Helloooo, friends, welcome to the 1.5 hellzone. While it was not my original intention, I'm not sure I'll be backporting these guys to 1.4. It's kind of annoying to do and it makes their heterochromia not work (at least, not in a way I'm willing to entertain). Regardless, I hope you're still able to enjoy these funky little pink creatures!
While they do better in the dark, I've created Nightcats with the intention of their schedule being up to the player. They shouldn't be insufferable during the day, if that's the path you with to go down
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What's It Do?
🌿 Adds the Nightcat Xenotype
🌿 Adds Nightcat spawns to pirate, begger, tribal, and outlander factions - Cats don't have their own faction!
🌿 Adds 14 custom genes, including a hissy snake voice
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Dependencies
🌸 [b]Alpha Genes:[/b] Uses some
🌸 [b]Outland - Genetics:[/b] Applies some
🌸 [b]WVC - Xenotypes and Genes:[/b] Incorporates some
🌸 [b]Cyanobot's Genes:[/b] Utilizes some
🌼 [b]Optional:[/b] Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthrope. If installed, it will add the territorial gene to Nightcats. If not installed, your Cats will simply be a little less hungry : )
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Lore
The Nightcat was created for one purpose: executing a political assassination where even one misstep could result in the death of the creators. What happened with all that mess is neither here nor there. After "the incident", the few Nightcats that were made found themselves free of their keepers, able to go and live where they pleased. And that they did, spreading across the galaxies, filling in a shadowy niche. Their numbers have since grown considerably and now they can be located just about any place there are guns to be fired.
True to their name, Nightcats specialize with working in the dark, as The Incident took place at night. They have tapetum lucidium - a layer of reflective tissue in the eye that helps them see amidst the shadows (it also gives them a cool, cat-like glow when the light hits just right). In addition, they are swift, sleepless, and beautiful come nightfall. This combined with their powerful drive to hunt, hard-to-damage skin, and low pain register makes them dangerous predators.
While they excel in taking down prey from a distance, Nightcats were not made to survive the day-to-day trials of living on a rimworld. Their immune systems are relatively weak, leaving them vulnerable to food poisoning and tox. In an attempt to combat this, Cats are naturally very clean creatures. In addition to this feline-like quality, there are several other behaviors they exhibit that lend to the second part of their common name. For example, Nightcats are stealthy and agile, making them dangerous in close quarters. They have passionate tempers and make difficult prisoners. Quick to bore, they often resort to stalking or hunting to keep themselves entertained. And, just like cats, they totally lack psychic powers.
Nightcats are inherently social creatures. They form strong bonds with members of their own kind and have even been known to grow keenly attached to other xenos or species if the conditions are right. They produce subtle, but incredibly complex pheromones that contribute to things such as emotional communication, attraction, and identification. Being highly territorial, gangs of Cats will often set up boundaries that they'll defend from other Cats, often to the death. But it's not all blood and gore. Individuals enjoy sleeping together in large piles or engaging in friendly play-fights (that other xenos may not appreciate).
For all they do to interact with members of their own species, it all goes to waste when a Nightcat comes in contact with a non-Cat. Their hissing voices are jagged somehow, making words angled and slippery to most ears. They struggle immensely with the most common languages and lament that most noses are too weak to pick up on their delicate pheromones. In addition, the somewhat volatile nature of the Nightcat is not often well-received within colony life. They are often outcasts, seeking their own kind, as they know they're more likely to be tolerated there... provided they don't tread on valuable borders, that is.
Being lab-created, Nightcats were not meant to reproduce. If more Cats were needed, more would simply be created in vats of nutritious slurry, their growth accelerated by advanced tech. As such, no care was taken to streamline the Cat's reproductive process. Their fertility is finicky while pregnancy is slow, long, and arduous. Once the baby Cat is out in the world, their troubles aren't all over, either. Their young develop very sluggishly, remaining small and vulnerable for extended periods of time. With the fast and violent life most Nightcats live, offspring have only a 60% chance of making it to adulthood - sometimes less.
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Copyright Information
Nightcats, as a species, have a CC0 licence (public domain). You can use them wherever you please, personally or commercially, with no worries! Please enjoy! : D
[b]Disclaimer:[/b] I do not hold the rights to apply said licence to any content from the dependent mods. That is totally the owner's property and a no-touchy zone. Same goes for core game content, obvs
