Lethal Ecology

Thunderstore package: LethalEcology v0.1.0

Overview

Lethal Ecology is a Thunderstore mod for Lethal Company that adds persistent per-moon food webs, power-budget spawns, live specimen holding/transport, and cultivation. All features are driven by sidecar JSON data; the mod never edits the Lethal Company save files directly.

Installation

1. Install BepInEx 5.4.2304+ for Lethal Company if not already installed.
2. Download the latest LethalEcology-0.1.0.zip from Thunderstore.
3. Extract the archive. The contents should include:
   • manifest.json
   • README.md
   • icon.png
   • LethalEcology.dll
4. Place the LethalEcology.dll file into BepInEx/plugins/. The Thunderstore client can automate this.
5. Launch Lethal Company. The mod will load automatically.

Profiles

Two profile modes are available via the BepInEx config (LethalEcology.cfg):

• Canon-first (CanonFirst): Preserves vanilla spawn behavior. The mod tracks Food, Stability, and terminal data but only applies gentle spawn changes. Best for players who want ecology visibility without altering existing mob distributions.

• Full Ecology (FullEcology): Applies the complete system — budget, spawn caps, territory anchors, capture/hold, cultivation, and the food-web simulation. This is the default. Switch profiles by editing the Profile config entry and restarting the lobby.

Terminal Commands

All commands are entered at the ship terminal. Most are host-authoritative; vanilla clients can read but not change ecology state.

Command	Description
ecohelp	Shows this command list.
ecoindex	Lists every mechanic, species, crop, and moon.
ecostatus	Current moon dashboard (Food, Stability, Budget, populations).
ecomoons	All moons and their ecology summaries.
ecomoon <name>	Detailed view for a specific moon.
ecospecies [name]	Species index or full species sheet.
ecoweb	Current moon food web diagram.
ecobudget	Exact power budget math with FoodModifier and StabilityModifier.
ecocensus	Populations, spawn caps, and power costs per habitat.
ecoterritory	Relay Spires and Burrows, occupied status, and demolition charges.
ecocultivation	Crop list and current crops on this moon.
ecocrop <name>	Crop requirements and exact steps.
ecoplant <name>	Buy and plant a crop on the current moon (credits deducted).
ecocare <name>	Spend $25 to reduce blight on a crop.
ecohold / ecohold enter	Enter the Specimen Containment Deck (F9 also toggles).
ecohold exit	Return to the ship from the deck (or press F9).
ecorelease <pen>	Release the specimen in the given pen to the current moon.
ecocapture	Capture instructions and keybind (default F8).
ecogear	Capture gear, pen costs, and capturable/uncapturable list.
ecoitems	Every mod tool, charge, and kit (no inventory items).
ecodestroy <anchor>	Buy a demolition charge and destroy a territory anchor (host-only).
ecomechanic <name>	Full explanation of a mechanic.
ecomanual	Quick-start manual with step-by-step guidance.
ecocompat	Profiles, multiplayer, and data-sheet notes.
ecolog [n]	Show the last n field-log entries (default 8).
ecosave	Force a sidecar save for the current save.
ecoreset confirm	Wipe the ecology sidecar for this save (Lethal Company save file untouched).
ecofind <text>	Search species, crops, moons, and mechanics by keyword.

See ecohelp in-game for the full, up-to-date list.

