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[DEVBLOG#307] Security infographics!
🕑 Added 2026-01-09 17:35:56 +0000 UTCHey everyone and welcome to a brand new development blog! This time, I'm planning to focus on explaining some of the stuff coming in Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security remake, and to show you the infographics already done!
Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security needed a remake desperately. It was an old mod, and believe it or not, RimWorld balancing has changed with each consecutive major version update and DLC. Our mod hasn't, though, and even though mini-turrets were nerfed, our military turrets weren't, and were outperforming everything.
The plan was to ideally not remove anything substantial, and to always offer some replacement. Some things, however, needed to go, particularly the decoy turrets - which were incredibly overpowered. I know many of you will be in shambles now but it had to be done.
When remaking the mod, I intentionally didn't look at ANY stats of the original mod. If you try to rebalance something, but only edit what you've done without starting from scratch, at best you're slapping on a bandaid on the problem. I intended to fix it completely.
Just like with Vanilla Weapons Expanded, I sat down and made complex infographics with calculations to help me determine the power level of different turrets. Then, I inserted base game turrets into the sheet to get something I very smartly call a baseline.
With the baseline set, it was time to start coming up with stats for our turrets. I knew I want to add a military turret, which is meant to be a high-grade mini-turret. I knew I wanted a double autocannon, but I didn't want it to be better than a single auto-cannon. I knew I want a charge turret, but I also knew I want it to actually be very effective.
And so I typed in different values to try to get where I wanted to get, and at all times I compared the outcome to mini-turrets, autocannon turrets, uranium slug turrets and so on.
All in all, I think the balancing of the mod is in a much better place now. Nothing is overpowered. Nothing eclipses base game content. I want a mini-turret to be as viable as a charge complex, so to say. Different costs, different usability scenarios, but always a choice. That's the underlying mission of Vanilla Expanded. Expand the content offering, but don't 'remove' vanilla content. By 'remove', I mean eclipsing.
If the double autocannon is simply always better than a single autocannon, what's the point of a single autocannon at all?
Let's take a look at all the infographics and the content coming.
Now, some content is still being designed, so it's not quite on the infographics yet. For example, a non-lethal turret! But we're also looking into other cool defensive solutions if you have some other VE mods. After all, cross-mod compatibility in our series is very important to us.
Let me know what you think about the changes you see here in the comments down below!
Comments
Oskar Potocki
Security Expanded comes out tomorrow. Weapons Expanded won’t come out until I come back from February holidays so second half of February at best. It will be a mod update though, so it will seamlessly just replace the Weapons Expanded you’re already using.
Dyschology
I know it's probably bad form to ask about release dates. Buuuuut, I really want to do my annual run but the security structures and weapons expanded remake seem massively impactful for the way I like to play. Is there a rough estimate on when they plan to come out? I need to decide if I want to wait or not.
Art
Looks amazing, is it likely to be safe to add to existing saves, and will it be part of the Vanilla testing group or are those reserved for larger mods? Will the ammo box provide storage if combined with the Adaptive Storage Framework and Reel's Expanded Storage, or would that require Reel to create a patch?
Oskar Potocki
Not really. The ammo economy alone makes it on par with HMG complex. Literally half the ammo cost.
Jordan
The HMG complex is far better than the minigun complex. Better range, better DPS, better accuracy, better AP, and much cheaper. The only downsides are a higher ammo cost and slower bullet velocity. Is there anything I'm missing, any reason to build the minigun complex? Seems like the minigun needs a buff.
Oskar Potocki
It’s exactly the same as it was before, meaning it applies the same dazzled effect regardless of time
Oskar Potocki
The old code was no longer working so we instead applied the same code that’s issued by gravship artillery. You get to pick where the shots land, but the map needs to be generated to target it.
Alex B
Was the Artillery ability changed? I remember in 1.5 it could destroy world map tiles through a manned barrage, but now it says it can hit on explored map tiles, is this one of the re-balances where the feature has been replaced? Also when firing at different map tiles does it function the same as a normal mortar where you have some control on where it lands or does it just fly wherever on that map? Thank you for your guys's work on the VE series, you guys always have something exciting around the corner with your rimworld mods!
John Koor
Is the searchlight blind effect affected by the local light level? Having a searchlight be as effective in the noon sun as at night would be rather silly. But tying it to time of day wouldn't account for underground areas or eclipses/etc.
Simon
Everything look pretty good, but i can i offer you some suggestion with other VE mod ? With Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Makeshift, you could add Makeshift Turret, very inaccurate but used less component and are build very fast ? it could be useful when you are out of your base and need quick defense. With Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Coilguns, you could add Coilguns turret with the same penetration mechanic ? this one might be too strong tho. And finally with Tribal Extended, is there any chance you could add a giant boulder trap that require manual activation? Tribal are very fun and wacky but they need any help they can get.
Kirboh
I love the buffs to bear trapsl being able to rearm them and use them for their intended RL purpose (hunting animals) sounds great. Sad to see artillery get a range nerf, though. Do you plan on folding the Cannons and Field Guns from VFE: Pirates into this mod?
Mocho
When you say you didn't look at the original stats when rebalancing, have you looked back at them now and did any surprise you?
Oskar Potocki
Correct
Brutus Albion
Sentry Turret was removed? Did you mean the Sentry Gun? Or is that something different? Looks like it was just turned into the Minigun Turret instead or am I mistaken here?
Oskar Potocki
The mod now respects your selected mortar settings in game options. If you select classic mortars, barrel won’t be required but accuracy will be lowered - same as vanilla mortars.
Deggial
I'm not sure I agree with you here: "... but don't 'remove' vanilla content. By 'remove', I mean eclipsing." Isn't a bit of 'OP-ness' a huge part of the fun? Of course, the vanilla variants should always be a viable (early) option and balance must be considered. However, game progression is also part of this balance. Technology that is useful in the early phase of the game should be replaced by later discoveries. I wouldn't mind if building costs were higher - in fact, I would expect them to be - but the reasonably priced military turret (with its small 1x1 footprint) was a great source of joy! I will refrain from judging the new version until I have played with it. But please don't balance the fun out of the mod. -- Also, in the artillery description: "Shots before barrel change: 20". I feared this would happen, but I also expected it. The fact that the artillery didn't require a barrel change was too good to last. It was unrealistic too. (It's always a silly argument in a computer game, but I'm willing to accept it.) It was a big part of why I loved it, not so much because of the price of new barrels and their unreliable availability, but mainly because of their annoying tendency to break at the worst possible moment. Would you at least consider increasing it to 30, though?
