Leaders & No Emotion

[Lancer447]

I feel like my colonists should be okay with seeing enemies die if they've already seen, oh I don't know, a hundred deaths, strangers and friends alike, along with observing fifty corpses up close. I mean, after seeing so much death, don't you think they'd be 'okay' with it?

How about, after seeing so much craziness with something (death, slavery, ugliness, etc.), there's a chance that a colonist would just have no emotion on that subject? Such as, being fine with death, being fine with selling a prisoner or executing one, etc. OR, with seeing all that craziness in a subject, they'd just plain hate it. It would add a larger penalty to seeing death, sold prisoners, ugly environments, etc. I mean sure, this would take some effort to pull off, but it would be cool. Realistic, if you'd say.

Also, if someone once was vat-grown to kill or be a slave, they should be okay with seeing death or prisoners being sold off. Or just not okay at all because of mental scars.

Lastly (this is kind of random, but), how about assigning a leader that everyone looks up to. Say, if the leader's happy and optimistic, then everyone gets a bonus for happiness. If the leader dies, then everyone's sad as hell. Just like that.

So how 'bout it, eh? Too complex?

[BetaSpectre]

Traits and backgrounds should show.some correlation but I hope it isn't a hard formula

[StorymasterQ]

I suppose some sort of permanent status effect could/ought to be implemented. So, for example, after getting a "-5 Saw a dead body" 100 times (cumulative or otherwise), the colonist could gain a permanent "-10 Lost empathy on corpses" and will not get any "-5 Saw a dead body" ever again.

[Shinzy]

I'm really in two minds about these kind of permanent buffs and the like

I mean in the late game you'd have bunch of heartless bastards under your command. So things might get boring with your ability to cope with everything really well

but then again.. you'd have bunch of heartless bastard to command so =P
I can see how much of an badass you'd feel at that point

But having a leader is something I wanna see! especially when Tynan's going to add that possible religion system

Cult of the flesheating cannibals needs to have a leader! also really menacing robe
and lots of red and green lights scattered around for that sickly light effect

[Lancer447]

I'm really in two minds about these kind of permanent buffs and the like

I mean in the late game you'd have bunch of heartless bastards under your command. So things might get boring with your ability to cope with everything really well

but then again.. you'd have bunch of heartless bastard to command so =P
I can see how much of an badass you'd feel at that point

But having a leader is something I wanna see! especially when Tynan's going to add that possible religion system

Cult of the flesheating cannibals needs to have a leader! also really menacing robe
and lots of red and green lights scattered around for that sickly light effect

You do have a point. How about the buffs only go towards backgrounds? (like have vat-grown soldiers okay with killing, vat-grown slaves okay with prisoners being sold off, pacifists extremely not okay with death, etc.) And having a faction leader as well as a shaman/cult leader of sorts would be neat, eh?

Having new cult gear wouldn't hurt, either... heh...

[bjo0rn]

As far as I know, characters are static apart from the ability to advance skills. The idea of having plastic personalities that are permanently shaped by the hardship they go through (a continuation of their background story) is indeed intriguing,  but I can see how it would cause problems gameplay-wise.

Taking a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds that doesn't get along and try to make it work is fundamental to the game. Once they've crash landed and start working together, they will go through most hardship together, as a group, meaning if this shapes their personality, they will become more similar over time.

[Lancer447]

As far as I know, characters are static apart from the ability to advance skills. The idea of having plastic personalities that are permanently shaped by the hardship they go through (a continuation of their background story) is indeed intriguing,  but I can see how it would cause problems gameplay-wise.

Taking a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds that doesn't get along and try to make it work is fundamental to the game. Once they've crash landed and start working together, they will go through most hardship together, as a group, meaning if this shapes their personality, they will become more similar over time.

So that way, early games are about making the colonists work in unison, and late games have you worrying about how to keep those with scarred pasts sane (like vat-grown slaves that don't like slavery)? Like the idea.

[Luroshard]

I feel like my colonists should be okay with seeing enemies die if they've already seen, oh I don't know, a hundred deaths, strangers and friends alike, along with observing fifty corpses up close.

