Desolation Mode

WARNING:  is a difficulty modifier that drastically reduces loot available and generally makes your life harder. It's intended to be "mainline" experience of Horizon, and most balancing is done around it. Desolation can be enabled during Installation, and to disable you need to reinstall it and start a new game.

"Horizon - Desolation (Alpha Version) Desolation is a new hardcore mode that focuses on tougher survival. This version is very rough, and doesn't contain a lot of changes yet. In this mode, there's a bigger emphasis on being more self-sufficiant, instead of relying on NPC vendors and doctors. Combat Stimpaks are harder to craft/buy, as there is more pressure to make sure you're healed up properly outside of combat. Most illnesses and diseases should be cured as soon as possible. They are balanced so that you should no longer feel it's "ok" to just wait to cure them. This mode will not change NPC damage multipliers or carry weight. You can optionally use the existing addons for those. I definitely want feedback on it, but this mode isn't made for new players. If it's too taxing on you, turn it off."

- Zawinul

"while 99% of my combat changes will effect default mode too, I want to balance the game around DM. I can always add in non-DM stuff to help casual players if it is too hard... but I want the real balance focused around survival mode and DM. tbh... i really dont count default mode, because you can get ammo and shit so much easier. im not going to balance around that my focus is on "what can you do with the supplies you get in DM... and what can't you do." otherwise the player reports become so skewed, because 1 person in default will say they have 2000 rounds of .308, and its too easy. and a DM player might have 90 rounds. the real issue is trying to fix the DM players who have 1000 rounds :)"

- Zawinul

Desolation Mode vs Default Horizon
Due to confusion that many casual players have, I'm revising how default Horizon is scaled vs Desolation Mode
 * Vendors: Most ammo packs, gunpowder, and energy cells are now cheaper in non-Desolation mode
 * Doctors: Costs for curing is 50% less in non-Desolation mode

DEVELOPER NOTE: If you find these changes make the game too easy, you might want to consider using Desolation Mode, as the point of that addon is to make resources/caps/ammo worth something. Desolation Mode was always intended as the "old school" Horizon survival balance, and that's what it's there for. You can also make your own custom patch for Desolation Mode (in fo4edit its pretty easy) if you want to tweak some of the Desolation values to your own liking. That's why I made many of the global variables in there.

Food/Medical

 * All pre-war food (that isn't preserved) is considered garbage food and has high risk of disease (not recommended to eat)
 * Crops/rations and Wild plants have a moderate chance of disease (which makes cooked food much more valuable)
 * All pre-war food is worth very little caps
 * The debuff on Combat Stimpaks is increased to -150 rad resists (up from -50)
 * Doctors have much less supplies
 * Doctors have a much stricter price increase per level

Settlements

 * Resource production Vendor Credit Income is halved
 * Resource production can give 4-16 Supply Kits maximum per cycle based on your progression
 * Resource production can give 8-20 Purified Water bottles maximum per cycle based on your progression
 * Resource production can give 3-20 of each Crop maximum per cycle based on your progression
 * Resource production can give 100-1500 Vendor Credit Income maximum per cycle based on your progression

Crafting

 * Purified water can no longer be crafted by hand, and requires real purifiers (Tech Level 8) to process it for you. Craft sanitized water and buy purified water instead.
 * Some medical supplies require more antiseptic or other materials
 * Crafting antiseptics from alcohol requires more pharmaceuticals
 * Pharmaceuticals require more materials
 * Cooked pre-war food is not available

Loot

 * Tools drop less from containers
 * Hunting Skill is -50% as effective in terms of harvesting items
 * Exploration Skill is -50% as effective in terms of scrounging extra items
 * Salvaging Skill is -25% as effective in terms of harvesting items
 * Ammo boxes: -90% chance
 * Ammo misc: -80% chance
 * Ammo from NPCs: -85% chance
 * "Full" cans of smokeless powder (or energy cells or explosives), drop a lot less often than "used" or "damaged" cans now
 * Medical supplies: -50% chance
 * Tools: -70% chance
 * Unique junk: -40% chance
 * Rare junk: -40% chance
 * Food/drinks: -90% chance
 * Chems: -90% chance
 * Caps Bonus: -90% chance (partial coverage of rewards and loot)

NOTE: these chances generally don't influence things like hunting, or vendors

Bartering

 * Vendors don't trust you. All sell prices are 25% of the caps value (down from 50%)
 * Combat Stimpaks and Blood Packs cost more caps

Survival

 * Weakness makes you take 40% extra damage
 * Lethargy reduces AP regen by -75%
 * Insomnia also reduces your Rad Resistance by -100
 * Parasites also reduce your Poison Resistance by -30
 * Some poisons deal more damage per tick
 * Infection does 10 damage per tick from level 1-4
 * Infection does 15 damage per tick from level 5-9
 * Infection does 20 damage per tick from level 10-19 (this can now kill you)
 * Infection does 30 damage per tick from level 20+

Armor

 * Power Armor repairs are more expensive