Introduction

This mod is designed to assist blind or visually impaired players navigate hades II better, to help players locate enemies, interactibles, NPCs, breakables, and exits. It includes the following features: • A tracking Beacon: Sound pings that change based on whether a target is in front of or behind you. • Animation Announcements: Realtime report of tracked targets' animations, useful to learn enemy patterns. • Navigation Tools: Optional wall collision sounds, as well as teleportation to targets (Experimental). • Target info announcements: Announces the selected target's distance and status

Usage

Controller

Mod features are accessed via a Modifier Layer. You hold down the modifier key to "freeze" your character and use other buttons to scan the room. Controls: • Modifier Key: Hold LT to activate the mod layer. • Cycle Category: While holding the modifier, press Attack (X / Square) for previous category, and special attack (Y / Triangle) for next • Cycle Targets: While holding the modifier, press Special interact (LB / L1) or Interact (RB / R1) for previous and next respectively • Track most important or closest: Press Dash (Cross / a) while holding the modifier button. Keep in mind that this behaves differently depending on whether or not smart tracking is enabled. See config section for details. • Get Target Info: Press Cast (Circle / b) while holding modifier. Speaks name, health, distance. • Teleport to Target: Press Inventory (Dpad right) (Only works if no enemies are active). • Player Info: Press Codex(Dpad up) while holding modifier. • Stop Tracking: Double-tap the Modifier button (LT).

Keyboard controls

These do not require you to hold any modifiers. • Prev/Next Target: [ and ] • Prev/Next Category: Shift + [ and Shift + ] • Track Closest: | • Target Info: ' ' • Player Info: P • Teleport to Target: O, (Only outside combat)

Configuration (config.cfg)

AccessDisplay (TTS Settings)

• AnnounceAnimations: Speak animation names of tracked targets when they update. • AnnounceAnimationsDuringDialog: Animations are automatically sspoken for all participents during dialog. You can choose to turn this off here • AnnounceObstacles: Speak the name of objects you collide with. • DescribeStatusEffects: Gives a short description of what an effect does when it's announced in player / target info • ShortenHealthStrings: Set to true for "50 of 100" instead of "50 of 100 health." • InfoArray: The order of data spoken during a target check (e.g., Name, Health, Dist). • CategoriesArray: Determines which groups are available when cycling categories, as well as their order.

AccessModNavigation (Collisions)

• PlayWallCollisionSounds: Plays a sound when walking into walls. • PlayObstacleCollisionSounds: Plays a sound when running in to objects, (useless for now). • WallCollisionSound: The audio GUID used for the collision ping, if you wanted to use your own audioBank for some reason.

AccessModControls

• DOUBLE_TAP_THRESHOLD: How fast you must press the modifier to stop tracking (default 0.25 seconds).

TrackingBeaconGlobal (Audio Beacon)

• Toggle: Enable or disable beacon sounds. In case you wanted this mod just for target info • ScaleFactor: Distance divider. 100.0 means 500 units is spoken as "5." • MaxDistance: Objects beyond this range are ignored by the beacon. • MinInterval / MaxInterval: The speed of the ping. The ping is faster (Min) when close and slower (Max) when far. • SortByScore: If true, the beacon prioritizes important targets (Bosses/HighThreat enemies, boons, Harvestables etc...). if this is set to false, the mod defaults to sorting targets by distance

CategoryWeights

Adjusts the priority of object types when SortByScore is active: • Unit: 3.0 (Enemies/NPCs) • Loot: 3.0 (Boons/Hammer) • Door: 2.5 (Exits) • Weapon: 1.6 (Weapon Kits)

TrackingBeaconTargetCategories (Filters)

Modify how specific categories behave: You can either make your own categories or edit existing ones. Filter examples include: • IgnoreInvulnerable: If true, the beacon skips objects that cannot be damaged. • IgnoreSelf: Prevents the beacon from tracking the player character. • LinkedCategories: Allows a category to search for multiple types (e.g., Terrain also finds Traps). Note, these use the configuration of the parrent category • DestinationTypes: Adds specific internal object names (like ShipWheels) to a category.

Target Scoring System (For the curious)

If smart tracking is enabled, the Tracking Beacon uses a dynamic scoring system to prioritize objects and enemies based on their immediate importance to gameplay. Instead of simply tracking the closest target, it calculates a score by evaluating the following factors:

Enemies and NPCs

• Aggression: Enemies actively attacking or chasing you receive a massive score increase to ensure they are tracked first. • Threat Level: Bosses and Elite enemies are prioritized over standard units. • Health and Armor: Targets with high maximum health or active armor buffers receive higher scores. • Story and Progression: NPCs with new dialogue, important "wants to talk" icons, or those required to progress the current room are given higher priority. • Gifting: Any character eligible to receive a gift (like Nectar) receives a score boost.

Exit Doors

• Pinned Items: If you have "pinned" a specific resource in a shop, any door offering that reward becomes a top priority. • High-Value Upgrades: Doors offering Hammers (Weapon Upgrades), God Boons, or Pom Upgrades are scored higher. • Health Needs: If your health is low, doors offering healing rewards receive a significant boost. Conversely, doors with a health cost are penalized when your health is low but prioritized when you are healthy. • Encounter Type: Doors leading to Boss or Mini-boss encounters are prioritized over standard rooms.

Loot and Consumables

• Loot: Major loot like Boons from Gods or Selene are prioritized over generic items. • Dropped Rewards: Items already on the ground, such as Gold or bones, receive a high priority boost to ensure they are collected. • Affordability: If an item has a resource cost (like Gold Crowns) that you cannot afford, its score is reduced to prevent the beacon from leading you to something you cannot buy.

