Removes Incongruent Book Spawns from Child Mobs and School Libraries

[DoctorBoomstick]

Summary

None

Purpose of change

In the words of many a seezened CDDA player, child enemies and schools are a manual goldmine for crafting, computers, and science books of all stripes. This does not make much sense. I am not speaking of the number of books attainable from these sources. I am not speaking of the fact that the player can find skill-raising books at these locations. I am, however, speaking of immersion, particularly my immersion, which gets shattered like a child zombie below my speeding Humvee when I bumble into a school library and can’t tell if I’m looking at a school’s book repository or an industrial workshop’s reference manual collection.
To my best understanding of the nature of the cosmic enigma of childhood, when in school, young humans generally learn mathematics, history, English, and other elementary subjects. According to my research, they do not learn molecular chemistry, company-level software engineering, brewing alcohol, how to manufacture IC chips, paramedic-level wound treatment, sword smithing, robotics construction, the art of high-temperature welding, clandestine lockpicking, police evasion, knife throwing, street fighting, motor skills, drug making, industrial engineering, concrete production, designer sowing methods, natural gas theory, university-level biology, building construction, bow making, stock brokering, and ballista making. I do not speak as an American, so if y’all over in Freedom Town are raising your younglings to become expert bronze-age blacksmiths by the age of 13, sound off in the comments.
While I’m relatively sure that the impressive specimen of humanity who studied the atom while the rest of us 9-year-olds were off learning basic math or the parent who’s 5-year-old daughter’s greatest joy in life is welding battleship hulls in a shipyard is going to tell me how wrong I really am, I feel like a lot of these books make little sense. This is especially poignant considering all our in-game institutions are meant to be primary or early secondary schools.

Describe the solution

I have gone through the manuals_school item group and conducted an audit of the books within, as well as removing the textbooks_school item group and recycling any needed books within the former. I have determined which books merited removal based upon their description and skill level, with, largely, books above skill level 3 being pruned out. For reference, skill level 3, according to game documentation, is considered to be “Proficient hobbyist level: 3-4 You've used the tools for a while, and they don't feel unfamiliar to you. Given enough directions, you can do most things.” while skills beyond level 4 are classified as “early professional level: 5–6 (You've been using these tools a while and know not just how to use them but also how to do some impressive stuff and some of the more efficient shortcuts and common pitfalls.)”
While the term zombie child, can be stretched to mean any person between birth and age 17, the most popular, vocalised definition points towards a child no older than early teens, about 13–14. In rare instances, I have judged that some higher-level books that go beyond my aforementioned criteria could remain; however, their existence is annotated in the comments.
The standing list of removed books that should, barring any missed item group shenanigans, now not drop from zombie children or spawn within school libraries is as follows:

• chemistry textbook
• Advanced Physical Chemistry
• Principles of Advanced Programming
• Computer Science 301
• Advanced Electronics
• 101 Important Integrated Circuits
• Advanced Economics
• The Homebrewer's Bible
• Engineering 301
• SICP
• Guide to Advanced Emergency Care
• The Complete Home Repair Guide
• Robots for Fun & Profit
• Mechanical Mastery
• Biodiesel: Renewable Fuel Resource
• DIY Compendium
• Welding and Metallurgy
• Concrete Constructions
• Sewing Techniques for Designers
• The Bowyer's Buddy
• The Fletcher's Friend
• First Responder Handbook
• AAA Guide
• Outdoor Survival Guide
• The Modern Tanner
• A History of Firefighting
• Arms and Armor of Imperial China
• The Historic Weaponsmith
• Tools of Warfare in the Arabic World
• The Swords of the Samurai
• Studies in Historic Armorsmithing
• The Art of Japanese Armormaking
• The Art of Warfare in Precolumbian Mesoamericas
• The Bronze Age Encyclopedia
• MIT Guide to Lock Picking
• Fermenting Culture
• Introduction to Plant Biology
• The Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook
• Artillery of the Ancients
• 101 Wrestling Moves
• The Rules of the Road
• CRC-Merck Handbook, 4th edition
• Machinery's Handbook
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Merck Veterinary Manual
• You Can Can at Home
• Can Sealer Instructions
• Vacuum Sealer Instructions

Describe alternatives you've considered

There really should be miscellaneous academic books within these settings: math, language, history, basic science, and other school textbooks that should hold no serious knowledge value for the player; while it’s great knowing that Charlemagne never learned his letters and took a wax tablit with him to practice his writing wherever he went, it’s not going to help you craft a longsword. In addition, should a university ever be added, most of these removed books could find a home within its campus library, with a good portion also being useful for high school spawns further down the line.

Testing

It’s a matter of deleting item group entries; however, the removal of the textbooks _school item group might cause some unforeseen amusement.

Additional context

[Montimorency]

Could we add a low spawn probability of manuals described as university-level textbooks? Child zombies seem to abstract humans aged 5-17 - otherwise we would have to admit that high schools and teenagers are completely unrepresented in the game* - and there are certainly a large number of high schools in Massachusetts that purport to teach college-level coursework for some classes. Also, as a general note, it is not uncommon for high schools to offer coursework toward trade certifications, usually something like Networking or other IT-related skills.

Maybe not so much in West Virginia, but Massachusetts I have no doubt. Albeit only an upper-middle class or higher high school library should have miscellaneous subject textbooks available, because money. Class books should go home with the student they are assigned to.

(One might say that C:DDA schools should tend to be spammed with Lvl1-2 books for non-combat skills.)

So for your purposes I would specifically recommend "chemistry textbook" as a candidate for school spawns.

Although I don't understand why books or manuals should ever drop on zombies other than "loot piñata."

*Come to think of it, there don't seem to be colleges or unis in the game.