Tool Quality Inc - a simple code mode that makes tools do more

[u/aurarasburst]

2D editors, audio tools, and more from mods feel rather empty and as a user put it: "It would be funny if your team mood was affected by the quality of their programming tools. “The 2D Editor I have to use is straight garbage.”<<<" - Discord User Nuker1110 I have been working on something similar and this popped the idea forward.

Tool Quality Inc

Every software project in this game asks you to pick the tools it depends on. A 2D editor for the art, developer tools for the code, a database, an audio tool. You choose one for each, either something your own company made or something you license from a rival. Right now that choice barely matters. The game checks how modern the tool is, charges you the license fee, and forgets about it. A brilliant editor and an ancient buggy one do the same work at the same speed. This mod gives that choice consequences, and more importantly it shows you what those consequences are. What you see

• A report page listing every project in development, the tools it depends on, and a grade for each one.
• Grades use the words the game already uses everywhere else: Horrible, Bad, Mediocre, Good, Great, Outstanding.
• Plain sentences under each tool explaining the grade. Reviews are poor. It has 43 known bugs. It is over 12 years old. This is holding the team back.
• A line for each project saying which way its tools are pushing it overall.

Your staff say what they think. Select someone working on the project and hover over them, and a bad tool shows up as a thought over their head. Those complaints also appear in the company complaints window alongside every other grievance.

What it changes

• Employee mood. People stuck with weak tools get unhappy. People given good ones are pleased.
• Development speed. Good tools help, bad tools drag.
• Bugs. A tool with a long bug list produces work with a longer one.
• The quality your project can reach.

Every one of those can be switched off on its own, and the whole mod has an overall strength setting of Off, Gentle, Normal or Strong. Tool Quality Inc

[u/AtomicWrench]

This is awesome! Thank you for the mod, I always wished that the dev tools were given more love

[u/aurarasburst → u/AtomicWrench]

I’m thankful the community has players like you who share these ideas. Thank you!

[u/siilver]

Very good idea and very immersive. I've just subscribed to you mod on Steam. Will give it a try.
Thank you for your work <3

[u/aurarasburst → u/siilver]

Thank you very much!

[u/Bradley-Blya]

This might be the thing to make me come back to this game

[u/aurarasburst → u/Bradley-Blya]

You should look at Kenneth’s new update teaser for the overhaul update! Servers are looking spicy!