Mental Echoes: Learn to cope
[b]MENTAL ECHOES: LEARN TO COPE[/b]
Mental breaks do not happen "for no reason". They have history.
Mental Echoes makes psychological strain visible, explains likely drivers and lets pawns build coping ability over time.
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[b]Content Note[/b]
This mod covers topics around stress, emotional strain and mental health struggles.
The wording and presentation were written with care to reduce unnecessarily triggering language.
Even with that effort some players may still find parts of this experience intense or triggering.
Please take care of yourself and skip this mod if needed.
[b]Educational Focus[/b]
This mod is meant to help players better understand mental health topics through gameplay.
It shows how ongoing stress can build up, how different coping habits can help or fail and how recovery often needs time and support.
It is not a clinical or diagnostic tool but it aims to encourage empathy, reflection and respectful language around emotional well-being.
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[b]Features (Quick Overview)[/b]
[img]https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/12701053471775368562/8CB3CD5342D670873346D485428FBD5C4551F3EA/[/img]
[list]
[*] Visible [b]stress[/b] as hediff for colonists in health tab
[*] [b]Stress states[/b]: Settled, Strained, On Edge, Overwhelmed, Emotional Shutdown, Irritable
[*] [b]Directed coping[/b] or [b]automatic coping[/b] (if no explicit mode is selected)
[img]https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/16261503498212754734/610381C2D7B277646F9C8E8A2D128EE4A6AF81AE/[/img]
[*] [b]Top-3 coping suggestions[/b] based on current effectiveness
[*] [b]Context-aware feedback[/b]: clean tooltip for players
[*] [b]Break risk clarity[/b]: mood tooltip includes ME-only extra threshold deltas for [b]Minor / Major / Extreme[/b] as simple yellow +% lines
[img]https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/17416490302906432781/3F9F2F2EA4BE3C47C89E9544C856A41DD5862C67/[/img]
[*] [b]Supportive social comfort[/b]: positive interactions can trigger a small [b]hug-like comfort[/b] stress relief
[*] [b]Early recovery rolls[/b] with safety limits for extreme and volatile states
[*] [b]Escape roll visibility[/b]: stress tooltip shows the current % chance to recover from an active mental state (already bounded by safety rules)
[img]https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/15173794647672587127/E9A164A9DD8626AEE070499E8CC568F67BB120C0/[/img]
[*] [b]Post-break aftermath[/b] with gradual decay
[*] [b]Long-term learning[/b]: positive and negative coping affinity adaptation
[*] [b]Health-aware pressure origins[/b]: pain, untreated injuries, temperature strain and selected chronic conditions
[*] [b]Mental strain records[/b]: moved some vanilla records into this new group (and added additional records)
[/list]
[img]https://images.steamusercontent.com/ugc/15663672700554492098/D23DFB3DEA076B053A58ED34B029EFAA28EBC0E7/[/img]
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[b]Readable UI Philosophy[/b]
[list]
[*] Tooltip stays short and practical: stress band, state, top-3 coping, clear driver groups
[*] Goal: less micromanagement feeling, more understandable psychology in normal gameplay
[/list]
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[b]Why choose Mental Echoes?[/b]
Many mental mods focus mainly on the break moment
Mental Echoes models the full mental cycle in a vanilla-friendly way:
[list]
[*] [b]Before:[/b] stress builds over time with readable causes
[*] [b]During:[/b] recovery is handled in a controlled and fair way
[*] [b]After:[/b] lasting aftermath and gradual adjustment instead of a full reset
[/list]
[b]Result:[/b] more depth, clear feedback, fair gameplay and no overpowered shortcuts
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[b]Compatibility with SnapOut! and other mental mods[/b]
[list]
[*] [b]Complementary design:[/b] built to work alongside SnapOut! rather than replace it
[*] [b]Clearer understanding:[/b] not only what happened but also why risk is rising
[*] [b]Long-term progression:[/b] coping develops over time instead of being a one-time fix
[/list]
If you want mental systems that are [b]explainable and long-term[/b] Mental Echoes fits very well.
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[b]Gameplay and Balance Focus[/b]
[list]
[*] Coping helps clearly but does not replace full mood management
[*] Extreme and volatile states remain dangerous
[*] Not a free-win system: high stability is earned over time and fit activities
[*] Break-threshold scaling is [b]tier-specific[/b] for fairness: everyday strain pushes minor risk first, sustained burden pushes major risk, escalation pressure pushes extreme risk most
[/list]
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[b]Typical situations that can increase stress[/b]
[list]
[*] Lower mood over longer periods
[*] Too little sleep, hunger or low recreation
[*] Very low [b]outdoor recovery[/b] over longer periods
[*] [b]Social isolation[/b]: being indoors with weak contact and low recreation
[*] Ongoing pain and untreated injuries
[*] Chronic health burdens (for example long-lasting illnesses or permanent injuries)
[*] Long work phases with too little recovery time
[*] High stimulation phases such as [b]noise overstimulation[/b], [b]light overstimulation[/b] or crowding when stress is already elevated
[*] Nearby hostile threats, especially when exposure is sustained over time
[*] Conflict, loss and repeated high-pressure situations (including disasters)
[/list]
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[b]Credits[/b]
Special thanks to [b]Pandora Fox[/b] for the original inspiration and thoughtful contribution.
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[b]Requirements[/b]
[list]
[*] RimWorld 1.6
[*] Harmony
[/list]
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[b]Compatibility[/b]
[list]
[*] SnapOut! compatibility included (guarded)
[*] Safe to add mid-game
[*] No special load order beyond Harmony, Core and DLCs
[*] No hard DLC requirement
[/list]
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[b]Bug Reports[/b]
Please include a short description, reproduction steps and your Player.log or HugsLib log in the comments or discussions.
If stress calculation looks strange or wrong and you are unsure why:
[list]
[*] Enable RimWorld DevMode
[*] Select the affected pawn
[*] Click the gizmo [b]ME Debug: Log stress drivers[/b]
[*] Open the dev console
[*] Copy the created [b]Log.Warning[/b] output and post it in Discussions
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[b]Licensing & Legal[/b]
Copyright (c) 2026 b4ttl3m3d - All rights reserved.
Allowed: Adding to Steam collections
Not allowed: Reuploading - External redistributions - Off-site mod packs - Commercial use - Asset or code reuse without permission
Contact the author before reusing any part of this mod.
Fan-made project - not affiliated with Ludeon Studios. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/eula/294100_eula_1]RimWorld EULA[/url]
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[b]Languages[/b]
English, German
- more on request.
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[b]Support & Donations[/b]
If you would like to support the project:
[url=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Fb4ttl3m3d][img]https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/kofi1.png[/img][/url][ko-fi.com]
[url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fc%2FB4ttl3m3d][img]https://c5.patreon.com/external/logo/become_a_patron_button.png[/img][/url][www.patreon.com]
Donations are completely voluntary and do not grant access to additional content or features.
They are simply a way to support ongoing free development.
