mlieThe Desire Paths Mod automatically creates packed dirt trails in RimWorld wherever colonists frequently walk. These paths form naturally over time, reflecting the real-world concept of “desire paths”, the shortcuts and tracks that emerge from repeated use.
Desire Paths Mod Features
- Colonists create packed dirt paths as they repeatedly travel over grass, soil, dirt, and other natural terrains.
- Packed dirt provides higher movement speed than most natural terrains, but it has no fertility and spreads dirt around your base.
- Paths naturally degrade back into the original terrain if not walked on for some time.
- New mod settings allow you to:
- Control how much animal traffic contributes to path formation.
- Ignore wet terrain when creating packed paths.
- Unsafe code has been removed for improved stability.
Use the mod Pathfinding Avoidance Mod by llunak to fine-tune where colonists walk and prevent unwanted paths through crops or sensitive areas.
Gameplay Tips
- If colonists keep trampling your fields, pair this mod with Path Avoid Mod to guide their movement.
- Use KV’s Trading Spot Mod to manage caravan behavior.
- If paths form in undesired areas, it’s usually a sign your base layout could use better flow!
Compatibility notes
For modders:
Any terrain with the XML tag TakeFootprints set to true is “packable.” You can customize behavior with a DefModExtension on terrain defs using the fields:
- disabled: disables desire path behavior for that terrain.
- packedTerrain: defines which terrain should appear when packed.
This can be injected via a patch or added directly to custom terrainDefs. For reference, Desire Paths Mod disables pathing on Ice terrain using this method.
Additional credits: Fluffy (original author), Cybranian (1.5 update), surang (road preview icon, BY-NC), Smashicons (path preview icon, BY-NC), Freepik (landscape preview icon, BY-NC).
