Roadmap December 2023 (Patreon)

Hello everyone!

I have released a new Vanilla Expanded roadmap, with progress update for December 2023. In this little post I plan to go through some of the changes, as well as talk about the future projects.

First off, we successfully launched Vanilla Factions Expanded - Tribal last month. Initially, we encountered some bugs, but thanks to our team's hard work and your valuable feedback, we've resolved most issues. I'm delighted to see that you're enjoying it as much as I am. And to clarify, this project was a labor of love, not commissioned by Mr Samuel Streamer. It's been a dream of mine to enhance the Animal tech level ever since my Far Cry Primal days.

We also introduced Vanilla Races Expanded - Archons, a mysterious race from a transcendent world. This is a precursor to the upcoming Vanilla Archotech Expanded. While opinions on this mod vary, I'm personally fond of the Gith-inspired concept.

We're currently testing Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthrope, a mod that adds a xenotype morphing mechanic, allowing you to create custom xenotypes that morph into other xenotypes based on specific conditions! Really cool stuff.

Design and development work is ongoing on a variety of mods - Vanilla Recycling Expanded - formerly known as Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Recycling, is fully designed now and handed off to Sarg so that he may do his magic on it. Get ready to turn those wastepacks into half-useful resources, and then turn those into something actually useful. I'm hoping to release this mod, as well as Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthropes, before I head off home for Christmas on 22nd of December. 

We're into a bumpy January too. I am moving to another country in the second half of January, which will mean some time without access to the PC - which in turn means that any work on my side of things will have to stop, and that includes any and all design and art work. Projects that are in programming stage by then will still be worked on, but work on any other projects will seize until I'm fully moved, which shouldn't take longer than a week.

You can see some exciting new additions on the roadmap, I bet. One of the mods I'm most excited about is Vanilla Exploration Expanded. Formerly Vanilla Events Expanded - Caravan events, this mod will introduce numerous new procedurally generated locations that you will be able to explore. Each of these locations will appear in a procedurally generated quest, with random threats, random rewards and random location look. Get ready to stumble across abandoned gas stations with cryptosleep sarcophagi, guarded by the insectoids, or explore ancient military bunkers to find a huge stash of bionics, guarded by the waster gangs. This mod will also add many new events that can occur to your caravan, some with different choices you can make based on who is in your caravan!

Vanilla Aspirations Expanded is another mod that aims to make pawns feel more alive. Similar to The Sims, your colonists might have lifelong dreams that they will want to achieve. Achieving some of them will help with their mental break threshold, as they will feel fulfilled in life. Achieving all of their aspirations will grant them another Growth Moment, giving you a chance to add a new trait and select a new passion for them. Remember: Aspirations are never rerolled, they last a whole lifetime, and some of them are very hard to achieve - but don't worry, there is no penalty for not achieving them.

We've also introduced Vanilla Health Expanded to the roadmap - it's a mod suggested by xrushha from the VE team. A lot of people have always been asking us for a mod that will improve the health system and adds new prosthetics. Vanilla Health Expanded will be constructed out of 9 different 'building blocks', so to say. Each of them can be individually disabled. Those are: Breaking Bones, New Prosthetics, Illnesses, Communicable Diseases, Vaccinations and Drugs, Cyberload, Medical structures, Organ rejection and spoiling and general Medical system expansion.

As we approach 2024, we're also reassessing some mods on the roadmap. It's important to me that our team works on projects that inspire us, so we might shift our focus to ensure we're delivering the best possible content. While some mods may be paused and removed from the roadmap, this decision will strengthen our overall offerings and allow us to focus on stuff we actually want to do, and not on stuff that haunts us for months because at some point I wanted to announce it, and then I lost the drive to actually do it.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Your enthusiasm and feedback are what drive us to create and improve. I hope everyone here will have an excellent December!