Survey Results and Roadmap January 2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent survey! Your feedback has been invaluable in shaping the direction of Vanilla Expanded and ensuring our mods continue to resonate with the community. Here’s a summary of the survey insights and how we plan to move forward:

Survey Insights

• Faction Content: With 57.1% of respondents wanting more faction mods, it’s clear the Vanilla Factions Expanded series remains a cornerstone of our work.

• Late vs. Early Game: Late-game content is in high demand (58%), though 42% of players are still eager for early-game additions, highlighting the importance of balancing both stages.

• Mechanics vs. Content: 29.2% prefer new mechanics over the 16.5% seeking new content, signaling a strong desire for deeper, innovative gameplay systems.

• Biotech DLC Expansion: 44% of respondents want us to expand Biotech DLC, confirming its untapped potential and the community's enthusiasm for genetics, xenotypes, and mechanoids.

• Vehicles: Despite an already extensive selection, 29.9% of players want more vehicle content, underscoring the popularity of Smash Phil’s Vehicles Framework.

• Quests and Events: The 34% interest in quests and events reinforces the need for narrative-driven content that encourages exploration and interaction with the world map.

Plans for Vanilla Expanded

Based on the results, we’re excited to share our ongoing and upcoming projects:

• Vanilla Quests Expanded - Generator:
  This mod is nearing completion and, if successful, will form the foundation for a new Quests Expanded series. Each mod will introduce unique quest chains with rewarding storylines that impact colonies in meaningful ways, creating plenty of reasons to explore the world map.

• Vanilla Factions Expanded - Medieval 2:
  Development continues with exciting additions like a heraldry system, enabling custom coats of arms to decorate your colony. The mod will also include numerous medieval-era objects designed to remain relevant even in late-game colonies, ensuring a seamless progression.

• Vanilla Factions Expanded - Megacorps:
  After completing Medieval 2, we’ll shift focus to Megacorps. As a late-game mod, it will add ultratech solutions like high-voltage power sources, antigrain reactors, and cutting-edge city-building tools, transforming colonies into advanced metropolises.

• Vanilla Health Expanded:
  This mod will overhaul the health system, introducing a wide range of new mechanics that deepen gameplay and cater to players seeking complex, mechanics-driven experiences.

• Vanilla Vehicles Expanded:
  We’re expanding the vehicles series with Tier 2 upgrades and Imperial vehicles, further enhancing the utility and strategic depth of vehicles in the game.

• Vanilla Mechanitor Expanded:
  Preliminary design work has begun on this mod, which will offer Mechanitors the same spotlight as Vanilla Psycasts Expanded did for psycasters. New mechanics will include advanced mechanoid control, mechlink enhancements, gestated mechanoid weapons, hacking abilities, and colossal mechanoid constructs requiring significant resources and management. Mechanitors will truly become hero characters, offering unparalleled control over mechanoids and their environments.

Looking Ahead

The community’s feedback has provided a clear direction for the future of Vanilla Expanded. While late-game content and new mechanics will be key areas of focus, we’ll continue balancing these with content that enriches the early-game experience. Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm—we’re excited to bring you even more ways to enjoy RimWorld in the months ahead!