[DEVBLOG#132] RimWorld 1.3 and the road ahead (Patreon)

Hello everyone and welcome to a large summary of the recent events and information of what's to come.

I know you're all probably running around with excitement mixed with the dread of waiting for all the mods to update, so this post has been written by yours truly to calm your nerves. Let me begin. There will be a Too Long/Didn't Read section at the bottom in case you're too busy running around in aforementioned excitement to read the whole thing :)

I have worked with Ludeon Studios on a brand new DLC and an Update to RimWorld. The RimWorld update is a 1.3 version, whilst the DLC is called Ideology. I have created 99% of any visual assets you will see in the DLC and update. You can check the full announcement post here, and I really recommend you do that before we venture on.

Soon, we'll be releasing RimWorld update 1.3

with new free content and a variety of improvements including animal fences, breach raids, beards, and many quality-of-life improvements.

You can play 1.3 now on the Steam branch 1.3-preview!

(To access it, go to your Steam library, right-click RimWorld and select "Properties", then select the BETAS tab and choose branch 1.3-preview. Restart Steam if needed.)

This beta is going to give us some time to update the mods, but we are also going to take this time to add some much requested features and eliminate any bigger bugs. I will cover this in another section.

Update 1.3 will become public and official 2 weeks from today. Please be aware not all of our mods will be updated by then.

What's coming in 1.3?

There are 15 months of improvements in 1.3, so it’s a pretty big one.

Animals now can be placed in pens. They are way more efficient, productive, yield more resources, mature quicker etc. You can now how a farmhouse. It's great. We even added egg boxes so your chickens won't lay eggs everywhere! A new straw matting terrain is there to take care of animal filth. It was pretty fun working on those improvements.

You can now use search bars in the interface, including in architect menu and stockpile filters, so you will no longer spend hours looking for one specific thing!

New raid types are added called Breaching raids which rip a new hole in your defenses - literally. Wall-breaking axes, mechanoid cannons that eliminate walls, grenades etc will now be utilised to go around your kill box. We've also added a new mechanoid called termite, which you can see below.

Drag-move formations allow you to order your fighters to arrange themselves in a line using a single mouse command. Just the same as Achtung mod!

You can order a fighter to pick up a downed person, then carry them wherever you wish using the normal movement controls. No more harrowing and unnecessary rescues directly to bed!

Your colonists can now carry medicine in their inventory and use it directly on the battlefield.

A portion of Vanilla Hair Expanded is now being introduced in vanilla game - Beards. I created all the graphics and you could have seen them already if you were subscribed to VHE before. They are now vanilla, and as such our beards will be removed from the mod with 1.3 update. Hairstyles will remain.

There's tons more than this. For those interested, here is the full 1.3 change log.

RimWorld: Ideology

Here at Ludeon Studios we have also worked on a new DLC called Ideology. It's an incredibly complex DLC that beats Royalty a hundred times content-wise and replayability-wise. I find it extremely fitting for RimWorld and we plan to keep exploring it through various mods. I don't get paid based on sales, but I recommend everyone to pick it up as soon as possible.

I have drawn hundreds of graphics for the DLC, from new floor types to sculptures, new animals, plants, trees, there is everything for everyone. It's also the kind of DLC that will work great and differently every time you play the game.

Ideology, in short, is a dlc that allows you to have a religion. That's right. Remember a year ago, that competition where people picked a next Vanilla Expanded mod to be made and it turned out people wanted Vanilla Religions Expanded? Imagine how I felt when I was actually working on a similar DLC. I hope you all forgive me for not making it a mod.

There will be more info coming soon, as well as the trailer, so keep an eye out for that.

What does it mean for Vanilla Expanded mods?

We have already been working for a while on updating the mods, but such a process takes tremendous amount of time. This means that all development of new mods (by new mods I mean mods that were announced but not yet released) is currently halted until every existing mod is updated to 1.3.

You have probably wondered why there wasn't a new roadmap last month and this month. I've known about 1.3 for, well, over a year now, so I made sure to temper your expectations. It would be pointless to release a roadmap that would be null and void now anyway because of updating.

We have no intention of rushing things, and not one Vanilla Expanded mod will be updated BEFORE 1.3 releases officially. This means: Don't expect any mods to be 1.3 compatible until 1.3 is actually released.

We are taking updating very seriously and plan to make sure everything goes smoothly and without any hiccups. 

Tomorrow I plan to release a new roadmap outlining the order of updating and the initial progress on the process.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PLAY 1.3 WITH OUR MODS IF THEY ARE NOT MARKED AS UPDATED.

What mods do we have planned for the future?

We have quite a few mods lined up for development after the updating fever is over. You probably already know about the Architect Expanded, adding new floors and walls. We are also working on a few smaller mods enhancing the Ideology content even further.

We have also started design work on the Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ancients. I am proud to announce that this is the first mod we have ever done that will REQUIRE the DLC - Ideology - to run. You will soon find out why.

Other than Vanilla Expanded, we also plan to keep developing and supporting Rim-Effect mod series, but of course updating Rim-Effect comes with lower priority than updating Vanilla Expanded mods.

How are you Oskar anyway?

Pretty good. I was waiting for a long time and it's hard to keep my mouth shut, but this DLC and update bring a lot of great things to the game, and I honestly can't wait to be done with updating so that I can sit down and play the game. Huge kudos to the team for working relentlessly so that you guys can enjoy the best mods as soon as possible.

Other than that, I got my COVID-19 vaccine today, and I feel very sick, feverish and my arm feels like it's about to explode. 

Can we support your development in some way?

Absolutely. We are always thankful to our patreons, and because of that I will be adding additional 20 slots to the Jade tier, so that you can choose to join us on our Vanilla Expanded discord. Remember: You only need to pay once, and you stay on discord indefinitely!

TL;DR

• Cool new RimWorld Update and a DLC adding religions is coming out.
• We will slowly work on updating the mods we've done, and more info about it will be posted tomorrow.
• I, Oskar Potocki, am a Ludeon Studios graphic designer, and 99% of art in the update and DLC is made by me.
• We have some great mods planned for 1.3 and Ideology.
• I got my COVID vaccine and my arm hurts like a motherf****.
• I'm opening another 20 Jade tiers, which allow you to join our Discord and bask in the hype of the DLC with others.