How do you define a QOL mod?

[Logovore]

Curious what the community thinks about this topic.

UPDATE 8/28 - Here is what I've gathered. What do you think?

Arguments for a Narrow Definition of QOL

Purity of Experience: One of the main arguments for a stricter definition of QOL mods is to maintain the integrity of the core gameplay. Adding new content or altering game mechanics can stray away from what the original developers intended, making the game fundamentally different.

Comparability: With a narrow definition, it's easier for players to compare experiences and discuss the game meaningfully. When gameplay mechanics remain consistent, the only variables are player skill and RNG.

Learning Curve: New mechanics or content often require an investment of time to learn and understand. By keeping QOL mods minimal, the learning curve remains closer to the vanilla game, ensuring that new players can transition more easily.

Balance: Adding new content or tweaking mechanics could disturb the carefully designed balance of the original game. In your view, QOL mods should aim to keep this balance intact.

Arguments for a Broad Definition of QOL

Accessibility: Mods that make the game more accessible to people with disabilities or different preferences can also be considered QOL mods, even if they alter gameplay to some extent.

Incremental Improvements: Some argue that small, incremental additions can improve the player's experience without altering the core mechanics. For example, adding a new but balanced weapon might not fundamentally change gameplay but could make the experience more enjoyable for some.

Personalization: The ability for players to tailor their gaming experience to their own preferences is often cited as a QOL improvement in itself.

Ambiguity of "Gameplay Mechanics": What constitutes a gameplay mechanic can be subjective. For instance, is a faster UI a changed mechanic or a QOL improvement? Some argue that this ambiguity necessitates a broader definition.

Player Autonomy: Ultimately, players can choose whether or not to incorporate a mod into their gameplay. A broader definition respects this autonomy, allowing the community to decide what they believe improves their experience.

Conclusion

In sum, both sides have merits. The narrower definition respects the original vision of the game, maintaining comparability and balance. A broader definition allows for more player freedom and personalization, although it risks altering the intended experience.

However, one could argue for a tiered classification system, separating QOL mods into categories such as "Pure QOL" (e.g., UI improvements, better sorting features) and "Extended QOL" (e.g., new, balanced items or slight gameplay tweaks). This way, the community could better communicate what kinds of mods they are using or recommending, allowing for a more nuanced discussion and individual choice.

[GRIMZY]

things that slightly alter gameplay or sticks with vanilla style, like for these examples:
1.anything that adds onto pre-existing stuff like trait mods or more animals/crops
2.anti-lags or gameplay fixes
3.smarter pawn ai or gameplay enhancements like the camera+ mod

[Sudo Modding]

Anything that improves the game experience without adding content

[MadArtillery]

Changing of UI, streamlining user actions, automating tedious things. Doesn't add anything to the game, just makes what's already in it more user friendly. Once anything gets added or expanded in ways that were not previously in the game it's no longer quality of life. Adds a trait? Not QoL. Adds an item? Not QoL. Changes stats? Not QoL but a balance patch.

An example is the mod that lets you place blueprints over structures to replace them with the new one destroying the old. It doesn't add things, it saves the annoyance of ordering a demolition, then having to remembering the exact position of anything that was demolished and keeping an eye on what has and hasn't been demolished yet, then manually placing the new blueprints. Takes a bunch of steps and condenses the player input into one order instead of multiple.

[Theutus]

Most of Fluffy's mods

[Ribera]

Less micro -> more QOL

[Astasia]

Ya, strictly speaking it's a mod that reduces user actions or attention required to get the same gameplay results without affecting balance. It makes it easier to see things, or makes it require fewer clicks to do something, but only affects player input and not gameplay.

Things like Replace Stuff, Smarter Construction, Allow Tool (the finish off command is questionable), these are QoL mods. Stuff like Pick up and Haul, Simple Sidearms, or Run and Gun are example of mods that definitely aren't QoL mods, and I mention those ones because I've seen people claim they are.

