For reference, there are “Manual Bionic Installation” and “Safe Autodoc” mods included in the core release. If you don’t like the current autodoc setup, using these together means that you can install CBMs wherever you like, but the Autodoc offers the large benefit of being able to do so with no risk.
Personally, I like that balance, and I’ll be using it for the foreseeable future… although the addition of a crafting recipe for anesthetic kits may change my view on the subject.
Are you playing on the 0.C stable build? It’s getting pretty old - most people here will be playing some relatively recent experimental, thanks to the dev’s practice of keeping it fairly clean.
Nowadays you can get moderate acid protection for your feet pretty easily. It’s still not advisable to hang out in the puddles, but they’ll by no means cripple you in a single turn.
Acid is one of the reasons I like insect mutagen so much. Or just straight up going for the medical mutant route.
Last I played was around ~7200 in March. That’s not the char that died to acid, but it’s still something I plan to never experience again.