Tameable VFEI Insects (add-on for VFE-Insectoids)
Have you ever looked at a gigalocust and thought "hmm yes, today I shall tame this majestic creature", but then VFE-Insectoids said "no"?
Then you have come to the right place.
According to the RimWorld wiki, all vanilla animals have been tameable since version 1.1, even the hostile ones such as megaspiders and spelopedes.
However, the new insectoids introduced by Vanilla Factions Expanded - Insectoids are all untameable, becoming hostile the moment they are tamed, even if one were to use dev mode. This is an intentional feature, as explained by the Vanilla Expanded team in their VFE-Insectoids' FAQ section.
To me though, this doesn't really make too much sense from a logical point of view. Why would the player be allowed to tame megaspiders but not gigalocusts or megapedes, even though they all have the same wildness?
And so, this unofficial add-on attempts to change that.
FEATURES
Gigalocusts, megapedes, and royal megaspiders are now tameable. They still have the same stats, and will still be hostile towards humans by default, meaning it will still be incredibly difficult to tame them, but once tamed, they will remain tamed and will no longer turn hostile and attack your pawns.
Note that this mod does not make insectoid queens and insect larvae tameable. This is to maintain immersion and balance. In my opinion, being able to tame the insectoid queen does not really make much sense as the queen is the insectoid leader and thus she would not simply start serving her enemies all of a sudden. It'd also break game balance since you could use the queen to get a lot of larvae, which could then be used to breed more tame insects at a rapid rate.
FAQ
[b] 1. Does it give these insects any other new mechanics such as reproduction, the ability to produce insect jelly/milk, etc? [/b]
A. No. There are other mods that do all of that stuff, but in my opinion, they really break the game balance and/or try to add too much stuff. This mod has a very simple purpose, which is to stop tamed gigalocusts, megapedes, and royal megaspiders from becoming hostile again.
[b] 2. Why not insectoid queens or insect larvae? [/b]
A. As explained above, the queen is essentially at the top of the insectoid hierarchy and rules the insects. Being able to tame the queen would therefore break immersion and game balance. Imagine if you were the king/queen of a nation, and another nation tried to turn you into their personal servants or something. I don't think you'd be very happy with it.
As for the larvae, it was more due to overpowered mechanics. Larvae turn into cocoons, which then turn into random insects. This happens very quickly and could therefore break game balance due to being able to obtain a lot of powerful insects in a short time. Also, if the cocoons turn into queens, it could cause problems as they would immediately become hostile.
[b] 3. Insects I'm trying to tame keep attacking my tamer! Why? [/b]
A. This is normal behaviour, because the insects will be part of the permanently hostile faction until you tame them. This is why insectoid taming is incredibly dangerous, but it balances itself out because they are quite powerful battle creatures. If you're having trouble taming them, I suggest using the animal taming artifact added by VFE-Insectoids, waiting for an inspired taming event, or using another mod that adds easier methods of taming.
[b] 4. Is it compatible with: [/b]
[b] - Better Infestations? [/b]
A. Yes.
[b] - Insects Have Chitin? [/b]
A. Yes.
[b] - Insect Husbandry? [/b]
A. Yes.
[b] - InsectUpgrades? [/b]
A. Yes.
[b] - Breedable Insects? [/b]
A. Yes. I recommend using it if you want to allow tamed gigalocusts and megapedes to reproduce by laying eggs. More information can be found on Breedable Insects' workshop page.
[b] - Any other mod that changes insect mechanics? [/b]
A. This mod uses xpath patching to work. As long as the other mod is also only adding nodes using patches, and not replacing nodes or overwriting defs entirely, it should be fine.
[b] 5. Is it safe to add to an ongoing save? [/b]
A. Yes, absolutely. However, it is good practice to make a backup of the save file before adding it, just in case something unexpectedly goes wrong.
[b] 6. Is it safe to remove from ongoing saves? [/b]
A. Yes, absolutely. Just remember that any tamed gigalocusts, megapedes, and royal megaspiders will turn hostile once you load the save. Also, make a backup of the save file, just in case something unexpectedly goes wrong.
CREDITS
A big thanks to Oskar Potocki and the Vanilla Expanded team for making Vanilla Factions Expanded - Insectoids, which is an awesome mod, and for giving me permission to create this mod. Check it out here: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2149755445]https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2149755445[/url]
RimWorld is owned by Tynan Sylvester.
KNOWN ISSUES
There are no known issues currently.
If you find a bug or balance issue, please inform me in the comments section or discussions section, along with log files/screenshots. I will do my best to fix the issue as soon as possible.
