CustomCreatureCarry

Carry a tamed creature above your head, take it through portals, and place it on clear ground or a floor. Based on Wendigo's CreatureCarry 1.3.0, with a new multiplayer implementation.

0.2.0 is an early test build targeting Valheim 1.0.12 and BepInExPack_Valheim 5.4.2350. Our test group reported carrying working in listen-server multiplayer on 0.1.0. The new breeding hover display still needs confirmation from both players in your session; dedicated-server gameplay and the complete recovery checklist remain unverified. Use a disposable world or a backup copy for initial testing.

Validation for 0.2.0: clean compilation, 17 ownership/placement checks and all 13 game patch targets passed. Runtime plugin loading and automated host pickup/release passed on 0.1.0; the group also reported carrying working in listen-server multiplayer. The new hover display is packaged for the group to test: its prepared in-game test was not run at the user's request. Distant portals and the full synchronization/recovery checklist remain gameplay test targets.

Install with r2modman

1. Select Valheim and create a separate test profile.
2. Install denikson-BepInExPack_Valheim version 5.4.2350 or a compatible later version.
3. Open Settings, find Import local mod, and choose the CustomCreatureCarry-0.2.0.zip release package. Depending on r2modman version this option may be under the Profile tab.
4. Install the same package on the host and every joining player's profile. Remove/disable Wendigo's original CreatureCarry in those profiles; the two plugins are declared incompatible.
5. Start the game through Start modded. The host starts a world normally and enables Start Server to host a listen server.

If the manager's local import is unavailable, open that profile's folder and copy the package's plugins/CustomCreatureCarry folder into BepInEx/plugins.

When this package is published to the Valheim community on Thunderstore, it can be installed from r2modman's Online list. It does not need a separate r2modman upload. This source bundle does not imply that publication has already happened.

Controls

• Aim at a nearby tamed creature and press Left Alt + E to pick it up.
• Press Left Alt + E again to place it where the green circle appears.
• Move to an open area if no placement circle appears. Placement checks the creature's approximate full-size capsule.
• Remove a creature's saddle before picking it up.

One creature per player; one player per creature. All connected players must run this exact mod version before the host accepts pickup. A new player without the mod causes active carries to be released. A version handshake may take a few seconds after joining.

Multiplayer behavior

The host validates pickup/release, owns each carried creature's persistent network object, and distributes carry state. Each peer displays that same creature above the carrier. The creature is not deleted and recreated, so its existing network data remains attached to its identity.

The implementation supports host-side logic without a local player for dedicated servers. Install the plugin on the dedicated server as well as every client. Dedicated-server sessions and the full multiplayer acceptance checklist remain test targets.

Disconnect, death, incompatible peers and normal host shutdown release the creature. After reopening a save made during a carry, the host clears the saved carry state and releases the creature near the saved carrier position. Abrupt crashes still roll back to the game's latest completed save.

Carrying behavior is changed; the optional breeding hover display only reads existing creature state. Damage, AI, breeding and growth are suspended while carried. The original creature's scale, enabled colliders, AI and physics states are restored on release. There are no egg-hatching, OdinMounts, ChebsNecromancy or general tame-protection changes.

Pregnancy and mating hover display

Aim at a tamed adult boar to see its breeding information in the normal hover HUD. It also works with other tamed creatures that use Valheim's Procreation component, such as wolves and lox. Wild creatures and babies without that component do not show these lines.

Before pregnancy, the display shows:

Pregnant: No
Mating: 50% (2/4)
Breeding: Ready - waiting for mating

Mating percentage means accumulated love points divided by the creature's required love points. It advances in steps after successful mating checks; it is not a pregnancy probability or a countdown. The displayed denominator comes from the creature's actual settings.

Breeding conditions include Hungry - needs food, Frightened, Crowded (X/Y nearby), No fed, non-pregnant partner nearby, and Paused while carried. Crowding counts adults and offspring within the creature's breeding radius, following the installed game's checks. Nearby conditions refresh twice per second while hovering and can briefly differ between peers as objects and network updates arrive. Mods that rewrite breeding rules may require separate compatibility work.

Once pregnant, the display changes to Pregnant: Yes (50%). Pregnancy progress uses the replicated pregnancy timestamp and the creature's configured duration. It stops at 100% - birth pending while waiting for the game's next birth check. A carried pregnant creature also shows Birth paused while carried; elapsed pregnancy time can continue, but our carry system prevents birth until release. Crowding prevents new pregnancies, not an already-pregnant creature's birth.

This display does not change breeding chances, food requirements, population limits, pregnancy timers, or creature ownership. Each player can disable it with [Display] ShowBreedingStatus = false in BepInEx/config/com.ras10.customcreaturecarry.cfg.

Everyone, including the host, must update CustomCreatureCarry to 0.2.0 together because the carry protocol requires matching mod versions. Other hover mods can add duplicate information; disable one display if needed.

Configuration

The game creates BepInEx/config/com.ras10.customcreaturecarry.cfg on first launch.

Host gameplay settings are sent to clients. Edit the configuration while the game is closed, or use a compatible configuration editor.

Troubleshooting and limits

• Check BepInEx/LogOutput.log for [startup.ok] CustomCreatureCarry 0.2.0 and [network.ready].
• A waiting-for-host message means the host has not completed the compatible-version handshake.
• Console, chat, inventory and menus suppress the pickup hotkey.
• Custom modded creatures and mod interactions need their own tests. Begin with vanilla boars and wolves.
• Clear space is checked on the carrying client; the host also checks it where its geometry is loaded. The host always validates ownership and placement distance. This is a cooperative mod, not an anti-cheat system.
• Terrain/floor placement, distant portals, visibility to other players, boats, disconnects and recovery must pass the checklist in TESTING.md before moving to a valuable world.
• Release every creature and save before uninstalling. To recover a save with active carry state, load it once with the mod enabled before removing it.

Credits

Original mod: Wendigo's CreatureCarry, version 1.3.0. See CREDITS.md for provenance. Significant portions of this version were developed with AI assistance; select the AI Generated category when publishing on Thunderstore.