Skill Mod - WIP Update

Candle Crafting Mod & Skill

I haven't mentioned this in a while because other projects became a priority but I am still working on this and someone asked about it so I thought I'd throw a quick update on here.

I had to put this on hold for several reasons, but I've actually been working on it still in-between my monthly projects when there's time. 

One of the reasons this projects got paused was that I really wanted to make it so you poured the shaped candles into a mold then remove the candle once it's set. I know we didn't talk about that originally when we brainstormed but when I was play-testing it I didn't feel like it was immersive enough. I've figured out a way to code it so that when you pour the candle you will get a filled wooden mold instead of the actual candle. 

I've already been able to make this work for the beeswax bars, which will give you a mold containing 6 bars. You can then empty the mold which would give you the 6 bars and the mold back to use as an ingredient again. I think I'm going to make it so there's a small chance the mold is destroyed to keep things interesting.  I'd also like to add a recipe to the woodworking bench to make the mold (which is super easy) and it would be an optional ingredient to make the cost of the project nothing.  

I wanted the recipes for the candles to come from natural ingredients but the harvestable issues after seasons is what really brought this project to halt. Some harvestables will be used directly in the candle recipe, like for the scented candles. The other way they get used is to make dyes that will color certain tiers of candles. I figure we could totally use the dyes for a the next skill I work on or something, who knows :) 

I ended up making a whole 10 level skill to go with this and created different styles/colors/buff levels for all the candles we originally brainstormed. A 5 level skill just wasn't enough when I started converting meshes for candles and candle holders I realized I really wanted to separate them in various ways so it lined up nicely with the skill. Here's what I've come up with and made meshes for so far:

• Lvl 1 - Basic Container Candles - Mason Jar & Old Can Candle
• Lvl 2 - Unique Container Candles - Teacup, Terracotta Pot, & Wood Log Candle
• Lvl 3 - Basic Mold Candles - Pillar Sml, Pillar Med, Pillar Lrg, & Tapered Candle
• Lvl 4 - Dyed Candles - Molded Candles above with some basic color variations 
• Lvl 5 - Molded Candle Shapes - Flower Blossom, Llama, Cactus, Succulent, & Stone Candle
• Lvl 6 - Food Container Candles - Apple, Lemon, & Pear Candles (I'll add more of these based off my harvestables as a separate download)
• Lvl 7 - Harvestable Scented Candles - Rose, Basil, Lemon, & Sage Candle
• Lvel 8 - Crystal Candles - Emerald, Citrine, Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst
• Lvl 9 - Aromatherapy Candles I - Rise & Shine, Get Lit, Make Me Melt, Inspiration, Lighten up
• Lvl 10 - Aromatherapy Candles II - Clean Laundry, Old Bookstore, Relaxation

The way I have it structured is that you'll start off making the easiest types of candles which are candles that are made by pouring the wax into a container of some sort. I may add an option to scavenge for the containers from in-game objects and make them part of the recipe. ;)

You'll work up to using molds and then you'll be able to start using dyes to color candles with from that level on. I'm going to make some books so you can unlock the dye recipes - it won't be it's own skill or anything but you'll need to be at a certain candle crafting level in order to unlock the recipes after reading it. 

The next few levels get progressively more complicated, working up to the final two levels where you can make aromatherapy candles that give mood buffs or anti-buffs, like getting rid of a tense moodlet. Candles up to level 5 will give a  chance to a basic happy buff from being near a hand-crafted candle. Candles at level 5 and up will give specific buffs, lower levels will give stronger Happy buffs, then environment buffs, and higher levels will give you more powerful buffs that can directly influence your mood or help with certain skills.

This is meant to be a skill that your sim is constantly using because your candles will eventually burn out and you'll need to buy or make more. I thought about adding in an option to make a candle permanent, but with the higher level buffs I'm going to be adding it would be REALLY cheaty. Besides I think leaving it like this would make for some really cool historical and survival gameplay.

Also, about the Pantry, since I had to give it it's own tuning I'm going to make it special and treat it like a pantry that would have been used on a farm in the old days. More on that to come, but if you have thoughts/suggestions about it leave them below. Likely it will be released with JUST the candle stuff to start and I'll add to it later.

Because all the different projects I'm juggling at any given moment I've updated my project goals to complete a new skill once a year max. It takes a lot of time to plan, structure, and execute a good object related skill like this and I'm just not willing to sacrifice some of the things I want this mod to do. With more time and experience, I'm sure I'll get better and faster but until  then I think this timeline is way more realistic for me and my goals.