Populated Cities Redux

Populated Cities did a great job bringing immersive NPC lives to the game and is one of the most subscribed Kenshi mods of all time. But if you read the workshop post you will find many users reporting these issues:

[] Annoying citizens breaking down player’s doors
[] Various buildings, including weapon shops, being lost in the shuffle to add new Citizen Squads.

And so I set out to patch populated cities and address these concerns. Still new to Kenshi AI and squad modding details, I dug in and discovered it really wasn’t possible (with my understanding) to use the same squad / building approach the OG mod implemented. So I have created something new. Something, lighter weight, but based on the original intent.

This mod adds active civilians to most major towns in kenshi, with light "technical mod overhead." These Civilians live their brutal lives as best they can. They walk the streets, go shopping, go to work, train, and just try to survive. They will no longer try to break down your doors, and will not take over any buildings from the town. (Having dealt with the OG mod in my games this will be mentioned repeatedly as a feature heh)

These civilians will also defend their allies, rescue them, put them in bed, perform first aid, and loot fallen enemies. As far as your common Kenshi civilian goes these are the top performers. They are slightly more skilled and tougher than your average citizen. (stats ~ 20) They are wealthier, shop for a wide variety of items, and are slightly better equipped than your average starving bandit.

This mod adds about 18 civilian NPCs to each town (sometimes less), basically split up between four squads. They will not consume or override any vanilla buildings. They have various schedules, including patrolling both in and out of the town, shopping, working, training, relaxing, and supporting the town. But again, what they won’t do is try to break down your doors.

An import IS required. Be smart, save a game backup first.
The OG mod is NOT required.

With a sprinkling of imagination dust (and a few other mods) what this looks like in game is:
Citizens going to visit friends in their homes, playing board games and sitting around smoking hookahs. Citizens LOVE taking walks. Citizens leaving the safety of the town in small groups to scavenge what they can, looting fallen bodies and farming wild growing plants. Citizen apprentices shopping and working the plate beating stations. Citizens sitting in the outhouse after too many dried gristle flaps and cactus rum. Citizens banding together against threats and carrying their friends home if they are injured. Basically, people trying to survive and thrive in the harsh and unforgiving world of Kenshi.

If you would prefer a more populated touch as far as Populated Cities Redux NPC citzens go then try this sub mod:
Populated Cities Redux Plus

If you would prefer a lighter touch as far as Populated Cities Redux NPC citzens go then give this one a go:
Populated Cities Redux Lite

[] These squads are bar squads and don’t have a home building, they can’t go home and do at home things like sleep and relax. Therefore, the cities will be more active at night.

[] The AI jobs of basically "working" and "relaxing" will depend on what is available in that town. If you have mods that provide options, the citizens will try to use them. If there are very few options they may sometimes get "clogged" with users or output, but this should resolve itself within a few in game hours. If the outputs on some work buildings get filled, it may cause the citizens to get stuck for a short time. Feel free to help them out.

[] These civilians will grow stronger over time as they work, train and patrol more. I wouldn’t expect them to turn the tide of a major battle for a town, but they ARE now a factor as they can fight back, heal wounded allies, and raise the alarm.

[] On the other hand, eventually some of these NPCs will overestimate their abilities and fall prey to an unfortunate end, maybe even at the players hands. They are set to regenerate so this will present players with potentially slightly unbalanced banditry and looting options. (But hey, that’s life heh.)

[] This mod does not solve the issue of NPC shopping inventories getting filled up without an import, but each citizen has a backpack to somewhat lessen this issue. These NPCs may also buy supplies you might want, but in turn the vendors will have more cats on hand.

[] This mod currently does not apply to any town override states. I am not familiar enough with world states and that may be considered in an update.

[] Other mods that affect towns and factions may affect the operation of this mod.

[] Like all Kenshi AI their pathing is sometimes laughable and can get them stuck, pushed through walls, or traffic jammed. Just like real life. (except the walls part)

I have spent hours following around individual NPCs, troubleshooting and fine tuning their schedules for maximum effect with limited control. And while I have done this extensive testing, there may be bugs or errors I have missed. Please let me know any issues, questions, or customization requests. Consider any other resident or town overhauls you may have in place before asking for help though.

thanks flatskins, enjoy!