Is there any reason NOT to freeze your food? Should there be?

[Vazzaroth]

Maybe longer cook times to cook frozen ingredients? Penelty for eating frozen meals w/o a microwave type item?

[AlexMBrennan]

No, and probably not.

Currently the engine doesn't handle object temperatures at all (a meal is "frozen" while the room temperature is below 0C), so this would require a lot more work to simulate the heat transfer between mobile objects and the environment. It could be neat (e.g. you could build a freezer without AC by buying ice blocks which cool down the room they are stored in), but I doubt it will happen due to the performance issues.

[Vazzaroth]

Ah, thanks for the explaination. I figured there was a reason a mod hadn't solved this yet. And it's not really a prioirty to reprogram that. It just feels munchkin-y to freeze your food when there's a whole system for refridgeration.

Also, there is an Ice Block cooler that takes ice blocks as fuel in the Medieval Times mod, but I think that functions basically just like a campfire, nothing too different.

[Sithis]

Well, per-object temperature calculations might sound like a neat system, but first, yeah, it is a tad too complicated for a game with already a decent amount of small subsystems running all the time, and it would only impact a small portion of the game all the while making all constant computations more problematic, and second, setting up refrigeration in general is already kind of a problem, if a small one if you're not a tribe, so it's a good balancing question as to whether we even need a system like that to begin with. I mean, it could be fun, true, but is it really worth going through the trouble of implementing and optimizing it, as well as preventing its abuse and dealing with lower overall performance, simply for these additional two to five minutes of actual 'thoughtful' gameplay and decision-making it'd take the player to figure out how to deal with minorly altered refrigeration mechanic.

I can think of a few ways to deal with the first part of the equation (technical implementation), but I'm not sure the second one (gameplay value) justifies it. Besides, things like low-tech refrigeration can actually be implemented in some easier ways, and there already are mods for ice boxes and blocks that cool the rooms down and decay over time.

[Astasia]

There is sort of a system in place already. If you build your stove or butcher table inside a freezer that reduces the speed of the table significantly to represent the challenges of working with frozen food. If your stove/butcher table is outside of the freezer it makes sense that the food item is thawed by the time it is being cooked. Remember the time scales of the game, it doesn't take that long to thaw something and time passes extremely quickly in the game. IRL I can heat up a frozen TV dinner in like 3 minutes, and 3 minutes in Rimworld is the blink of an eye.

[Sithis]

Originally posted by Astasia:

There is sort of a system in place already. If you build your stove or butcher table inside a freezer that reduces the speed of the table significantly to represent the challenges of working with frozen food. If your stove/butcher table is outside of the freezer it makes sense that the food item is thawed by the time it is being cooked. Remember the time scales of the game, it doesn't take that long to thaw something and time passes extremely quickly in the game. IRL I can heat up a frozen TV dinner in like 3 minutes, and 3 minutes in Rimworld is the blink of an eye.

Well, the question here was specifically about food and food refrigeration, as well as tracking temperature per item. There are ambient temperatures that are tracked per-room, true, and they do have noticeable impacct on gameplay - but it's not exactly the same as having to unfreeze frozen food (reminder - a large enough chunk of meat might need to thaw for up to half a day before it can be cooked, and even more if this is something as big as, say, half a boar or something).

[Astasia]

Sure, I'm just saying I don't think that extra complexity is needed since the game sort of handles it in a way that makes sense, although more abstracted. It's not exactly what the OP is asking for, but it serves the same functionality without adding a lot of extra information for the game to keep track of. If you freeze your food then you take a hit to productivity, either by directly slowing down food prep due to the cold temps, or by forcing you to put your food prep area in another room and creating an issue where your pawns have to walk.

As far as thawing food. IRL there are industrial microwaves that can thaw a large chunk of meat in under 30 minutes. Even a home microwave can kind of do this, but it's a terrible idea and will probably burn-out the microwave (I know this from personal experience, really big frozen ham thawed out in 30 minutes, broken microwave >.<). That's with today's tech. This game is thousands of years in the future.

[Sithis]

Originally posted by Astasia:

Sure, I'm just saying I don't think that extra complexity is needed since the game sort of handles it in a way that makes sense, although more abstracted. It's not exactly what the OP is asking for, but it serves the same functionality without adding a lot of extra information for the game to keep track of. If you freeze your food then you take a hit to productivity, either by directly slowing down food prep due to the cold temps, or by forcing you to put your food prep area in another room and creating an issue where your pawns have to walk.

As far as thawing food. IRL there are industrial microwaves that can thaw a large chunk of meat in under 30 minutes. Even a home microwave can kind of do this, but it's a terrible idea and will probably burn-out the microwave (I know this from personal experience, really big frozen ham thawed out in 30 minutes, broken microwave >.<). That's with today's tech. This game is thousands of years in the future.

Yeah, I agree about it being a tad overboard for the game (although it _would_ make for a nice mod for anyone who's into that sort of detail - although, if that'd include air convection for fires and lava, as well as melting and evaporation points for solids/liquids, count me in, too).

And with thawing and just tech - yeah, microwaves 100%, but what if you're playing a tribe, or a medieval village? Or just nomads who have one diesel generator and have to carry around loads of fuel (and gen only gives you 500w, while the cheaper, weaker microwaves would typically need 600/750? But yeah, in 'regular' circumstances, there are workarounds for it, anyways (like resting the meat next to a fire, for once).

