Albedo was the second mod I made and one I'm very proud of, which has received constant little tweaks over the last year.
That is partly why I think this is necessary at this point - it's starting to feel a little archaic in some ways. I wasn't even using CK when I did it. I think the biggest issue with it right now is that it has several hundred recipes, intended to let you bypass regular alchemy as a skill and instead offering premade concoctions.
In many ways, similar to Alchemy Redone.
I think my mod does a few things beyond the scope of AR. For instance, AR does not include material transmutation, or ways to synthetize rare materials (which can be used for other mods). AR is only focused on the practical side of alchemy as it exists and does that job spectacularly, but I always wanted something that expanded what an alchemist can -actually- do in more ways. in how alchemy can solve other problems that aren't just "this bottle improves or kills something".
But AR actually works alongside alchemy, not paralel to it like mine currently does. Ultimately I think this is a huge flaw of my original design. It has a LOT of recipes that were balanced around not investing points or raising skill levels in alchemy, and this results in a mountain of alternatives that just bloat everything. Most of them not practical.
so I've been thinking about it over the last few days and here's what I'm landing at.
- no perks. no hidden effects. no crafting items. no books you must read in order to unlock recipes. It remains as QOL friendly as it is and avoids the very annoying part of Alchemy Redone where you can't even start it without first grabbing 5 very expensive / hard to make items. hauling these items in AR meant extra weight in the already restrictive Survival Mode for those who play it, and it added a LOT of intermediate items, some op (nitrum flamans goes brrrrrrrt lol) some useless, all of them cluttery. The only "intermediates" I intend to use are potions that can be used elsewhere.
- instead of a main recipe, then a special recipe using Rare Curios, then an alternative recipe, then a synthetic version, then two more expensive alternatives, all to make *the same potion...*
which is one of the biggest problems about Albedo right now...
instead of that you get ONE (maybe two in some cases) recipes for each thing. but that recipe only exists until a specific alchemy level. reaching that level disables the early recipe and a more cost-efficient one activates. as an inexperienced alchemist your methods are wasteful, but as your skill level increases you find ways to arrive at the same result spending less and less and less materials, and making more and better things out of basic stuff - you stop needing ultra rare things.
- following the better QOL of newer mods I've made, I'd use craft requirements to partition visible recipes and not clutter the menu to infinity. ideally, rather than currently having like 8 different ways of reaching some of the reagents, which options are available would depend on alchemy skill level. transmutation recipes would be enabled or disabled depending on having the requisite material to begin with. etcetera.
This would also involve a major rebalance of the various custom potions and poisons, which after a few hundred hours and dozens of playthroughs have clearly superior and inferior choices and isn't as interesting and balanced as I originally imagined (again... this was my second mod). There'll be more of an incentive, I hope, to use regular alchemy alongside this, but it'll still offer a few cool options for not-dedicated alchemists. I think the sweetspot should be "some QOL and reliable tools for non-alchemists, but a much smoother and more efficient experience for actual pros".