Do you ever feel your mods break game balance ?

[Tam]

I usually find some interesting modd that adds some items/buildints into the game, and they think "hmmm this item/building looks op and probably breaks game balance" so not installing these mods.

What do you think ? Do you easy install any mod because you like it or there is your concearn about game balance too ? How do you decide which is broken and what is not ? Because "hmmm that looks logical" sometimes turns into broken aspect (embrasures for an example).

[Aranador]

There are absolutely mods that break game balance. Some are intentional, some are because the modder doesnt really understand the math they're fiddling with, and some are because the moddeer didn't even think about balance. But yes, many a mod breaks balance. You can either adjust your balance point with other OP mods, avoid the OP mod, or just run with it and have a crazy time. Single Player Game, no wrong way to play 1

[iFrame]

I play without mods most of the time for any games i play.

They more often than not break the balance.
Secondly they're not quite in line with the dev's vision, lore & mechanics of the game, this is my main gripe.
And finally they do not have continued support like patches & bugfixes since they're not an official paid content.
No offence to modders.

If i do use mods, its usually quality of life mods that improves the UI. Preferably dev certified/approved mods(i.e. UI mod in Stellaris or community mod in X3 so i can get achievements), not applicable in Rimworld though.

I do on occasion play overhaul & theme mods for a change of environment but rarely. Eventually i'll drop back to vanilla.

[Doomdrvk]

Always but you learn to play for fun to use the mods for a thematic run. Psycasts Expanded is extremely unbalanced but very fun.

[Astasia]

When it comes to mods there is a line between a mod that adds power at a reasonable cost that feels balanced, and a mod that adds power at too low of a cost and feels cheaty. Where this line is, is different for everyone. It's kind of up to you to experiment with mods enough to figure out where your line is and self balance the experience so it remains fun and provides enough challenge for you. Some mods might be a bit over that line for you and a little cheaty feeling, but you can sometimes increase the difficulty a little or install a mod that makes the game more challenging to compensate. So some mods that are just really fun to use but are blatantly unbalanced, like Vanilla Psycasts Expanded, can still be used in a playthrough that overall feels fun and challenging if you tweak things enough on your end.

Some mods might just be too OP for you though and you can't find a way to make them work in a fun way, either because the mod is all power and no cost, or the "cost" isn't really a cost and just feels like free power. For me personally, Pick up and Haul would be an example of the former, and Vanilla Outposts Expanded an example of the later.

[Veylox]

Oh yeah, it's the main reason I cranked up the difficulty in the first place. Too many mods with good content out there but most of them make the game slightly easier, and if you end up with a big list you kinda need to play on 200 to 500% to even justify some of the mechanics/QoL you have access to. Like you can't even enjoy the mod's contents because there's no proper threat that can take it on lower difficulties.

I've been removing a lot of mods lately though, because after a point when you've played with their content they start feeling like bloat and you might as well remove them to bring the proper difficulty back. VFE outposts for example is really fun for a while and the idea is excellent, then you realize you can just use it as a cheat dumping your useless pawns into free-generated resources / mortar bots, and it doesn't really bring anything gameplay-wise. Never really played with the more obvious gamebreaking mods, like the ones balanced around the void faction, or rimworld of magic and the likes.

I do play a lot of vanilla psycasts expanded, because while some of the paths are absurdly broken, the base game psycasts are too lackluster and I couldn't even justify buying royalty if not for VPE


You could also just try to add difficulty mods to balance out the overpowered ones, I used to play a lot with the cthulhu mods and some of the raids (the "deep ones" I believe) are way stronger than regular ones. The witcher mod also has brutal fights that may very well feel properly balanced against psycasts expanded.

I do draw the line at embrasures. Zero fun, zero content added, core mechanics of combat changed for no reason, just to make the player absurdly overpowered. Straight-up cheat, I don't really see a point

[MadArtillery]

For the most part no. I tend to avoid mods with op stuff in them. Mostly just mod in various aliens and stuff it feels should be in the game but aren't like fishing, roombas, wall lights, turrets using cover, and colonist chat bubbles. I do also use Rimsenal for more weapon variety as it feels pretty balanced, both more stuff for me to use and more stuff to worry about in raids and the numbers have always felt on point. A bit of UI stuff too as the trade ui in particular is awful by default.

