AmbientLife

AmbientLife is a Techtonica mod that brings your factory world to life with intelligent ambient creatures. From spiders crawling on walls and ceilings to flying beetles soaring overhead, dogs following you around, and deer grazing in the distance - this mod creates an immersive ecosystem using real 3D creature models with smart AI that properly navigates terrain without clipping.

Table of Contents

• Features
  • Creature Categories
  • Smart AI System
  • In-Game Configuration UI
  • 3D Asset Integration
• Installation
• Configuration
  • General Settings
  • Flying Insects
  • Spiders
  • Ground Animals
• Requirements
• Compatibility
• Changelog
• Credits
• License

Features

Creature Categories

AmbientLife v2.0 features 13 unique creature types across 4 categories:

Flying Insects

Spiders (Wall Crawlers)

Ground Animals

Smart AI System

Every creature features intelligent movement with advanced pathfinding:

• Terrain Following: Ground creatures properly follow slopes, stairs, and uneven terrain
• Wall Crawling: Spiders can climb walls and transition to ceilings seamlessly
• Obstacle Avoidance: 360-degree collision detection prevents clipping through buildings
• Height Management: Flying creatures maintain safe altitudes and avoid structures
• Dynamic Fleeing: Shy creatures (deer, chickens, spiders) flee when player approaches
• Weighted Spawning: Configurable density per creature category

In-Game Configuration UI

Press F8 to open the configuration panel:

• Master Controls: Enable/disable all creatures, set max count
• Per-Creature Toggles: Turn individual creature types on/off
• Density Sliders: Adjust spawn weights for flying, crawling, and ground animals
• Status Display: See active creature count and loaded prefab count
• Quick Actions: Reload assets, clear all creatures

3D Asset Integration

• Uses real 3D models from AssetBundles when available
• Automatic fallback to procedural geometry if bundles missing
• Supports animated models with proper Animator components
• Disables default AI controllers to use custom smart movement

Installation

Mod Manager Installation (Recommended)

1. Open r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager
2. Search for "AmbientLife"
3. Click Install
4. Launch the game through the mod manager

Manual Installation

1. Install BepInEx 5.4.2100+ and TechtonicaFramework
2. Download the latest release
3. Extract to BepInEx/plugins/CertiFried-AmbientLife/
4. Ensure the Bundles folder is present for 3D creature assets
5. Launch the game

Configuration

Configuration file: BepInEx/config/com.certifired.AmbientLife.cfg

Or use the in-game UI by pressing F8.

General Settings

Flying Insects

Spiders

Ground Animals

Requirements

Compatibility

• Save Safe: Add or remove mid-save without issues
• Multiplayer: Client-side only, creatures won't sync
• Other Mods: No conflicts with standard mods

Changelog

v2.0.0 - Major Overhaul

• Complete rewrite with smart AI system
• Added 13 creature types across 4 categories
• Implemented wall crawling for spiders (climbs walls and ceilings)
• Added terrain following for ground animals
• Implemented obstacle avoidance with 360-degree collision detection
• Added in-game configuration UI (press F8)
• Integrated AssetBundle loading for real 3D creature models
• Added per-creature toggles and density controls
• Creatures now flee from player based on type
• Added glow effects for fireflies with pulsing animation
• Performance optimizations with configurable limits

v1.0.2

• Added CHANGELOG.md
• Icon and metadata updates

v1.0.0 - Initial Release

• Basic ambient creature system
• Procedural creature visuals
• Simple wandering behavior

Credits

Development

• Certifired - Lead Developer
• Claude Code (Anthropic) - AI-assisted development

3D Assets

• Spider models from Tower Defense asset packs
• Animal models from ithappy Animals pack
• Beetle models from Flying Beetle and Nightmare Beetle packs

Tools & Frameworks

• BepInEx - Modding framework
• Harmony - Runtime patching
• Unity - Game engine

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0)

AmbientLife - Intelligent Ambient Wildlife for Techtonica
Copyright (C) 2024-2025 Certifired

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

Made with care for the Techtonica community