[DEVBLOG#244] Vanilla Factions Expanded - Megacorps

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new development blog, in which I will take you through my thought process and the latest changes to our future plans.

This post is quite long and has a lot of text, so I've decided to inject a few assets from the two mods we're talking about here and there, so you can have some eye candy. They will have a little cursive description of what they are.

Target painter allows you to highlight enemies, which will make everyone else take half the time to aim at them.

I know a lot of you are waiting for Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ultratech. The progress on it has been very slow, and let me explain why:

The mod was originally meant to be about an ultratech corporation killing people for sport out in the RimWorld, but also hunting Androids (?). I know, it sounds... unpolished. We plucked Androids out of that mod and made it into a separate Vanilla Races Expanded mod which I think worked amazingly well, and allowed thousands of people to enjoy Androids without having some big faction mod at the same time.

This, however, meant that VFE-Ultratech had more or less 50% of planned content plucked from it. The remaining 50% was essentially the Stacks and Sleeves from Altered Carbon mod by Helixien, and some high-tech megabase for rich people, with hotels etc. This is, in my eyes, not enough to call if Vanilla Factions Expanded. We always strive to improve and keep releasing cooler stuff - this would in my eyes be a bit more bland than previous faction mods.

Ultratech trucks will populate the resorts, and with Vehicles Expanded submodule, they will be driveable!

I've been dreading continuing design work on Ultratech because I simply found whatever was left in the mod 'not mine'. Half of it is Helixien's work on Stacks and Sleeves, and the other half was pale in comparison. Some sci fi guns with homing ammo, some cool props to build the megabase and that's about it. 

I also know a lot of people have been waiting for Arkology faction mod. We announced it years ago and it spent an ungodly amount of time on the backburner. I hear you, and I know some of you are very vocal about the unhappiness from constant delays.

Genomes of different entities can be purchased and incubated into eggs!

I spoke with Helixien and we've decided to merge VFE-Ultratech and VFE-Arkology into one mod. Below I will explain exactly why I think it's a good idea. I present to you, Vanilla Factions Expanded - Megacorps.

OVERVIEW - MEGACORP

In the sprawling core worlds of the galaxy, the megacorporation stands out as the apex of luxury, entertainment, and adventure. Established as an ultratech conglomerate with vast resources and a vision far beyond mere profit, it has manifested its audacious dream on a once-backwater Rimworld. In a freshly-built complex called the Arkology, elite patrons from the core worlds of the galaxy find the ultimate escapade, blending the thrill of the hunt with the magnificence of nature's wonders - the most advanced, human-reachable technology in existence.

Megacorporation offers a dual-faceted experience for its wealthy clientele:

Hunter's Domain: The rich and thrill-seeking can delve into a heart-pounding chase, wielding advanced weaponry and encased in state-of-the-art armor. Their consciousness resides in a cortical stack, a cutting-edge device that holds their essence, allowing them to inhabit custom-designed sleeves of their choice. Whether they desire the form of a battle-hardened warrior or an agile and attractive young avatar, they can experience it in full. These 'hunters' are unleashed onto the luxurious Arkology complex to engage in exhilarating escapades, with the promise of return to luxury at day's end. Should they die, their cortical stacks are swiftly retrieved and inserted into a fresh sleeve, ready for another adventure.

Arkology Reserves: Intertwined with the hunter's playground is megacorporations masterpiece, Arkology. A vast, meticulously designed sanctuary housing long-extinct species brought back to life through advanced bioengineering. Each biome within the Arkology reserve - from the icy reaches of the Arctic biome to the dense Tall forest biome - serves as a living testament to nature's grandeur and humanity’s technological prowess. Hidden within these seemingly natural landscapes are surveillance stations and infrastructure, ensuring safety and monitoring the enthralling activities of the cortical-stacked guests.

Players find themselves at an intriguing crossroad. They can choose to collaborate with the megacorporation to ensure that the rich guests have the most wonderful experience. They can offer up challenges to the guests looking for military experience, or even obtain the megacorp’s franchise license, allowing them to legally breed and showcase various extinct species, benefitting from the surge in ticket sales. As a reward, players gain access to the off-world technology brought in by the corporate masterminds.

