Combat Extended Addiction (Im trying to free myself)
Alright, it’s been half a year since I got a MUCH, MUCH better laptop than the one I had before. The first thing I did? Download RimWorld AND Combat Extended.
I’d always seen A LOT of praise for CE, with people constantly glazing it for how it completely “overhauls” RimWorld’s combat and how it’s supposedly the definitive way to play. But with my previous laptop being absolute garbage, I could barely run it without watching my TPS go straight down the drain. So, the moment I got this new laptop, I immediately jumped from Yayo’s Combat to Combat Extended.
And, boy, was it GOOD.
The ammo system was definitely annoying at first, but once you finally figure it out, it becomes pretty easy to manage. Then there’s the ballistics, the reduced reliance on pure RNG, the way armor actually feels meaningful, and just how much more deliberate combat becomes. It was... amazing. It was... Addicting. Like taking Luciferium.
Whenever I thought about removing CE from my modlist, I’d genuinely feel sick at the thought of playing without it. I had become dependent on this damn mod. Two years of colony-building later, and I had somehow convinced myself that Combat Extended was no healthy for me.
But eventually, I had to make a decision.
I’m finally ending my two-year colony run and getting off Combat Extended. I have no idea what the withdrawal symptoms are going to look like, but I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.
The biggest problem is that A LOT of mods simply break or become incompatible with CE. The biggest offender for me is Dead Man’s Switch, which has been sitting there like a beautiful forbidden fruit that I can’t properly enjoy because CE has decided to wage war against compatibility. So, after all this time, I’ve finally decided to switch back to Yayo’s Combat and free myself from this addiction. For better or for worse.
Goodbye, Combat Extended. You were one hell of a drug.
Edit: I didn’t know Dead Man’s Switch was actually compatible with CE. I didn’t see it listed in the compatibility lists, so that was my mistake.
That being said, DMS is NOT the sole reason I’m getting off Combat Extended. It was simply one of the mods I thought wasn’t compatible, and honestly, that should already give you an idea on one of the reasons why I’m quitting CE.
There are still A LOT of cool mods that I want to try but can’t use because they aren’t compatible with Combat Extended (and it takes quite awhile to get patched). Rimmunition’s Armor is one example. At this point, I just don’t want to keep finding an interesting mod, getting excited about trying it, and then having to ask myself, “Is this CE compatible?”
I’ve gotten to the point where I’d rather have the freedom to experiment with different mods without constantly worrying about compatibility patches, conflicts, or whether CE is going to throw a tantrum over it.
I love Combat Extended. I really do. But after two years colony worth of using it, I think I’ve had my fill.
Can’t a man simply try new things without having to perform a compatibility autopsy first?
And also, this isn’t meant to be a shot at Combat Extended at all. If anything, it’s a massive compliment to how good the mod actually is.
I’m not quitting CE because I think it’s bad, boring, or poorly designed. Quite the opposite. I’m quitting because I’ve gotten so accustomed to how good its combat feels that going back to something else genuinely feels like I’m giving up something I’ve become addicted to.
The problem isn’t that CE failed to keep me interested. The problem is that it succeeded so well that I ended up building my entire modlist around it. After two years colony worth, I simply want the freedom to experiment with mods without having to worry about whether they’re compatible with CE.
So no, this isn’t a “Combat Extended bad” post.
If anything, it’s a “holy shit, this mod is so good that I’m having trouble letting it go” post.
Edit 2: Also the load times are starting to get quite long (10-15 minutes).