VALBALL COMPATIBILITY

FROM WILD TRAILS TO HOME PASTURES

Bring the animal home. Let taming take its time.

ValBall Compatibility adds capture progression and animal transport rules to ValBall. Carry supported livestock to a new pasture, move an established pet, or work toward harder creatures as your Val Master skill and the world's boss progress grow. Wild animals still need normal taming after release.

Compatibility / v0.1.2
Requires ValBall 1.6.0, ConditionalConfigSync 1.0.9 and BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350. Built against Valheim 1.0.15. Install on every client and the dedicated server with matching helper versions. Optional horse support targets OdinHorse 1.7.3. Other creature mods are optional and are not bundled.
Early release: startup, joining and settings sync have been checked. Capture/release, cargo persistence and multiplayer animal transfers still await gameplay testing. Version 0.1.2 replaces the duplicated trough icon with a distinct animal capture-ball icon and updates the package notes. It contains the same helper DLL as 0.1.0 and 0.1.1; gameplay, config and network compatibility are unchanged.

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BRING THEM HOME / WHAT IT DOES

• Sets capture requirements through personal Val Master skill and world boss defeats.
• Supports listed livestock, horses, pets and selected hostile or aquatic creatures.
• Carries animal identity, stars, health, names and taming progress through supported captures.
• Includes handling for OdinHorse coat, armor, saddle and saddlebag contents.
• Checks horse cargo weight and portal restrictions, and requires suitable water for aquatic releases.
• Prevents repeat captures, tamed animals and failed attempts from farming capture XP.

This helper extends ValBall; it does not add its own ball items or tame a wild creature just by catching it. Creature support is limited to the list below and the documented versions. The implemented behavior is described here; the early-release note above explains which gameplay checks remain open.

READY THE BALL / INSTALLATION

1. Close Valheim and stop the dedicated server normally before installing or replacing its plugins.
2. Install this package and its dependencies in every player profile and on the server.
3. Start the server to generate BepInEx/config/vercadi.ValBallCompatibility.cfg, then join with the same helper version. Server-controlled settings take precedence during a session.

Manual installation: copy plugins/ValBallCompatibility from the ZIP into BepInEx/plugins after installing the dependencies.

Coming from the local candidate? Remove the local entry while the game is closed, install the published package and keep your config. Keep exactly one active ValBallCompatibility.dll. The public 0.1.1 package contains the unchanged 0.1.0 helper DLL.

Updating from Thunderstore 0.1.0? Version 0.1.1 changes the description and documentation only. Logs still report helper version 0.1.0. There are no new gameplay settings or binary changes, and this page update does not require a server restart.

Removal: Release stored animals and empty filled balls before uninstalling the helper. Native ValBall does not restore the helper's extra horse cargo/state by itself. A world reset is not required to install it.

EARN THE CATCH / PROGRESSION

Personal Val Master skill and world boss defeats control new wild captures. Boss progress is shared by the world. Already-tamed supported pets can be relocated at any skill level without capture XP.

Wild hostile creatures need 50% health or less. A basic ball starts at 60% success at the required skill, multiplied by 75% per star. Better balls and additional skill improve the chance, capped at 90%. Peaceful supported livestock is reliable once its requirements are met. Bosses, summoned pets, traders, camp workers and unreviewed creatures are excluded. Rejected targets return the ball; genuine failed catches retain ValBall's BreakOnFail setting.

The helper prevents repeat, already-tamed, young and home-bred captures from farming XP. Failed attempts award no XP. For the intended gentler progression, the development modpack uses XpMultiplier=2 and TameableXpFactor=100: a fresh zero-star Meadows capture then earns 40 raw XP before world/skill modifiers. This package does not distribute that private ValBall config; check the native ValBall settings on your server.

KEEP YOUR COMPANION / ANIMALS AND CARGO

Capturing a wild creature does not tame it. Normal food and taming still apply after release. The helper carries prefab identity, stars, health, names, feeding/pregnancy/growth timers and remaining taming progress through the ball. Supported OdinHorse state also includes coat, armor, waiting state, saddle and serialized saddlebags. Dismount, detach carts and close storage first. Conflicting local/network saddlebag contents cause a refusal rather than an overwrite.

Horse cargo contributes weight and keeps portal restrictions, including nested AdventureBackpacks. When the reviewed AdventureBackpackCompatibility helper is present, its synchronized boss-based metal policy is reused. Otherwise restricted cargo remains blocked. There is no new automatic transfer of cargo near portals.

RtD dolphin/orca/mermaid releases require unobstructed water, respectively 2/5/2 metres deep. Their normal taming progress uses 5/15/20 minutes of active taming and their world boss gates. Dolphins keep their shrimp diet. Land release of these aquatic animals is refused and the filled ball returned.

FIELD NOTES / SETTINGS AND COMPATIBILITY

vercadi.ValBallCompatibility.cfg contains the reviewed exact-prefab progression list. Omit an entry to disable new captures; existing filled balls remain releasable. Boss and skill requirements can be adjusted for listed species. Unknown prefab names are rejected. Native ValBall gameplay settings are synchronized from the server; map and UI preferences remain local.

This is a focused adapter for the reviewed ValBall 1.6.0 and optional OdinHorse 1.7.3 binaries. It replaces their capture/release path; mods patching the same path need review. It is not a universal serializer of every creature mod's custom data. The development modpack has CLLC elemental infusions and special effects disabled. Those extra traits are not supported by this release. Native growth bonuses, accelerated breeding, release auto-taming, follow commands and ball healing should remain disabled for the intended balance.

Recovery records are written outside the config folder, under BepInEx/ValBallRecovery. An interrupted or uncertain transfer disables further transports for that session and leaves a record for manual review. Do not replay records or throw another ball to resolve an uncertain transfer: that can duplicate or lose state. Normal completed records are removed.

FIRST JOURNEY / VALIDATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING

61 offline rule and installed-binary checks passed. On 23 September 2026, the unchanged 0.1.0 helper DLL loaded on the client and dedicated server, accepted a player connection and synchronized its settings. The packaged DLL matches both installations. That session only joined and quit; it did not validate animal transport or persistence.

Start with disposable livestock, then a named/starred horse with ordinary cargo and armor. Check capture, storage, save/rejoin, handoff to a friend and release. Test a forbidden capture, a full inventory, restricted cargo near a portal, and an aquatic release on land versus suitable water. Confirm exactly one animal/ball outcome and unchanged cargo. If a result is unexpected, keep the affected animal or filled ball and its contents unchanged, and include the action and logs in your report.

For a report, include the game and dependency versions, creature name, the action that failed and the relevant BepInEx log. Describe whether cargo, a portal or another player was involved. Remove private connection details before sharing logs.

CREDITS

Created by Vercadi as an independent compatibility add-on. Thanks to the authors of ValBall and to shudnal for ConditionalConfigSync. This is not an official release from either author. Their binaries and Valheim assemblies are not included.

Original code and package icon use the included MIT license. Development used AI assistance. The linked Ko-fi button is Ko-fi's brand artwork.

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