Modsmith Cycle

Modsmith Cycle shortens the restart loop while testing Valheim mods on Windows. From a locally hosted world, open the Escape menu and choose SAVE & RESTART MODDED.

It will:

• give you five seconds to cancel;
• use Valheim's normal save-and-quit path;
• wait until Valheim has fully exited;
• ask Steam to relaunch Valheim through the same -applaunch 892970 route used by r2modman;
• rebuild the active profile's Doorstop/BepInEx arguments from the currently loaded profile;
• select the same character and reopen the same local world as a private session.

The active profile is preserved through its absolute Doorstop/BepInEx launch arguments. Modsmith Cycle does not click through or automate the r2modman interface. Version 0.1.1 uses Steam for the relaunch because launching Valheim.exe directly can start an unmodded session.

Safety guards

• Local worlds only. It will not auto-resume a remote or dedicated server.
• By default, restart is blocked while another player is connected.
• Each auto-resume uses a unique one-use token.
• Resume requests expire after three minutes by default.
• A detached helper waits for Valheim to exit before starting the replacement process.
• If character or world selection fails, the cycle stops at the menu and does not retry.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Valheim 1.0.12
• BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350
• A locally hosted world

The small restart helper targets .NET Framework 4.8, which is included with supported Windows 10/11 installations.

Installation

Keep both files together in the same plugin folder:

BepInEx/plugins/ModsmithCycle/ModsmithCycle.dll
BepInEx/plugins/ModsmithCycle/ModsmithCycle.Restarter.exe

Start Valheim with Start modded in r2modman. Enter a local world alone, press Escape, and use the button in the lower-right corner.

You can also use Left Ctrl + F9 while the Escape menu is open.

Configuration

Settings are written to BepInEx/config/MaddCatter.ModsmithCycle.cfg.

• Restart.CountdownSeconds — cancel window, from 1 to 30 seconds.
• Restart.AutoResumeLocalWorld — restart to the menu instead of reopening the world when disabled.
• Safety.RequireNoOtherPlayers — blocks restart when a peer is connected; enabled by default.
• Safety.MaximumResumeAgeSeconds — rejects delayed resume requests.
• Hotkeys.Restart — optional shortcut used only while the Escape menu is open.
• Compatibility.SteamExecutableOverride — optional full path to Steam.exe if automatic detection cannot find a nonstandard Steam installation.

Scope

Version 0.1.1 supports Windows and locally hosted worlds. It reloads the mods and configuration already present in the active r2modman profile; it does not install, stage, or replace mod files itself.

The save, modded Steam relaunch, active-profile preservation, character selection, and same-world resume sequence has been verified on a live Valheim 1.0.12 installation.

Privacy and networking

Modsmith Cycle makes no network requests and collects no data. The helper receives only the current process ID, executable path, launch arguments, working directory, and one-use resume token through a temporary local request file.

Changelog

0.1.6

• Hotfix: corrected the restart helper to read the V2 launch-request format written by the current plugin.
• Preserved every repeated Argument= entry so the active r2modman/BepInEx launch arguments are passed back to Steam correctly.
• Restored the save → shutdown → Steam relaunch → character/world resume sequence.
• The main ModsmithCycle.dll behavior is unchanged from 0.1.5; this hotfix replaces the mismatched helper packaged with 0.1.5.

0.1.5

• Reworked the Escape-menu restart control to use Valheim's native button styling.
• Added a matching native gold ornament above the Modsmith Cycle restart button.
• Moved restart status and cancellation messages directly below the button and stabilized their layout.
• Fixed inherited native-button behavior that could trigger the original Settings action.
• Removed temporary UI diagnostics after final placement was verified.
• Cleaned obsolete fields from the plugin-to-restarter launch contract.
• Removed the retired opening-cinematic skip functionality and stale configuration references.
• Disabled unfinished automatic remote-server reconnect behavior while preserving the framework for future co-op work.
• Preserved same-character and same-local-world automatic resume.
• Preserved locally hosted-session settings so friends can reconnect normally after the host restarts.
• Revalidated the full save, shutdown, Steam relaunch, character restore, and local-world resume cycle on Valheim 1.0.15.

0.1.4

• Updated the packaged Modsmith Cycle plugin to build 0.1.4.
• Updated the support link to https://discord.gg/ZxJ8wRtxhQ.
• Bundled the restart helper and Thunderstore package metadata for the 0.1.4 release.

0.1.3

• Reissued the cinematic-skip and same-server reconnect update under a fresh Thunderstore version after the removed listing retained version 0.1.2.
• Kept the same ModsmithCycle package identity so existing installations can update normally.
• Added the Mod Support Discord channel to the package documentation and metadata.

0.1.2

• Added a configurable skip for Valheim's opening cinematic, enabled by default.
• Added immediate title-menu advancement when a valid Modsmith auto-resume is pending.
• Restores hosted-server, public-listing, crossplay, and salted password-verifier settings so friends can reconnect after the world reloads.
• Added guest-client restart and automatic reconnection to the same Steam, PlayFab/crossplay, or direct-address server.
• Uses Valheim's normal password prompt for guest reconnection; readable server passwords are not stored.
• Kept ordinary title-menu access unchanged when no auto-resume request exists.
• Left engine and publisher splash screens that occur before BepInEx initialization untouched.

0.1.1

• Changed relaunching from direct Valheim.exe execution to Steam -applaunch 892970, matching r2modman's Windows launch route.
• Rebuilds the active profile's Doorstop 3 or Doorstop 4 arguments from the currently loaded BepInEx directory.
• Added automatic Steam.exe discovery from the running Steam process and standard installation folders.
• Added an optional Steam executable override for nonstandard installations.
• Increased the post-exit delay to give Steam time to release the previous game session.
• Corrected an empty launch-argument request edge condition found by the helper smoke test.
• Verified the complete save, modded relaunch, active-profile preservation, and same-local-world resume cycle on Valheim 1.0.12.

0.1.0

• Added an Escape-menu save-and-restart button.
• Added a configurable five-second countdown and cancel action.
• Added a hidden Windows helper that waits for Valheim to exit before relaunching.
• Preserved the current r2modman profile through the existing Doorstop/BepInEx launch arguments.
• Added same-character and same-local-world automatic resume.
• Added private-session enforcement for automatic local-world resume.
• Added connected-player blocking, expiring requests, one-use tokens, and restart-loop protection.
• Added an optional Left Ctrl + F9 menu shortcut.