Slow Sailing Bagpipes

Play custom bagpipe music while rowing your Viking longship!

Description

Tired of the silence while rowing your boat in Valheim? This mod adds atmospheric bagpipe music that plays automatically when you row at slow speed (forward or backward). Perfect for those long journeys across the ocean!

Features

• Automatic Music Playback: Music starts after about 0.1 seconds of eligible rowing, then fades in over 1.5 seconds
• Forward & Backward Rowing: Works with both rowing directions
• Custom Music Support: Add your own MP3, OGG, or WAV files
• Random Selection: Multiple tracks? The mod randomly picks one each time
• Smooth Transitions: 1.5-second fade-in, 0.5-second fade-out
• Grace Period: Stop rowing briefly? Music resumes instantly within 10 seconds
• Game Music Muting: Automatically mutes Valheim's soundtrack during playback
• Configurable: Adjust volume and track folder location

How to Use

1. Get in a boat (Raft, Karve, or Longship)
2. Set speed to slow (press W until you see the rowing animation)
3. Row briefly - after about 0.1 seconds, the music will start fading in
4. Stop rowing - music fades out, but resumes instantly if you start again within 10 seconds

Customizing Your Music

Using r2modman (Recommended)

1. Launch r2modman and select your Valheim profile
2. Click "Settings" → "Browse profile folder"
3. Navigate to: BepInEx/plugins/BagPipesTracks/
4. Add your MP3/OGG/WAV files to this folder
5. Delete or replace the placeholder ghost_bagpipe_track.mp3
6. Launch the game!

Supported Audio Formats

• MP3 (recommended) - 192 kbps or higher
• OGG (Ogg Vorbis)
• WAV (uncompressed)

Tips for Best Results

• Use loopable tracks for seamless playback
• Recommended length: 30-120 seconds
• Multiple files will be randomly selected each time
• Files should be non-zero size (delete the 0-byte placeholder!)

Finding Bagpipe Music

Looking for royalty-free bagpipe music?

• Freesound: https://freesound.org/ (search "bagpipes")
• Pixabay Music: https://pixabay.com/music/ (search "bagpipes" or "celtic")
• YouTube Audio Library: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary
• Incompetech: https://incompetech.com/music/ (Kevin MacLeod)

Note: The included track is from Uppbeat - License code: ZYTOPY5OYRRTR1FG

Configuration

After first launch, edit the config file at:

BepInEx/config/eh.mataeo.valheim.slowsailingbagpipes.cfg

Available Settings

[General]
Enabled = true              # Master toggle (true/false)
Volume = 0.85               # Bagpipe volume (0.0 to 1.0), scaled by the in-game Master and Music sliders

[Audio]
TrackDirectory = BagPipesTracks  # Audio folder (relative or absolute path)

Troubleshooting

No music plays

• Ensure you have audio files in the BagPipesTracks folder
• Check that files are not 0 bytes (delete placeholder)
• Verify you're rowing at slow speed (not half or full)
• Keep rowing for at least 0.1 seconds
• Check the log: BepInEx/LogOutput.log

Music doesn't stop

• This is a known Valheim API quirk - try stopping and starting rowing
• Check BepInEx/plugins/Logs/ for the mod's detailed log

Want different music volume?

• The bagpipes follow the in-game Master and Music volume sliders, so adjust those first
• To change the bagpipes relative to the game's music, edit the config file and change Volume = 0.85 (0.0 to 1.0)
• Volume and TrackDirectory changes apply immediately while the mod is running

Technical Details

• Trigger delay: 0.1 seconds
• Fade-in: 1.5 seconds
• Fade-out: 0.5 seconds
• Grace period: 10 seconds
• Rowing detection: Forward (Ship.Speed.Slow) OR Backward (Ship.Speed.Back)

Compatibility

• Valheim: 1.0 and later (verified against 1.0, Unity 6000.0.75f1)
• BepInEx: 5.4.2350+
• Multiplayer: Client-side only (each player hears their own music)

Source Code & Issues

• GitHub: https://github.com/mataeo-eh/Valheim-Slow-Sailing-Bagpipes-Mod
• Report bugs: https://github.com/mataeo-eh/Valheim-Slow-Sailing-Bagpipes-Mod/issues

Credits

• BepInEx Team: Mod framework
• Valheim Modding Team: Jotunn library
• Iron Gate Studio: Creating Valheim
• Music: Hidden Past by Kevin MacLeod (from Uppbeat)

License

MIT License - See GitHub repository for details

Changelog

v1.0.6 (2026-09-11) - Valheim 1.0 update

• Updated for Valheim 1.0 (Unity 6). Now requires BepInExPack_Valheim 5.4.2350 or later - older packs cannot load plugins on Unity 6 at all.
• Fixed vanilla music bleeding over the bagpipes on track changes
• Fixed the bagpipes going silent or playing on the wrong audio bus after returning from the main menu
• Rebuilt against the Valheim 1.0 game assemblies

v1.0.5 (2026-05-14)

• Initial public release
• Forward AND backward rowing support
• 0.1-second trigger delay
• Live config reload for volume and track directory updates
• Configurable volume and track directory
• Random track selection
• Smooth fade transitions

Enjoy your Viking sea voyages with custom bagpipe music!