[Kittenpox]

I used to use VFE-Pirates so that I could hire mercenaries to defend my base from attackers - but as soon as a man-in-a-can (warcrates, I think?) showed up, nothing I had could compete.
It was balanced against itself; but I found it didn't add anything for me except needless risk of colony-wipes, because that power level didn't suit my preferred playstyle. :-)

[Cat®]

I find that in the lategame; the ability to manufacture high quality weapons and armour is the single most significant swing in power throughout the game. Everything else is just cream. So very few mods trigger my 'oh this is busted' because it has to measure up to the fact you can field 20 excellent charge lances. However some early game mods are quite disruptive, and mods that add embrasures or similar impassable structures end up breaking the game so thoroughly balance has nothing to do with it.

But, then you limit yourself, and you use whatever mods you like in a way that preserves the challenge you like. At worst you can always go up one difficulty.

Though that little speech over with I went on an SG-1 binge a few months back and so was excited to find a Stargate mod. And it is an excellent mod. But it is also a mod that mostly provides 10 archotech eyes and 10 ressurrector mech serums to you every 30 days, and because doing events associated with the stargates adds more events you just end up infinitely propagating loot. Otherwise an amazing mod, but that particular aspect makes me quite sad.

[tamtitam]

I mostly use QoL-Mods, like the one that stops colonists from accidently blocking critical doors with items - or the one that allows you to specify cleaning areas.
IMO, those are clearly "balanced", they just spare me from mindless micromanagment and de-installing the game in a rage quit.

[Lemdoran]

I guess it depend of mods ^^
Most mods i use are either visuals, or QOL with 0 impact on actual gameplay/
Armors and weapons are "ok" as most of the time ennemy raids can also use them. so it's sorta balanced.
I avoid defense buildings mods as most are op and not used by world generation.

[Tam]

Originally posted by tamtitam:

I mostly use QoL-Mods, like the one that stops colonists from accidently blocking critical doors with items - or the one that allows you to specify cleaning areas.
IMO, those are clearly "balanced", they just spare me from mindless micromanagment and de-installing the game in a rage quit.

could u name the cleaning one please

[Justoh]

The stacker mod is ridiculously OP, but I can't not use it now.

Tynan's very deliberate and intentional design ruined for me forever. Thanks obama.

[Pinhead]

tilled soil with 200 percent fertility rate and vanilla furniture expanded: agriculture makes rice grow fast enough to beat corn in terms of raw food production

[funewchie]

No.
Because my reasoning is, at the end of the day: It's my game. The rules are whatever I say they are.

(Same as a self-imposed challenge in other games. The rules are what I say they are, not what somebody else thinks, or other people's "tradition")
If I want to play on a Casual difficulty, with Phoebe, and reloading saves, that's my call to make.

While playing this, if I feel a bad outcome happened because of the game brainfarting, then I may rule to veto that outcome.
Sure, some people may whine about it, but it's not their game.
(Mind you, if it was a legit outcome, like being wounded in battle or dying of disease, I'll allow it. That's also my call to make.)

Same with mods. I add what I see fit to add, not what other people say.
Most of mine are just QoL tweaks, like gaining EXP from stonecutting, or the ability to later on clone organs (and eventually colonists. Balanced by it taking a lot of materials and time, and the clone having debuffs for a month).
Or adding custom races I wanted, because it's fun.

[Hykal]

I don't use most of the mods mentioned in this thread but I really can't go without Pick Up and Haul. I realise this is too make players get dogs or other hauling animals but the rice is in the fields, not in the fridge.

Overall I am pretty strict with not adding OP stuff. There's a weapon mod here and there but with 80% of the stuff Cherry Picked removed and the like but I'd say it's *mostly* balanced.