation into different modpacks. The first mod pack I'm looking at is the Hardcore Skyangel Modpack (HCSK).

Words of thanks and credit:

This mod compilation wouldn't have been possible without the support of the following amazing people:

Spdskatr: for generously creating the code to kill the random vanilla skill points, which was well beyond what my humble skills could achieve and allowing me to include it in this compilation. He is to be fully credited with the creation of No More Random Skills which is bundled with this mod.

Mehni and Sam Kester: for their constant patience, support and help with editing the XML files (I apologise for all the hair you guys undoubtedly pulled out due to frustration). I doubt I could have achieved a finished product without these guys.

dburgdorf: for creating the editable backstories framework, without which this mod compilation would not have been possible. He is to be fully credited with the creation of Editable Backstories which is bundled with this mod.

pardeike: for the creation of Harmony, a DLL editing framework that Spdskatr used to create the No More Random Skills mod. This guy is doing incredible things for our community!

Dianna, Shotty and Alias: for supporting me in the Discord chat. Thanks guys!

Tynan: for making a great game.

Redistribution rights:

This mod compilation is free to bundle with mod packs. I only ask that you credit myself and the other creators; dburgdorf, Spdskatr and pardeike when you include it in a pack.

If you would like to change the modpack and wish to rerelease a modified version I ask that you please message me for permission first.

What you can do to say thanks (if you want to):

This mod compilation took a lot of blood, sweat, tears and cursing to assemble. If it gave even 1 person some enjoyment then I think it was all worth it:

•   I would love to hear your feedback or experience with it in this thread, or on the Discord where I go by my other alias (Stallion).
•   If you have any modding skills I ask that you share them with others as people so generously shared their skills with me. This is how we build a better modding community.
•   If you want to somehow make a financial contribution, thank you for your generosity. I ask that you donate it to a charity of your choice, not to me, there are people who need it more.

The13thRonin


Heni

This is interesing, but i have to start a new colony?

The13thRonin

Quote from: Heni on March 13, 2018, 03:30:53 PM
This is interesing, but i have to start a new colony?

In theory it won't effect existing pawns but should effect newly generated ones.

It hasn't been tested with existing saves so I would only use on a new colony for now yes.

eviltrick

Sounds really cool! Fits with many other types off mods or just as an vanilla + extension, deffi gonna try ^^

PreDiabetic

def gonna use it, awesome. Let the work continue.

The13thRonin

There was an issue with the all in one package and the STEAM package. Should be fixed now though.

Ser Kitteh

This is utterly amazing. I'm totally gonna add this.

Does it conflict with psychology?

Ser Kitteh

OKAY good news it doesn't seem to conflict with Psychology.

However, some pawns are seriously lacking in passion. I have an Animal Whisperer with no passion in Animals and a Brawler with no passion in Melee. So yeah, something to keep in mind!

But seriously, all the pawns are useful! It's sooo good! A bit unbalanced yes, but not by much I think.

Harry_Dicks

Quote from: The13thRonin on March 13, 2018, 02:14:27 PM
•   Many traits that are either entirely negative or unbalanced (too positive) have been removed, including:

Abrasive, Annoying Voice, Beautiful, Chemical Fascination, Chemical Interest, Creepy Breathing, Depressive, Greedy, Industrious, Iron-willed, Jealous, Jogger, Lazy, Misandrist, Misogynist, Nervous, Neurotic, Pessimist, Prosthophobe, Psychically dull, Psychically hypersensitive, Psychically sensitive, Sanguine, Slothful, Slowpoke, Staggeringly ugly, Teetotaler, Too Smart, Ugly, Very neurotic, Volatile, Wimp.
DISCUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

Lethe

Quote from: Harry_Dicks on March 14, 2018, 07:23:51 PM
Quote from: The13thRonin on March 13, 2018, 02:14:27 PM
•   Many traits that are either entirely negative or unbalanced (too positive) have been removed, including:

Abrasive, Annoying Voice, Beautiful, Chemical Fascination, Chemical Interest, Creepy Breathing, Depressive, Greedy, Industrious, Iron-willed, Jealous, Jogger, Lazy, Misandrist, Misogynist, Nervous, Neurotic, Pessimist, Prosthophobe, Psychically dull, Psychically hypersensitive, Psychically sensitive, Sanguine, Slothful, Slowpoke, Staggeringly ugly, Teetotaler, Too Smart, Ugly, Very neurotic, Volatile, Wimp.
DISCUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

Every mod isn't made directly for you. I suppose you didn't read the author's post. Here's the pertinent bits. (Btw, you spelled disgusting wrong.)

"But there's nothing wrong with the way the Vanilla game generates pawns!: If that's how you feel then this is not the mod compilation for you. But I would say that a system that generates pawns that are by a significant degree better than or worse than other pawns encourages many players to min-max and I think it detracts away from the experience of the game.

I don't like x feature!: The reason that I've made this a mod compilation and not just a single mod was to bring some modularity to it. Different parts of the mod can be turned on and off. With this said the mod compilation is balanced towards being used all together."

Lethe

Your concept of balance is a pawn with 5 single passions with 2 burning passions and no chance of bad traits or work limitations? Alrighty then. I try to avoid a few horrendous traits like insomniac and look for 3-4 passions when I start and thought perhaps I was min-maxing it a bit. [Insomniac is added by psychology and seems to reduce rest to +1% gain per sleep hour without treatment.]

You might want to put in some options to help people avoid starting with pawns with bad health conditions like bad back, hearing loss, asthma, bad heart, anxiety, alzheimer's or dementia (last three are probably all from psychology). Oh, and frail. Or any drug addictions. Or too old (20-40 age range is probably the best; 50+ starts to develop age issues and less likely to get into romantic relationships last I knew).

