I know this might not be feasible, but it would be lovely to have a more stripped-down version of DTN available--I love a lot of the features added, but there's so MUCH it adds that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially when fitting it into larger modpacks. An option to download a lighter version with only basic dog behaviours and mechanics but without all the accessories/upgrade options/etc. would make this a shoe-in for me just about anywhere.

Obviously maintaining a whole different version would be taxing, so my suggestion would be to make a DTN Lite for just the most-used MC versions (e.g. 1.20.1, 1.21.1), and make it clear that it's not getting priority or new features beyond maybe some bugfixes from the full mod.

We appreciate your feedback. Although we'd love to understand more about:

1. What the "overwhelming stuffs" that you mention are.
2. What you meant when you said that those were overwhelming.
3. What alternative you'd suggest to replace them

Assuming you are mentioning the items, for now, those serve as either:

1. Required for some of DTN's core mechanics (e.g, Koji for Injured Mode, Scent Treat for Sniffer Dog).

2. Accessories that you may or may not use to customize your Dog for a more personalized experience.

3. Food items that belong to DTN's Food system, which is created as an alternative, easier, and sustainable food source to keep your Dog nourished with you without relying on third parties (e.g what if the author of Farmer Delight doesn't want their food to be fed to Wolves/Dogs except their Dog Food, which we do not encourage to be fed to DTN Dogs as it is depicted containing Rotten Flesh and it's recipe contains Rotten Flesh by default). Besides, you can still also feed your dog anything that vanilla wolves can consume (except Rotten Flesh).

4. Fun little easter eggs (like Piano) that either provide an extra decoration or simply would not interfere with your gameplay experience.

As you said, maintaining a DTN Lite will definitely cost us time. But what I would also like to add is that, besides the cross mc versions, we might need to maintain both modloaders (Neoforge/Forge and Fabric) at the same time as well. Along with that, we'd need to redesign some of the core mechanics to synergize them with the new system, which is much more limited. These combined would split our focus and dilute the quality of the main project. We’d rather pour all our time into refining the full experience.

Moreover, modpack creators have their ability to shape DTN to their liking, and it is generally their duty to deal with what they think is imperfect for their project, e.g, the multiple types of rice, the additional items, etc. We already have third-party compatibility patching tools like CraftTweaker. Heck, even vanilla's Data System or the modding platform expanded toolset exists for a reason. People have different visions, and we can't guarantee to satisfy everyone.