Alternatively, players might see the Megacorporation as an enemy, choosing to oppose their dominion. Disrupting the guest activities and raiding the Arkology park, or even launching a covert raid on the well defended resorts are all on the table. The wealth of the visiting elite offers ripe opportunities for players bold enough to seize them.

Net launcher will allow you to stop any entity or pawn. For how long? Well that depends on their size. Don't expect to hold a T-Rex for too long, lol.

WHY MERGE?

• Enhanced Experience: By integrating the features of both mods, players can enjoy a richer and more multifaceted gameplay experience. Whether they decide to try and survive in the prehistoric wilderness, or help out the ultratech corporation by accommodating the guests, or take part in building up the park by breeding dinosaurs, the mod offers multiple avenues that should accommodate all the different players that use our mods.
• Unique storytelling: Combining the narratives of both mods introduces unique storytelling possibilities. The marriage of ultratech luxury and prehistoric environments can lead to intriguing plot twists, character developments, and immersive in-game lore that's unparalleled in depth and intrigue. Similar to how Biotech introduced both biological xenotypes and technological mechanoids, and how Royalty catered to tribal anima tree lovers and ultratech imperial loyalists, this mod would also provide a playground for both tribal colonies and high-tech colonies.
• Efficient Resource Utilization: From a development perspective, merging the two mods can enable more efficient use of resources. Instead of separately updating, debugging, and maintaining two mods, we can focus all our efforts on one mod. Right now, neither Ultratech nor Arkology have enough content in them to stand on two legs like some of our other mods. Merging them will create the most content-rich mod to date.
• Synergy in Gameplay Elements: The elements of ultratech luxury (sleeves, cortical stacks, smart weapons) combined with the diverse biomes and creatures of Arkology can introduce new strategic gameplay mechanics. For instance, players might need to choose the right 'sleeve' to survive in a specific biome or use the power of cortical stacks to save their raiding party that ventured too deep into the hostile arkology.
• Consistency in World-Building: A single mod ensures a unified lore and world-building framework. Instead of dealing with potential inconsistencies or overlapping features between separate mods, everything in the game world can follow a cohesive narrative and set of rules. Since both mods were to add an ultratech megacorporation, each with a singular ‘megabase’, it would be wiser if the mods got merged into one.

The entities you can incubate and sell to Arkology project include some of the most interesting dinosaurs, but also things that have not necessarily lived, like, ever...

In case you don't believe me that the two mods share so many similarities, below are the Overviews of both of these individual mods. You can read these overviews and come up with your own conclusion.

OVERVIEW - ULTRATECH

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ultratech introduces a brand new, space-tourism oriented ultratech faction to RimWorld. Hunters, belonging to the Huntercorp organisation, have chosen to set up their resort and center of operations out in the Rimworlds. Taking their ultratech technology with them, they enjoy all the luxury of the elite, without the constant supervision everpresent in the core worlds of the galaxy.

Due to the fact that core civilisations have achieved a near-immortality, new sources of entertainment needed to evolve to stimulate the hundreds-years-old elite. Huntercorp is one of such ventures.

Those with enough money can sign up to become ‘hunters’ and take part in a wicked sport for the rich and degenerate. Their consciousness get’s copied over onto a cortical stack - an ultratech device capable of containing a ‘soul’ of a person. Such as stack is then installed in a sleeve of the customer’s choice - a sexy young woman, a muscular hussar with numerous battle scars - it’s essentially like customizing an online avatar, except they get to live in that skin.

Smart weapons are an ultratech invention. Projectiles of these weapons are guaranteed to hit - in fact, they will turn mid-air and home in on their target. They will fly around the cover too!

The playground of the Huntercorp is a backwater RimWorld that nobody cares about. No civilisations out there pose any real threat to the Huntercorp, and as such the rich customers can raid, pillage and murder to their heart content. After a busy and exciting day of survival, they go back to the luxurious resort to enjoy the numerous amenities, from holo-cinemas to 0G swimming pools. Thanks to the power of cortical stacks, such travellers are not at a risk of permanent damage - as even if the sleeve suffers heavy wounds and dies, a special team will arrive to extract the stack using any means necessary to bring it back to the resort and insert it into a new body.

