More Explosive Explosions with Thrown-up Dust and Debris

[REMworlder]

Explosions are pretty common in RimWorld. Turrets, boomrats, mortar shells, various launchers... all sorts of things routinely blow up, shattering walls, shredding flesh, evaporating corpses. But for all explosions do in game, they don't quite look the part.

Back in 2010 I remember thinking the ending of a Medal of Honor promo trailer was pretty cool. When a bomb is dropped on an enemy position, the sun is blocked out by dust and pieces of dirt and rubble pepper the player. The two takeaways for Rimworld are: a) explosions kick up dust and debris and b) dust visually alters the environment.

The first point helps players gauge the immensity of an explosion. In current RimWorld, explosions occur rapidly and leave little evidence of having happened. Assessing damage requires players to tab through any nearby units and structures. By using motes consistent with shockwaves or debris thrown outwards and into the air by explosive force, players gain a visual tool to gauge how much explosive weapons affect themselves or the enemy.

_{The MOH Experience Part 6: Danger Close, 2:52, Sept 2010}

With the addition of shells (and shell cook-offs) and relatively new rockets, explosions are going to feature even more prominently into RimWorld. A few visual aids to help players understand their impact would be neat to see.