Changelog

All notable changes to the Valheim Slow Sailing Bagpipes mod will be documented in this file.

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

[1.0.7] - 2026-09-11

Fixed

• The bagpipes now respect Valheim's volume settings. They used to play at a fixed loudness wherever the in-game Master and Music sliders were set, even with music turned all the way down. Valheim 1.0 doesn't apply those sliders through the audio mixer: MusicMan multiplies them into its own music source by hand (via the static MusicMan.m_masterMusicVolume). Routing the bagpipes to the music bus, as earlier versions did, never picked them up. Bagpipe volume is now Volume config × Master × Music, the same scaling vanilla music uses.
• Moving the in-game volume sliders now changes bagpipe loudness immediately, even mid-fade.

Changed

• The Volume config setting is now relative to the in-game volume sliders instead of absolute. At default game settings (Master and Music at 100%) the default 0.85 sounds the same as before.

[1.0.6] - 2026-09-11

Fixed

• Valheim 1.0 compatibility. Updated the required BepInEx pack to denikson-BepInExPack_Valheim-5.4.2350. Valheim 1.0 upgraded the game to Unity 6, and the previously pinned pack (5.4.2202) predates that - mod managers installing it would leave BepInEx unable to load any plugin.
• Vanilla music no longer bleeds over the bagpipes. Music is now suppressed by muting MusicMan's audio source instead of zeroing its volume and pausing it; Valheim rewrites that volume every frame and restarts playback on track changes, which defeated both.
• The mod now re-syncs to MusicMan when Valheim recreates it on a scene transition. The previous build kept a reference to the destroyed instance's mixer group, so bagpipes could play on the wrong audio bus - or stay silenced - after returning from the main menu.

Changed

• Rebuilt against the Valheim 1.0 (Unity 6, 6000.0.75f1) game assemblies.
• Corrected the Thunderstore description, which claimed a 3-second rowing delay; the actual trigger threshold has been 0.1 seconds since 1.0.5.

Verified (no change required)

• Ship.Speed (Stop/Back/Slow/Half/Full), Ship.GetSpeedSetting(), Ship.m_players, Player.GetControlledShip(), Player.GetDoodadController(), Player.IsAttachedToShip(), IDoodadController.GetControlledComponent() and MusicMan.m_musicSource are all unchanged in Valheim 1.0. Ship.IsSailUp() still excludes Slow/Back, so the rowing trigger remains correct.

[1.0.5] - 2026-05-14

Changed

• Reduced the rowing trigger threshold from 3 seconds to 0.1 seconds so playback starts almost immediately after eligible rowing begins.
• Volume and TrackDirectory config changes now apply live while the mod is running.

Technical Details

• Trigger delay: 0.1 seconds
• Fade-in duration: 1.5 seconds
• Fade-out duration: 0.5 seconds
• Grace period: 10 seconds
• Rowing detection: Forward OR backward rowing at slow speed

[1.0.0] - 2025-12-06

Added

• Initial public release
• Custom bagpipe music playback while rowing in Valheim
• Support for MP3, OGG, and WAV audio formats
• Random track selection from BagPipesTracks folder
• Configurable volume and track directory settings
• Rolling file logger with 7-file retention
• BepInEx configuration file support

Changed

• BREAKING: Rowing trigger now activates on BOTH forward (Ship.Speed.Slow) AND backward (Ship.Speed.Back) rowing
• Reduced trigger delay from 10 seconds to 3 seconds for more responsive music playback
• Changed fade-out duration from 1.5 seconds to 0.5 seconds for quicker transitions
• Updated version from 0.1.0 to 1.0.0

Fixed

• Removed hard-coded absolute paths from documentation files (DEVELOPMENT.md, QUICKSTART.md)
• All paths now use placeholders (<project-root>) or relative paths for better portability

Technical Details

• Fade-in duration: 1.5 seconds (unchanged)
• Fade-out duration: 0.5 seconds (reduced from 1.5s)
• Trigger delay: 3 seconds (reduced from 10s)
• Grace period: 10 seconds (unchanged)
• Rowing detection: Forward OR backward rowing at slow speed

[0.1.0] - 2025-12-05

Added

• Initial development version
• Basic rowing detection and audio playback
• JotunnLib autopublicize integration
• Fixed Valheim API compatibility issues

Notes

• Internal development version, not publicly released