Players can work with such a megacorporation to provide twisted entertainment for their guests. From hosting such guests over, to providing willing prisoners for deluxe torture sessions, player colony serves as a service provider - not a customer. In return, the megacorporation can bestow various ultratech technologies for the player - including the ability to craft cortical stacks.

Players can also choose to disrupt the Huntercorp organisation. From raiding automated supply lines, to directly attacking the resort, players can actively work towards making the endeavour as unprofitable for the megacorp as possible.

Dragoon armor will let you quickly close the distance to your enemies.

Some of the most notable technology that the Huntercorp uses and provides:

• Cortical stacks - devices inserted into the skull of a person that contain their personality, memories and the sense of being. Such stacks can be removed from the person and inserted into a new sleeve.
• Sleeves - genetically vat-grown mature bodies that are tailored to the specification of the customer.
• Smart weapons - unique weapons with guided bullets which guarantee a hit whenever fired, as bullets can avoid obstacles to hit their target.
• Ultratech armors - Including Fusilier armor, Protector armor and Dragoon armor, utilised by the search and rescue teams from the Huntercorp.

OVERVIEW - ARKOLOGY

A brand new megacorporation decided to create an Arkology complex out on the RimWorld. Arkologies are planet-wide nature reserves and safari parks that serve to entertain the rich, core-worlds guests. The planet will slowly turn into a corporate world, filled with bureaucracy, franchising and licensing. Players can either choose to invade Arkology for the numerous boons and loot that the ultratech society can provide, or team up with them for the generous monetary rewards they provide.

Synthesize embryos in this excellent new technological marvel, and incubate your eggs until they hatch!

In Vanilla Factions Expanded - Arkology, players are able to engage in legal proceedings with a new megacorporation. They can directly influence the creation and expansion of a gigantic mega-biome called Arkology, which is a custom-made environment for one purpose only - to populate it with bioengineered, long-extinct species, tailored for customer satisfaction. Watch as the tourists flock into the park to witness these legendary beings, and if you’re fortunate enough to have purchased a license to vat-grow them, watch as their stock price goes up.

Engage in bureaucracy and obtain one of the Arkology franchise licenses to legally breed dinosaurs in your settlement. As they are born, be the first one to license them to earn huge rewards - small percentage of Arkology ticket sales will go directly to your pocket! But be careful! Corporate world is even more ruthless than Rimworld itself. Fight AI-controlled opponents in various auctions, outbid them to gain licenses of creatures you’ve never had before, file various forms to hinder their work, and ultimately reach full monopoly!

Arkology park consists of a handful of new, long gone biomes - the Arctic biome, Badlands biome, Grasslands biome, Jungle biome, Tall forest biome and the Swamp biome. Each of these biomes brings new flora and fauna, as well as weather conditions. All of these biomes are hand-tailored by the Arkology architects, and beneath a surface of realistic nature hides a technological marvel. Cameras and Surveillance stations are scattered across the natural landscape, and scaffoldings of steel and plasteel hide beneath the thin rocky surface.

There may be many Dinosaur mods out there. Our goal is to ensure all dinosaurs fit the cold, corporate, exploitative setting of Megacorps!

You can also choose to go against Arkology. The park is a great place to settle in - with unique, never-before-seen creatures replacing just ordinary deers and boars. Hunt down Arkology tourists in guerilla-like warfare, taking away their precious valuables and silver - after all, insurance will pay them back! Be careful, as surely Arkology has enough aces up their sleeve to lock you up for good!

Some of the most notable technology available in Vanilla Factions Expanded - Arkology is:

• An ability to vat grow dinosaurs from genomes obtained from Arkology HQ.
• Complex bureaucracy system allowing you to obtain a license on specific dinosaurs and pay yourself money based on their popularity and count.
• Genetic excavators, eggs incubators and all similar devices to obtain dinosaur eggs.
• Indepth animal healthcare system to tackle emerging genetic diseases.

Let me know in the comments what you think about these developments. The merge design work is ongoing right now, and after that we just have to, well, design the rest. Then we can move onto development of the things that are not yet developed.

I believe this is the best way forward. Both fans of Ultratech and Arkology will get their mod sooner, and it takes away the stress of having to design something I'm not convinced about.