Year 1 - State of the Modlist

So, after one year of open release, Life in the Ruins is going pretty strong. We've had well over 10k downloads, and the list has grown, going through two major updates. At this point, the list is well fleshed out with content and I've more or less run out of systems to overhaul.

Going forward, I'd like to focus more on bug fixing and testing. Particularly, I've not really played the game much in the past 6 months, and I really should get around to doing a full playthrough of FO4. The modlist is in a really good spot, and I need to buckle down and test it. So, hopefully the updates will slow down for the next 6 months or so, less new content, more bug fixes.

As far as a wishlist of things to come, precombines are one of the major limiting factors. As much as I'd love to throw Beantown Interiors, or the like, into the list, doing so would be a MAJOR project to regenerate precombines against the conflicting mods that already regenerate precombines in shared areas. BenRierimanu has done some excellent work with methods for generating precombines against an entire modlist, however it's a daunting enough project that I'm still scared of it. I also don't want to just add stuff for the sake of adding stuff- this isn't a kitchen sink list, so I want to be careful adding areas that can be explored, but don't have a true purpose (e.g. Diamond City already has a bunch of kinda pointless areas, and there are multiple Subway mods out there that add areas, but kinda end up being pointless dungeons without any interesting storytelling).

I've also got my eye on a few weapon mods to add. The security SMG I think would be a nice reward as a unique for the spider dungeon that UNPCs adds, I just haven't felt much like weapon patching lately. I'd also like to do unique replacers for Hilda Hughes, David Hunter, and Radium Inc, however I've yet to get around to full playthroughs of those mods, I know they have uniques from looking in xedit, but I want to get a better feel for how their uniques appear in the quests. The Glock Plasma Pistol (radium inc plasma gun), and the Union Blaster (quest thingy in david hunter) are on my shortlist. The only faction that I feel could use further options at this point are Super Mutants, I wouldn't mind a few more makeshift-feeling handmade heavy weapons, but nothing on the nexus has caught my eye thus far.

New settlement options are also an area I've been thinking about. The last update saw 3 new settlement options, and I wouldn't mind adding a few more in the central area of the map, I'm just wary of performance issues, and the danger of introducing new Triangles of Death.

The latest update also saw a food overhaul, this is a start, but I'd like to do some further cleanup, maybe re-sort the recipes so the menu is a bit easier to use, add a couple more to fill holes. I also need to check for balance on food values, as increasing the values for survival mode may have knock on effects for the economy.

And lastly, Thanks. The idea that you guys enjoy this modlist enough to throw money at it still blows my mind. It just started as a project throwing together a modlist for myself in my free time, and kind of just evolved from there. It's been a crazy year, both for LitR, and for me and my new Family, so thanks for being there for me.