Lastly (this is kind of random, but), how about assigning a leader that everyone looks up to. Say, if the leader's happy and optimistic, then everyone gets a bonus for happiness. If the leader dies, then everyone's sad as hell. Just like that.

Very solid points, I completely agree with what is stated. A leader figure is a valuable part of a newly establishing colony and I can definitely see how much of a story that such a position would provide alone.

"Colony leader Urist has been slain by drifter Zeiph from the (Knuckledraggers) Faction!"
I open the thoughts tab and read
-15 Colonist Leader Urist recently died

or

Colonist has been wounded in combat and I look at their thoughts tab
"Morale boosted by colony Leader Urist's combat spirit!"

[Lancer447]

Very solid points, I completely agree with what is stated. A leader figure is a valuable part of a newly establishing colony and I can definitely see how much of a story that such a position would provide alone.

"Colony leader Urist has been slain by drifter Zeiph from the (Knuckledraggers) Faction!"
I open the thoughts tab and read
-15 Colonist Leader Urist recently died

or

Colonist has been wounded in combat and I look at their thoughts tab
"Morale boosted by colony Leader Urist's combat spirit!"

Okay, I really like your thought here. Have buffs that cancel out wounding (or seeing dead bodies or anything, really) if the leader is all optimistic and stuff, and have debuffs when the leader's all sad n' stuff, and have nothing when the leader's neutral about things. That would be awesome!

[sirdave79]

Id just like to add that if a bunch of people actually setting up a rimworld colony were repeatedly attacked by increasing waves of hostiles , if they didnt go insane they would become more hardened to what the universe was throwing at them for their own sake. Not that they would necessarily become "heartless bastards" but that they would be less affacted by the 100th corpse theyve crafted than the first one. They are preserving themselves and their friends against people who are giving them no choice.

With that said I can see how totally eliminating the debuff could be almost an exploit.

I like the leader idea. Id think youd want your leader to hang back and call the shots in a firefight rather than charging up to the front where he might get wounded/kille in the circumstances where his death debuffs mood and his presence buffs mood.

[Sion]

How about a adding a (negative?) multiplier to the statuses, something like this:
Saw dead corpse = -10
Saw dead corpse = -10 (the colonist saw 2 corpses)
Times this have happened = 24
Multiplier = 0.5

(parentheses shows what is calculated to the next line)
(-10-10)+(0.5*24)
  =  (-20+12)
  =  -8

with this formula you will get a positive number after observing 40 corpses, but it is easy to handle in code, something along this line:

int Current_mode = -8;        (initiates a variable and assign a value to it, in this case -8, use a function to get the value)
if(Current_mode > 0) then;   (tests if the number inside the variable is larger than 0)
    Current_mode = 0;          (only if the number is larger than 0 then overwrite it to be 0, else skip this step)
end if;                              (end of the if statement)
return Current_mode;          (returns whatever value the variable holds)

The above code will always return zero or less.

[Lancer447]

How about a adding a (negative?) multiplier to the statuses, something like this:
Saw dead corpse = -10
Saw dead corpse = -10 (the colonist saw 2 corpses)
Times this have happened = 24
Multiplier = 0.5

(parentheses shows what is calculated to the next line)
(-10-10)+(0.5*24)
  =  (-20+12)
  =  -8

with this formula you will get a positive number after observing 40 corpses, but it is easy to handle in code, something along this line:

int Current_mode = -8;        (initiates a variable and assign a value to it, in this case -8, use a function to get the value)
if(Current_mode > 0) then;   (tests if the number inside the variable is larger than 0)
    Current_mode = 0;          (only if the number is larger than 0 then overwrite it to be 0, else skip this step)
end if;                              (end of the if statement)
return Current_mode;          (returns whatever value the variable holds)

The above code will always return zero or less.

I really like this logic, but I'd suppose a new .dll/assembly would be needed to accept any new formulas, as I've not seen .xml files having such formulas. Ah, well, a simple formula could do, then only ya need a .dll file to accept it

Also, this looks like some kind of worksheet you would see on Microsoft Excel, using the IF statements n' such.

[Sion]

The code above is called Pseudocode, it is not real code, its like a pencil sketch before the real painting begins, it just explains the functions in a code like manner so it is easier to implement it in any language.