I think that lowering clutch sizes would fall right in line with this mod's history of change-towards-realism, and hardly impact most fortresses.
This is not a mod with
realism as the focus. The name itself implies
modest changes. When one considers that this term is
subjective, it's obvious that making changes that most everyone agrees to can be a tricky balancing act.
I agree with your point about using the mod "without reservation," but I don't think that anyone seriously auto-installs the mod because they read that line. Most everyone can judge for themselves, and will!
I don't think using Modest Mod "without reservation" means what you think it means. It's not about carelessly installing based purely on the mod's name. Nor is it about someone with a personality disorder who has difficulty in making simple decisions, such as whether or not to use this mod.
In the OP, Button (and Igfig, before him) describes this mod as, "an indispensable mod" and states:
The Modest Mod is a collection of vital bugfixes and tweaks that everyone should be able to use comfortably and without reservation. This mod doesn't add anything new. It doesn't do anything controversial. It's just like vanilla DF, but a little better.
The whole premise is to create a mod of essential bug fixes and tweaks that,
almost without exception, everyone can agree to.
Do you perhaps have another argument for the absurdity of eggs in their current state, beyond the personal convenience of an infinite food source?
Actually... I'll freely concede that the current egg situation is
absurd.
However, one of the stated purposes of this mod is serve as a foundation of bug fixes and
minor tweaks from which
mod authors can build their own mods.
Modest Mod does have certain extra tweaks and changes which some may not like or may feel deviates from Vanilla a bit too far. (Again, it's
subjective.) So, to make this mod appeal to as wide an audience as possible, these are available in the form of
optional Modules that are easy to either install or leave out.
Personally, I consider
Modest Bodies,
Pedestal, and
Tooltips to be so incredibly modest that I still don't understand why they're not a part of Modest's base code. (Pedestal, in particular: Players aren't forced to build a pedestal, even if it's an option.) For the most part, these will not impact gameplay. But I do respect that this is a matter of opinion and I have little problem with these remaining as optional modules.
Likewise, while I consider Accelerated (a massive reduction in stone types under a poorly-tested theory that it helps with FPS) to be a radical change from Vanilla that I do not want, I recognize that this is
beloved by some players who feel it is essential to them. I suspect there are even a few who fail to understand why Accelerated is controversial or why it's not a part of Modest's base code.
My question is: Why do some take issue with having radical changes to most egg-layers as an
optional Module instead of as part of the base code that
all mod users are forced to accept? Either that, or we must track down changes we don't like by comparing to Vanilla, file by individual file, creature by creature, line by line, and manually edit the code, ourselves. To either give up using Modest Mod or edit the code ourselves are
not appealing options. And it seems
quite unfair, merely because a few dislike the comparatively minor inconvenience of installing such as an
optional Module.
I think that eggs are broken in the current state of the game. It's not like food is all that difficult to acquire in DF, and when you can comfortably feed a fortress of fifty with just chickens it feels a bit strange.
I realize that eggs are broken. (Pun not intended.) The fact that egg size does not impact food quality speaks volumes. It's ridiculous that a giant Roc or Megabeast egg has the same food value as a small Crow egg.
But, mucking about with clutch sizes for dozens of creatures could be the start of a slippery slope. Where do we draw the line?
This is a matter of game balance and unfinished features. Do you realize how many aspects of DF beg for tweaks or fixes? I don't think Modest Mod should endeavor to fix any and all bugs and balance issues. Instead of expecting Modest Mod to be a Swiss Army Knife, aren't certain fixes better suited to optional modules or other mods that players can install?
Most everyone will agree that crop seasons needs some adjustments. Toady himself acknowledged this in a
recent Future of the Fortress reply, admitting "...we come from a family of botanists and gardeners, so you'd hope we get there." However, while there have been several 'seasonal farming' mods over the years, not everyone uses them.
You wouldn't suggest that
Claije's Seasonal Farming mod be merged into Modest Mod's base code, would you? Assuming, Claije is okay with that, not all players may appreciate Claije's approach to rebalancing crops. Some may like certain aspects of his changes, but dislike certain other aspects.
Those that are impacted would be reliant on highly specialized and "alternative" food industry, like your referenced Alligator farms.
To change clutch sizes
in general - not just for creatures that are
obviously broken, like crocodiles and giant insects - is to impact every mod user who ever raises one of the many creatures so adjusted. Granted, depending on how much it is nerfed, the impact could be positive or negative and it could be major or minor (and everything in between). But to claim that it will have
no impact to players in general is inaccurate.
This is ok, and since those playstyles are mostly about seeking challenges and breaking up the tedium of the normal farm-based food management I don't think it's exactly unreasonable to nerf their viability.
How much it gets nerfed will determine whether it's detrimental to players in general or to certain extreme play styles. As the saying goes, 'The devil is in the details.'
To put this in perspective: There are over 60 egg-laying creatures listed on the Wiki's page on
egg production, which the page itself admits is incomplete. All told, there are probably closer to 100 egg-layers.
It would be a
monumental task to make changes to
several dozen creatures in a way that even 90% of players will find
completely satisfactory. Such a rebalance is probably best attempted by Toady. At least, players would have to admit such changes are
Word of God.
If you want to rebalance the clutch size for all egg-layers, go ahead. Nobody is stopping you from making your own mod or a new optional module for Modest Mod.
But, how would you go about this? Would you make all the changes yourself? Would you test, in-game, every creature to make sure each is still worth raising for food? Would you at least create a poll to get the input of others - a giant poll, with clutch size options for each creature,
several dozen creatures in total?
Do you really, really like chickens? Or are you a shill from the AEB, sent to ensure the availability of virtual-eggs so as to promote RL consumption?!
Was that meant to be a joke? Otherwise, wasn't that a bit uncalled for?