[The Blind One]

Originally posted by Astasia:

Allow Tool (the finish off command is questionable),

How is it questionable? You can either manually kill them off or use the finish off system, the end result is the same, yeah the finish off does add an instant kill effect but by the time something is downed, once you start beating it, it's not likely to get up again ... so it's just a faster way of 'finishing them off'.

[Astasia]

Just because it's instant, while normally it takes some amount of attacking to do it. Occasionally an enemy that is downed recovers and gets back up and walks away, this can be risky if your turrets/colonists open fire while your colonists are nearby hauling loot/cleaning blood, or they could leave the map reducing the leather/meat you can get, the faster you can finish them off the easier it is to prevent stuff like that, and because it's instant it also saves your colonists time to do other stuff. It's very minor, I don't feel bad about using the command or anything, but I could definitely see the argument of it not being strictly QoL in the most technical sense.

I also think it doesn't risk extra bodypart destruction, so you get very slightly more meat/leather from the corpses. Like sometimes you order a colonists to melee attack a downed enemy to death and they just beat on them for a ridiculous amount of time destroying multiple limbs in a hilariously brutal way.

[The Blind One]

Originally posted by Astasia:

~stuff said

I see what ya mean, it's not 100% QoL as it does change the mechanics 'ever so slightly'. By that measure you'd agree that replace stuff also isn't QoL as well? Since it allows you to construct buildings over others without deconstructing them separately thus 'cheating' pawn labor time in a similar fashion.

[Astasia]

I used to think that, but then I learned Replace Stuff adds the work time for deconstructing and building together so the same amount of "work" is done. If anything it tends to add "extra" work to the process since the materials that were in the previous building pop out on varying sides of the walls making hauling it to put it away really inefficient sometimes. But ya otherwise all the same colonist effort is done, materials are hauled to the blueprint, work is done to deconstruct and build the walls, the deconstructed materials are hauled away, the order is just slightly different.

Edit: Though there are edge cases, like replacing the walls of a single-wall freezer without losing any of the cold air. That could be considered a small advantage.

[The Blind One]

Originally posted by Astasia:

I used to think that

Same.

thanks for clarifying, I guess I was mistaken about that.

[XelNigma]

I could have sworn finish off was vanilla.
Allow Tool has really cemented it self as a must have at this point.

[The Blind One]

Originally posted by XelNigma:

I could have sworn finish off was vanilla.
Allow Tool has really cemented it self as a must have at this point.

Try playing vanilla without it, you'll instantly feel naked and handicapped. Especially for the early game this frustrating when you have to rely on berries and chopping wood. You have to manually select every berry bush and tree to see if they are ready for harvest.

With allow tool I just multi-select the entire area I want on the map foraged and then select the harvest fully grown and voila. It saves you like 50 to 100 clicks and minutes of manually checking every single item on the map.

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by The Blind One:

Originally posted by XelNigma:

I could have sworn finish off was vanilla.
Allow Tool has really cemented it self as a must have at this point.

Try playing vanilla without it, you'll instantly feel naked and handicapped. Especially for the early game this frustrating when you have to rely on berries and chopping wood. You have to manually select every berry bush and tree to see if they are ready for harvest.

With allow tool I just multi-select the entire area I want on the map foraged and then select the harvest fully grown and voila. It saves you like 50 to 100 clicks and minutes of manually checking every single item on the map.

Technically speaking you can just zoom out to max and doubleclick whatever you want to harvest and harvest order every last one on the screen at once. Grow zones with sowing disabled will also auto harvest grown wild plants. Always put them on ambrosia.

[The Blind One]

Originally posted by MadArtillery:

doubleclick whatever you want to harvest and harvest order every last one on the screen at once

You will end up harvesting berry bushes that are not fully grown thereby drastically reducing the efficiency, the same goes for trees, it's better to wait till they are full grown and then harvest them.

Grow zones with sowing disabled will also auto harvest grown wild plants.

This is effective but still an annoying way to do it.