Mechanics Summary

• Power Budget: Budget = Base + FoodModifier + StabilityModifier (outside budget subtracts apex residents' power). FoodModifier = floor((Food - 50)/10) clamped −5..+10. Stability: Thriving +2 / Stable 0 / Stressed −2 / Collapsing −4.
• Population & Spawn Cap: Population 0–100; Spawn Cap = 0 if Population < 10 else ceil(Population/20) (max 5). Apex territory species use one spawn slot per occupied anchor.
• Apex Territories: Old Birds claim Relay Spires (max 1 per anchor, max 3/moon). Earth Leviathans claim Burrows (max 1 per anchor, max 2/moon). One resident per anchor, 12 power each, 1 spawn slot per territory. Destroy anchors to prevent replacement; kill residents to free anchors; drop budget below 12 to suppress new apex spawns.
• Specimen Hold: Ship-linked containment deck, default 4 pens, expandable to 8 via config. Capture a stunned creature within 5 m (default key F8). Multiple live creatures stored simultaneously. Pen costs: small 1, medium 2, large 3, huge 4; bee hives cost 2.
• Capture: Stun a capturable creature, stand within 5 m, press capture key. The creature is removed from the moon and added to a free pen. Population is lowered. Earth Leviathans, Coil-Heads, Jesters, Ghost Girls, Barber, and Clay Surgeon cannot be captured.
• Release & Establishment: Release a held specimen on a moon via ecorelease <pen>. Starts with a small population and a stress penalty. If Food and Stability are too low, the release fails and the population dies out. Repeated releases improve establishment. Apex translocation requires a free territory anchor on the destination moon.
• Cultivation: Crops change Food, Stability, blight, and habitat. Plant with ecoplant <name> (cost in credits). Each crop has a habitat requirement. Crops grow each quota; healthy stands can spread to second and third patches. Blight above 60 causes crop loss and Stability penalty. Pollination (Circuit Bees/Roaming Locusts) doubles Nectar Bloom Food output. Glowcap and Spore Lizards slow blight. Treat blight with ecocare <name> ($25 per treatment).
• Demolition Charges: Host can buy a demolition charge via ecodestroy relay1 ($150) or ecodestroy burrow1 ($200). Permanently removes the anchor from the ecology sidecar. Residents already on the moon survive; kill them separately. Ironroot planting over burrows and stable soil prevent new Burrows.
• Food Web: Each moon has producers, primary consumers, predators, parasites, and anomalies. Producers add Food; predators/scavengers/blight consume it. Food below 20 is Collapsing; below 40 is Stressed; 70+ can support Thriving. Stability driven by Food, biodiversity, blight, and apex pressure.
• Persistence: Ecology state is stored in a sidecar JSON file at BepInEx/config/LethalEcology/saves/<saveName>.json. Never edits Lethal Company save files. Use ecoreset confirm to wipe.
• Multiplayer: Host is authoritative. Vanilla clients can join in v1 without the mod for core ecology. Novel species and custom assets require all clients to install the mod in a later version.

Data Sheets

All mod content is authored in embedded JSON data sheets:

• Data/species.json — 37 species definitions (tier, habitat, capturable, pen cost, power, notes).
• Data/crops.json — 6 crops (Nectar Bloom, Saproot, Glowcap, Ropevine, Ironroot, Carrion Bloom).
• Data/moons.json — 12 moon identities with relays, burrows, starting Food/Stability, apex, and native lists.
• Data/mechanics.json — 21 mechanic explanations (profiles, budget, spawn cap, food web, territories, specimen hold, capture, release, cultivation, blight, juvenile growth, translocation, conservation, persistence, compatibility, terminal, compat).

Override data sheets may be placed in BepInEx/plugins/LethalEcology/Data/*.json to customize or extend the mod without repackaging.

Compatibility

• The mod discovers species and moons at runtime instead of hard-coding asset references.
• Unknown modded species get a generated fallback profile from their EnemyType.
• Unknown modded moons use their actual vanilla enemy pool and power bases.
• No asset bundles or external mod dependencies are required for v1.
• Canon-first profile preserves vanilla spawn selection; Full Ecology applies the full system.

Quick-Start Manual

1. Type ecohelp at the ship terminal. Read ecostatus.
2. Check ecobudget. Food and Stability decide how many creatures can spawn.
3. Check ecocensus. Any species below 10 population cannot spawn.
4. Plant a food crop with ecoplant Nectar Bloom or ecoplant Saproot, then check ecocultivation.
5. Stun a small creature and press the capture key (default F8). Check ecohold.
6. Travel to another moon, use ecohold enter, then ecorelease <pen>.
7. Watch ecoweb for three quotas. Introduced species can outcompete natives.
8. For Old Birds and Leviathans, read ecoterritory before fighting.
9. Destroy anchors, kill residents, or drop the budget below 12.
10. Keep at least one producer and one primary consumer alive.

The terminal is the manual. Every number is derived from live state.

License

MIT. See the Lethal Company modding guidelines for usage restrictions.