Resources and Obstacles

• Gathering Tools: Resource nodes (like Ore or Fish) receive a score boost, but this is heavily reduced if you do not have the required tool equipped. • Stat Boosts: Objects that provide Max Health, Mana, or Rerolls increase in priority based on the value of the boost. • Interaction Blocks: If an object is currently blocked by enemies or is otherwise not useable, its score is reduced.

Weapons

• Bonus Rewards: In the training area, weapons currently offering a "Grave Thirst" bonus are prioritized over others.

If you run in to any issues, please contact me. have fun

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

Unreleased

0.6.1 - 2026-03-05

Fixed

• Hopefully fixed a bug where the game throws an error if the 'Names' array in GetIdsByType contains one element. This happens in cases such as with Rivals Polyphemus.

0.6.0 - 2026-01-22

Added

• You can now add permanent beacons to objects to make them beep without having to track them. Useful with familiars. Note that this is still experimental and not as good as I'd want it to be, so feedback would be appreciated.
• You can now mute or unmute beacon sounds. This includes those of the permanent beacon
• For controler users: Added a system for control holds to perform alternative actions, so now I have more options for controls to use in for if new features get added. You can configure how long you have to hold buttons for in [AccessModControls.controlHoldTimer] set to 0.25 by default
• Added the option to override user config entries for necessary resets. This shouldn't happen often, but know that it is necessary for this particular update.
• For anyone wanting to mess around with the sounds, The repository now includes the fmod project used to create the audiobank. The data folder also contains the GUIDs.txt.

Changed

• This update will reset the [AcccessDisplay.LongInfoArray] config entry to defaults. Apologies for this, but it is necessary.

Fixed

• You should no longer be able to teleport while you are concocting witchcraft or singing with Artemis
• The amount of gold crowns you have now appears properly when getting player info.

0.5.0 - 2026-01-18

Added

• You can now change the mod's keyboard controls from [config.AccessModControls.KeyboardControls]. Check the readme to see how it works

• It is now possible to modify what information appears when actively getting target info, such as by pressing lt + cast, or ' on the keyboard. This can be done in config.AccessDisplay.LongInfoArray. Note that this array also applies to player information.

Changed

• • Actively getting target info using the speak target info control now speaks distance by default.

Fixed

• Fixed a bug where the effect description announcements config entry was being ignored.

0.4.4 - 2026-01-12

Fixed

• Fixed an issue with non ascii characters being substituted when converting camelcase to normal spaces

0.4.3 - 2026-01-11

Fixed

• Fixed a critical crash when cycling to an unconfigured beacon category.

Changed

• Activating the mod layer (holding LT) no longer locks player movement.

0.4.2 - 2026-01-10

Fixed

• Corrected audio file path in data/ folder to ensure proper loading.

0.4.1 - 2026-01-10

Fixed

• Ensured that important story objects correctly appear in tracking targets.

0.4.0 - 2026-01-04

Added

• Improved smart tracking prioritization for harvestables when the player has access to the appropriate tools.
• Inspect points now receive higher priority in smart tracking.

Fixed

• Multiple bugs related to scoring and display logic.
• Various inconsistencies in how targets are ranked and announced.

Changed

• Further refined smart targeting behavior.

0.3.1 - 2026-01-03

Fixed

• Multiple display issues related to target announcements.
• Traps with health are no longer incorrectly scored as enemies.
• Armor information is now correctly reported when selecting targets.
• Door reward info no longer displays incorrect rewards.
• Ship wheels now properly appear in the list of trackable targets.
• Enemy category switching is now handled internally on enemy death instead of forcing a category switch.

0.3.0 - 2025-12-30

Added

• Ability to switch beacon categories and targets even when normal input would not be allowed.
• Teleportation to tracked objects while not in combat.
• Proper info display for garden plots.

Changed

• Input handling relaxed to improve accessibility and usability in constrained states.

0.2.2 - 2025-12-29

Added

• Completed NPC and hero animation translations into friendly, spoken strings.

0.2.1 - 2025-12-28

Fixed

• Display strings that were not appearing as friendly text.
• Familiar resting points now correctly appear as targets.
• Missing tracked file added to version control.

0.2.0 - 2025-12-27

Added

• Smart targeting system that sorts objects based on importance.
• Tracking automatically switches to the next target when an enemy is killed.
• Linked category support via LinkedCategories configuration.
• NPCs, items, boons, familiars, and equippable weapons are now trackable in appropriate categories.
• Keyboard controls for all major mod features.

Changed

• Group initialization logic reworked to better support inherited and inactive objects.
• Main thread logic updated so beacon interval changes apply almost instantly.
• Category sorting and target info order made configurable.

Fixed

• Codex info now correctly appears for all objects.
• Icons are now handled consistently.

0.1.2 - 2025-12-23

Added

• Obstacle collision sounds and spoken announcements.
• Double-tap functionality for modifier controls to stop tracking.
• Beacon no longer plays while in menus or screens.
• Spoken announcements for target animations during combat and dialog.

Changed

• ModControls system reworked for better reliability and responsiveness.

0.1.1 - 2025-12-18

Added

• Detailed target info announcements including name, health, armor, distance, animation, and effects.
• Player self-info via Codex key while holding the modifier.
• Configurable category sorting and info ordering.

Fixed

• Load issues by moving bank and thread initialization to OnAnyLoad.

Changed

• Significant code refactoring in preparation for initial release.

0.1.0 - 2025-12-12

Added

• Core audio tracking beacon system.
• Target closest controls and beacon toggle.
• Finalized controller mappings and spoken display text.
• Early animation announcements and friendly string translations.

0.0.1 - 2025-12-03

Added

• Initial implementation of the accessibility tracking beacon.
• Basic target detection and distance-based sorting.