This framework is continually being developed and optimized. Feel free to suggest features or report bugs below.
Map Mode Framework Mod features
Adds switchable map modes to the world map as well as C# utilities for mod authors to create their own map modes. By default, this mod contains 6 map modes:
- Default – Nothing drawn, i.e. the normal RimWorld world map.
- Biome – Provides a dropdown of all naturally-occurring biomes. Tiles of that biome are colored green.
- Temperature – Tiles are drawn by average temperature.
- Elevation – Tiles are drawn by elevation.
- Rainfall – Tiles are drawn by rainfall.
- Features – Tiles are grouped by “world features” or landforms.
I made this since I was working on a “faction territory” mod and I wanted players to be able to switch between “territories” and the normal world map without cluttering the UI too much by adding buttons and WorldLayers all over. To my knowledge, there isn’t any unified/organized “map mode” mod that I could take advantage of to achieve this, so I made this framework to serve as a base for me as well as any other mod author that may find this useful. Considering RimWorld used to have map modes in earlier versions of the game and the textures are still in the code, I went ahead and implemented them (particularly temperature, elevation, and rainfall).
Compatibility notes
This should be compatible with any mod (in that it shouldn’t really break anything). However, specific considerations and notes for select mods are listed below:
- Geological Landforms
– Patched so that landform textures are also toggled by the “Draw Hills” setting.
– Planned: Map mode for finding specific landforms. - Save Our Ship 2
– Map modes aren’t seen from the ship, but otherwise work perfectly fine when in the world map screen. - Rimworld Exploration Mode
– Patched so that textures, labels, and tooltips won’t be drawn over unexplored tiles. - ReGrowth: Core
– Patched so that World Beautification textures are also toggled by the “Draw Hills” setting.
– Note: This includes trees/forests since they’re rendered on the same WorldLayer as the hills/mountains.
Kindly report any bugs and incompatibilities with other mods and I’ll see what I can do.
FAQ
- Can I add/remove this on an existing save?
– Yes, this can be safely added and removed mid-game. - Does this affect or change world/map generation?
– No, map modes only render textures according to a tile’s terrain/characteristics on top of the world terrain. - Why are there settings to toggle world objects and landform text when they can already be toggled using the buttons below the pause/play menu?
– I honestly didn’t see them until around 5 minutes before releasing this mod lol. - Can I see that territory mod you’re making using this framework?
– Okay, just a peek. Hope it also gives you an idea of what can be done using this.
Planned Features
In terms of basic functionality and tools, the framework should be pretty much complete. Simple quality of life features are planned for both users and mod authors, particularly:
- Sorting map mode buttons according to preference
- Changing the color palette of certain map modes
- Add text meshes for “region” map modes so they show the name of the region
- Add visibility conditions for mod authors to specify when certain map modes can be accessed
