RimWorld 1.4 announcement and Vanilla Expanded

Hello folks and welcome to a very, very important post. I have quite the boots to fill as I follow Tynan's announcement, so wish me luck.

If you haven't seen the announcement of the new DLC and new RimWorld update yet, all you need to do is follow the link below:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/294100/view/3294970071159733465

What's happening?

Ludeon Studios has announced a new 1.4 update and a DLC called BioTech. We're not quite sure when the DLC will be out, but 1.4 update is certainly right around the corner. I won't talk about what the DLC has to offer, because the post I linked above goes quite in depth of that.

I will however do a quick little FAQ here for all of you.

Will VE mods get a prompt update?

Yes. We have been fortunate enough to get an early access to the update, and we've been working on getting everything updated already. That's why you didn't see us around recently, everyone was busy at work. Chances are some mods will still not be ready for when 1.4 drops, but majority of them will!

What shall we do?

If you are still on 1.3, and you want to continue with your save, I recommend you back up EVERY SINGLE VE MOD right now. Some of our mods will not be save-game compatible when it comes to updating - for example, VFE-Power will require a new save once 1.4 drops. Apologies, but there is no way around it.

Can you tell us something about the DLC?

No, being a graphic designer at Ludeon Studios means I am bound by NDA. I cannot tell you anything that Tynan didn't tell you himself. I can only assure you that the DLC has the art made solely by me, and it's my most excellent art yet.

Will Vanilla Expanded make mods for the Biotech DLC?

Yes, we have such plans, however I cannot share anything with you until the DLC is out.

Will Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids need extra changes to fit with the DLC?

No. VFE-Mechanoids doesn't actually allow you to build mechanoids - it only allows you to build droids, rudimentary, low-tech robots that can only do basic tasks. As far as I can see from the announcement, Biotech will allow you to construct ultratech mechanoids such as lancers, centipedes etc.

Will Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ancients need extra changes to fit with the DLC?

No, our system is separate and should work fine.

Will Vanilla Genetics Expanded need extra work?

No, Vanilla Genetics Expanded is about mutating animals. As far as I can tell, that's not what Biotech has to offer.

When can we expect all the mods to update?

When 1.4 officially drops on the public branch, we will begin the roll-out process. Framework will go first, and all the other mods will follow. We have quite a lot of mods and we don't want to rush things, so chances are it will take longer to roll out than one day. Please note: We know 1.4 entered unstable branch. We don't care, until it's out on public, we don't update anything.

What's this about new mod releases?

That's right, some mods will become split/merged. Animals Expanded will become one big megamod with all animals in it. You can choose which ones you want in mod options. Helixien gas will become a separate mod too, it will no longer be a part of VFE-Power. These new mods will release shortly after we update all mods that need updating.

Can I use 1.3 mods on 1.4?

No, absolutely not. Assume they don't work. Even if you don't see any errors, always assume it just doesn't work. There is a lot of internal changes.

What's happening with the current mods in development?

They are of course on hiatus until everything is updated smoothly. 

Are you removing content from some of your mods?

Yes, in fact we are. You can check out all the changes here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12kwpj76Mz2f5LhDVC1vlIiOFL6exGxCt9cYjXUdqaIs/edit?usp=sharing

If you have any further questions, ask them here, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. If you didn't get an answer, that means I'm not allowed to answer that question.