[Zalzany]

Yeah its not too hard, to do in real life or game. I a big box shopper, I love frozen food, infact after work today I am gonna hit the store today and try somehting new I got a food saver 2 xmas s ago for the lady of the house, and I use it just as much now. I just found out about expandaple bags, talking so big I can fit two cassorole dishes in it and have it vacum seal it air tight. So I buying that bag roll today for it, some tinfoil pans, and making about 4-5 trays of enchaladas from scratch and freezing all put 2 right before the oven stage. Figure it will run me 30 bucks or so for 5 trays, and the Stoufers frozen enchalidas are 14.99 I think non sale a tray, and mine are better, and more filling. In real life it should just up the cook time about 45 minutes to an hour more, in game that is not very long.

And if they got some fancy oct fection oven teck or soem crap what ever your imagination wants to beleive they could do it around same time as thaw. Key thing is with Rimworld cooking itsn ot a master peice, well minus Luxury meals I guess, to me with all the food posioning I get early on in a new start I suspect the cook is just kind of winging it with cook temps/times, and scratching his/her self with the spactula or whatever while cooking lol But you can if you willing to risk quality and what not experment with temps and what not to get one that will cook faster, at the cost of a less crisp or soft whatever your fave texture is. Like I can tweak recipes all the time cook it hotter or cooler for ones I know to get the texture just right I mean how do you think people get the cook times in real life? You cook it up and I found the miracle with cassoroles and what not of toothpicks stick it with a toothpic and you can see how cooked it is with out cutting it up, then tweak things like a aluminum foil cover/lid like store bought frozen has and you can do even more.

Like my enchalidas I don't use that, but the store ones come frozen you cook with a lid, poped slightly up to help it insulate and cook faster, then remove last 10 minutes to make that top nice and perfect liek it should be. Sure the first person that sorted that out had to do a bit of trial and error for that company to figure out that shortcut, as most recipes I do from scratch no one does that. Hell I jsut wing my food, I cook the meat and what not first, even tortias are made with uncooked I cooke on pan real quick before hand so normally its just cook till cheese is melted right. I am gonna have to monitor and stick the frozen ones with tooth picks though to get that right with my frozen venture, as I could cook the cheese fine long before the beans and meat is a safe temp again...

[kevinshow]

Originally posted by Vazzaroth:

Ah, thanks for the explaination. I figured there was a reason a mod hadn't solved this yet. And it's not really a prioirty to reprogram that. It just feels munchkin-y to freeze your food when there's a whole system for refridgeration.

Also, there is an Ice Block cooler that takes ice blocks as fuel in the Medieval Times mod, but I think that functions basically just like a campfire, nothing too different.

You can give yourself an artificial limit and just refrigerate your food. That way, you have an excuse to keep making food once it spoils (like it would do in a real refrigerator)

Astasia is right though. The time-frame of the game makes it so that the time of defrosting food first, before cooking with it, is negligible.

[Vazzaroth]

Originally posted by navorskatie:

You can give yourself an artificial limit and just refrigerate your food. That way, you have an excuse to keep making food once it spoils (like it would do in a real refrigerator)

I somewhat do this, and make sure to salt or smoke my meat with my mods to keep them long term. But it IS just an artificial limiter so I recently decided to just lower my A/C to freeze everything.

[ministrog]

didn't you guys know that each pawn have an inbuilt bionic microwave mouthpiece? seems like some kids fall asleep during class.

[Sithis]

Originally posted by Schrödinger:

didn't you guys know that each pawn have an inbuilt bionic microwave mouthpiece? seems like some kids fall asleep during class.

...makes sense to me.

[The Scarlet Ducky]

I keep thinking there should be an "ate frozen meal" mood debuff, but I don't want to give any body ideas. lol But seriously who eats frozen food and is happy about it? They should have to at least microwave it or something. That's probably too complicated for the AI to handle though. *They already can't handle eating at a table.

[Zalzany]

Originally posted by The Scarlet Ducky:

I keep thinking there should be an "ate frozen meal" mood debuff, but I don't want to give any body ideas. lol But seriously who eats frozen food and is happy about it? They should have to at least microwave it or something. That's probably too complicated for the AI to handle though. *They already can't handle eating at a table.

*eats a frozen pudding pop and smiles

Heck I know some people who prefer cold, like cold pizza over hot, not so sure on frozen food, but at same time I got dogs that will eat peices of frozen veggies with no complaints yet spit up a cooked or thaw version of the same exact veggie...

[Sithis]

Originally posted by The Scarlet Ducky:

I keep thinking there should be an "ate frozen meal" mood debuff, but I don't want to give any body ideas. lol But seriously who eats frozen food and is happy about it? They should have to at least microwave it or something. That's probably too complicated for the AI to handle though. *They already can't handle eating at a table.

Actually, technically, it can be sort-of implemented in a weird way. Add a special furniture item called 'stove' or 'microwave' that works the same way as 'Tool Cabinet' (or even closer to the 'Bedside Table' from one of the furniture mods), except that, instead of linking to up to two workbenches, it's linked to any amount of nearby tables that are usable for Eating job, and, when a colonist eats at a table that has this microvave/oven/whatever 'connected' to it, it gives him a '+1 - ate a hot meal' mood buff. Or, you know, alter vanilla food to give the '-1 - ate cold food' mood penalty that is cancelled by this microwave, and is instead replaced by buff.

...and I can already see hilarous cases where a colonist would be happy about eating a modded-in food type 'icecream' after heating it.