Must-have QoL mods for non(ish) beginner

[DouxJesus]

I'm looking for tips concerning which QoL mods i could start a new game with.

Did a faily long Rimworld playthrough 2 years ago so i remember a few things but i forgot some parts. I checked the workshop and reddit and found Vanilla Expanded as a recommendation but after checking the list i think it might be too much for someone that isnt that familiar enough with the base game.

What do you guys think, should i use a very light QoL list such as stacks / lights etc... or use VE without fear of adding too much to handle ?
Btw : i do not own any DLC

Thanks for your help !

[whatamidoing]

VE isn't too much to handle, it's just too much bloat. A much better way to approach adding mods is to think of a problem you have with the game, or something you feel is missing, and look for a mod that specifically addresses that. For example, you notice pawns only carry a stack of stuff at a time when hauling instead of the full inventory they demonstrably can use (as seen on caravans), so you look and find the mod pick up and haul.

[MortVent]

Do a test run, take note of thins that bother you.

Check for mods to fix those issues.

and check the new options, a lot of the old qol mods were no longer needed with core changes

[Ninefinger]

Must have mods

Smart speed to disable forced slowdown
Drag select
P Music
Rescuee Joins Plus
Numbers
Numbers traits add on
Tainted Renaming
More Planning
Begone Message!
Quality of Building (Cosmetic Change)
Trade Helper
Camera +
Ground Targeter
Follow Me
Show Draftee Weapons
Predator Hunt Alert
Allow Tool
RT Solar Flare shield
RT Fuse
Defensive Positions
Auto-Cut Blight
Map Reroll
Conduit Deconstruct

EDIT:
Other recommended mods
Rim Hud
Wall Light
Scattered Flames
Simple Utilities Fridge
Simple FX: Smoke
No Lazy doctors (Doesnt seem to work 100% if it did it would be must have)
ED Shields to counter enemy drop pods

Thats all the mods I use

[Aranador]

QoL mods, I would add Search and Destroy, as it makes possible to use melee pawns without massively micromanaging them.

Autocut Blight is another one that takes a frustratingly tedious game element and automates it well.

I run many other mods, but the best advice is to play, think to yourself "what would I change?" and then go see if there exists such a thing.

And then later, go nuts and add all manner of mods willy nilly, and play, then ask youself "which of these did I not like?" and trim those out.

[Sayla Massochist]

Best way is to do a couple tries purely vanilla and just seeing what you personally would like to see added, improved, or made easier.

[DouxJesus]

Wow thanks for the replies guys !
I'm going to check the list Clockwork Orange made here but it seems the main consensus here is that i should play and add them on the go after experiencing the troublesome modable mechanics.
Last question : my other playthrough was made with only Prepare Carefully as a mod and i was wondering how much "cheaty" is this mod if you roll kindof "min maxed" characters for the early game ?
thanks again for the tips, helps me a lot deciding on my new game !

[Ninefinger]

Originally posted by DouxJesus:

Wow thanks for the replies guys !
I'm going to check the list Clockwork Orange made here but it seems the main consensus here is that i should play and add them on the go after experiencing the troublesome modable mechanics.
Last question : my other playthrough was made with only Prepare Carefully as a mod and i was wondering how much "cheaty" is this mod if you roll kindof "min maxed" characters for the early game ?
thanks again for the tips, helps me a lot deciding on my new game !

Prepare carefully allows you to tweak things so you can be as Overpowered as you want to be. That one is all on you if you want to keep it balanced or be overpowered and drawing that line is again going to be up to you.

That is why personally I dont use that mod I prefer to swing things to my favor based on what the game will give me and the trade off is the time I am willing to invest in rolling to get what I want. I used to use RandomPlus but again that felt a bit too cheaty to me personally since i could set it to give me a Tough, Jogger, Nimble for characters to star with.

It becomes a personal line you have to draw for yourself.

[ichifish]

Originally posted by Sayla Massochist:

Best way is to do a couple tries purely vanilla and just seeing what you personally would like to see added, improved, or made easier.

Yes, this.

Don't add mods because someone else thinks they're essential, add them to change things that you want changed. Back when I asked this same question, at the same stage as you, I ignored the advice everyone's giving here, subbed to a bunch of mods that turned out to be not-so-essential and not-so-QoL, and had a couple of really confusing runs.

Also be skeptical of other player's (including mine) definition of QoL. One player's QoL is another player's cheatybloatmod (which are great, nothing against VE or the rest, but will very much alter balance). Even QoL mods can prevent you from playing the game "as intended" (quotes to show debatable topic don't flame me please, lol).

A few that I would consider QoL are:
- Better Workbench Management
Makes managing bills easier. Allows you to clone all the bills from a workstation, rename bills (like "thrumbofur button downs" and "regular button downs" or "simple meals dairy" and "simple meals all").
-Area Unlocker
Allows you to make more zones, copy them, change the colors, etc. Less important with the changes to animals in 1.3 but I like having the ability to copy zones instead of redrawing them and recoloring the ones that are hard to see.
-More planning
Allows for more colors of plan blocks, copying plans, etc.
-Camera +
Better zooming
-Progress Renderer
Takes a snapshot of your colony
-Majestic Trees
Good ambience mod, but you have to add before world gen. It makes massive trees. The become transparent on mouse over. Makes the game slightly harder.
-Paint Shop
Allows you to paint buildings so the mismatched stuff doesn't trigger your OCD (by which I mean MY OCD).
-Simple FX: smoke
Just makes fires produce smoke

A few that affect gameplay more significantly:
- RimHUD and Numbers
These are great if you want to get more info about pawns/gear faster. Some say they make the game easier/less rp focused as they make it much easier to micro. They're probably right.
-Colored mood bar
Very clear indications of mood
-Ground Targeter
Allows you to shift-click to target the ground with AOE attacks like grenades and psycasts. Very helpful if you micro combat as pawns that start targeting the ground will shift to targeting other pawns if an object (like a corpse) appears on the originally targeted ground tile and is subsequently destroyed.
-Defensive positions
Allows you to set positions for each pawn to go to when drafted. I don't use it anymore but it's helpful if you've got a bunch of colonists in a traditional killbox set up.

A few that can significantly change play but could still be considered QoL due to their function:
-Trade spot
Makes visitors go to a defined place. If you don't abuse it by putting it in your killbox, it simply makes it so that traders don't stop at the most inconvenient place on your map.
-Work Tab
Allows you to set priorities for subtasks within each job (so you can have a pawn prioritize sowing but not harvesting, or loading transport pods but not hauling generally)
-Character Editor
Allows you to build any pawns you want and change them on the fly. Good for creating specific scenarios. I use it to change hairstyles, body types, hair color, etc.
-Prepare Carefully
Good for creating specific starting scenarios without using the scenario editor.

[DouxJesus]

I'm definitely seeing the point here, starting today with a 100% fresh vanilla game, might add mods from your lists on the go when i get frustrated much about some features.
thanks again for your time and help !

[AndJrew76]

Originally posted by MortVent:

Do a test run, take note of thins that bother you.

Check for mods to fix those issues.

and check the new options, a lot of the old qol mods were no longer needed with core changes

That's exactly what I've been doing since I started my own modded adventure. One-hundred mods later and I may have strayed from QoL mods just a little bit, but at this point I've embraced it.

[ΔTØM]

I have a guide just about that. Finished part of it, but im sure it will help u a lot.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1722337125

[DouxJesus]

I just took a look at your guide, impressive job, thanks for linking it here ! I will definitely consider some of them when needed !