I truly don't get how jogger or neurotic is too OP. Neurotic in particular, sure they work faster, but they're more likely to break and if shit hits the fan you're effed. Beautiful + social pawn = great at recruiting and likely enter a relationship, but they'll also rebuff your pawns a bit. So, things like that work out decently balanced, imho. Traits like chemical interest, jealous, etc. puts pressure on a player to play differently and not seemingly have everything in their control. You have to work around it, or don't and risk a slight bit of unpredictability occurring. Some of those positive traits like psychically dull helps give another way for to player to deal with psychic events.

Also, psychic resistance or susceptibility is too OP, but a trait to help resisting radiation isn't? Alright.

Your version of pyromaniac seems like a good thing. They're easily monitored and will not slaughter animals or attack my other colonists. I'd prefer it than the unknown risk of the other various mental breaks (like slaughtering my bonded animals or possibly killing another colonist of mine).

Even useless pawns can usually be cleaners or haulers which is no skill work, but is important to get done nonetheless. If you have an unskilled pawn that won't clean or haul one can easily banish them. Sell them to slavers, harvest their organs, or perhaps leave them in a vulnerable area/state and let them be kidnapped when you have a raid. (I believe a raid ends if they kidnap someone.) They can do boring work like stone cutting (which no longer scales at all with crafting skills, last I knew). If you have Fluffy's WorkTab you can also help set them to deliver meals to pawns, installing or uninstalling things etc. (Fluffy's WorkTab lets you fine tune what pawns do at what priority.)

You say the mod tries to help encourage avoid min-maxing, but all it seems to do is do all the min-max work for you itself to ensure you have good/great pawn choices.

The problem with seemingly equalizing the playing field is when they're all good/fine choices your exact pawns mean less. If Naomi dies she's easily replaced. When the game seems to have quite a bit meh pawns then the good pawns you do go out of the way to recruit matter a lot more. If I knew I'd have a steady stream of 3 or more passioned pawns without any bad traits or work limitations showing up as raiders or guests I'd be waaaay less conservative about not getting them killed. I probably wouldn't bother trying to remember everyone's name lol.

Anywho, cheers. I hope this giant wall of text wasn't too intimidating or came across wrong. Obviously this mod isn't up my alley, but I thought to leave some feedback anyways. It's great that this mod exists for people to use. The pawn generation is no doubt very frustrating for a good deal of players. So, this is a step in right direct in terms of options people have, even if this exact balance isn't to everyone's taste.

Harry_Dicks

#12
Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 01:02:36 PM
Every mod isn't made directly for you. I suppose you didn't read the author's post. Here's the pertinent bits. (Btw, you spelled disgusting wrong.)
You're a fool. Stop trying to act like an authority about what I can or cannot say. It was a joke so you can piss right off with your patronizing bullshit.

Lethe

Quote from: Harry_Dicks on March 15, 2018, 06:54:07 PM
Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 01:02:36 PM
Every mod isn't made directly for you. I suppose you didn't read the author's post. Here's the pertinent bits. (Btw, you spelled disgusting wrong.)
You're a fool. Stop trying to act like an authority about what I can or cannot say. It was a joke so you can piss right off with your patronizing bullshit. I have a damn mod page in my signature and you honestly think I'm going to tell someone on this board that I think their mod is disgusting? You took all that time to write whatever stupid shit you said, but you didn't take more than 2 seconds to actually think about what you're doing, or even lend any benefit of the doubt to your fellow forum poster. You think you're smart but you don't realize how fucking dumb you are.

Okay, you mad bro? lol. I didn't that you couldn't post X or Z or anything else to that nature. I didn't realize you were joking as tone does not come across on the web. I thought you were serious and yeah, the mod author seems a bit newer and I'd hate for someone to get discouraged on a mod due to some poster.

It's pretty funny you complain about me not giving a "fellow forum poster" the benefit of the doubt when you just launched into numerous personal attacks and insulted me several times over when I did nothing of the sort to you. I'm not sure why you're so tilted over this. You could've just said, "it was a joke, mate". I think you're the one who needs to take your own advice. Cheers. If you want to discuss this more move it to pm.

Harry_Dicks

#14
Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 07:52:21 PM
Okay, you mad bro? lol. I didn't that you couldn't post X or Z or anything else to that nature.
Stop putting words in my mouth, I never claimed any of this.

Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 07:52:21 PM
the mod author seems a bit newer and I'd hate for someone to get discouraged on a mod due to some poster.
Now you are inferring that other people are as dumb as you. Why are you now trying to bring others into your own shit?

Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 07:52:21 PM
you just launched into numerous personal attacks and insulted me several times over when I did nothing of the sort to you.
That's bullshit because I edited my post, and you had a good 13 mins that you made your post after my edit. This means that you actually started posting before I made my edit, then saw the prompt from this forum that someone has made changes to their post since you began typing, yet you still chose to publish my non-edited post for your own (I suspect conniving) reasons.

Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 07:52:21 PM
I'm not sure why you're so tilted over this. You could've just said, "it was a joke, mate". I think you're the one who needs to take your own advice.
Again, you know I edited my post down, yet you chose to not use my edited form after a direct prompt. You are making this out to being a bigger production than this needs to be, and you are now trying to play the victim card.

Quote from: Lethe on March 15, 2018, 07:52:21 PM
Cheers. If you want to discuss this more move it to pm.
You are the one who started condescendingly trying to call me out publicly. You don't get to publicly run your mouth at me and then try to act like you are the bigger person and get the last word in. Nice try with your backwards bullshit. Piss off. I don't want to PM you. I want you to never quote me again because you seem to have a comprehension problem.