Just wanted to note that I uploaded a new version of my mod, and that everything is optional now. Except the simplification, because the mod is based on that. You can pretty much play vanilla DF with it now. Hard mining and a reduced value of metals is also nonoptional at the moment, but will be made aviable as an option as well.
This is from the manual, about non-optional changes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standarized Animal Materials
All animals will produce generic items. That reduces the amount of itemtypes significantly. This is one of the main features of the mod and speeds the game up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removed Soft Clothing
This feature removes standart clothing. Every dead dwarf or invader would normally drop 10-15 items. This fills your stockpile with unwanted stuff, makes trading way to easy, and slows down the game. With this mod only armor and weapons are left. You can still produce clothing if you wish so.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Invader Corpses
Because the corpse tag in the raws is currently broken, I decided to remove invader corpses entirely. Only bodyparts and blood is left. The bodyparts can be cremated into ash at the crematorium.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduced Value
Most items, especially weapons, armor and trapcomponents have their value decreased. This makes trading harder. But more invaders also mean more goblinite...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harder Mining
Mining is another feature that produces clutter. Thousands of stones are lying aroung, unused. 8 types of stones now leave no items anymore. This, in addition to the stone grinder, which can destroy boulders and several additions that use up a lot of stone, should keep the number of boulders very low. Or at least a lot lower then in the Vanilla DF.
List of changes:
Mircocline is now known as cave fungus and will only yield slime.
Bauxite is now known as living stone and will only yield blood
Sandstone will evaporate into sandy dust when mined and leaves nothing.
Rock salt will evaporate into salty dust when mined and leaves nothing.
Claystone will evaporate into clay dust when mined and leaves nothing.
Mudstone will evaporate into dirt dust when mined and leaves nothing.
Siltstone will evaporate into silty dust when mined and leaves nothing.
Chalk will evaporate into chalky dust when mined and leaves nothing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smaller civilian weapons
Adds a small chopping axe for the woodcutter and a smaller pick for the miner. Both are cheaper then the originals. You can still use battle axes or the new battle pick for mining and fighting though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
75 new Mood/Artifact Weapons/Armor
A huge selection of special weaponry and armorpieces that your smiths will only create when taken by a mood. Be prepared for some surprises.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removed Grazing from all animals.
Since the feature is slightly buggy and unfinished, you can now breed livestock underground. Tamed elephants or rhinos will now survive as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disabled the ability to cook booze or seeds.
Formerly you could make meals solely out of seeds or alcohol. Both has been disabled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+250 new pref strings
I added about 5 extra attributes to each vanilla creature. These pref strings show why a dwarf like or dislike something. So instead of reading: Speed or Cunning all the time, you have some more variety.