AmbientLife
AmbientLife is a Techtonica mod that enhances the game's atmosphere by adding passive ambient wildlife and creatures. Watch butterflies flutter around plants, birds soar overhead, and fireflies illuminate the darkness with their soft glow. This mod brings life and immersion to your factory world without affecting gameplay mechanics.
Table of Contents
Features
Creature Types
AmbientLife adds 7 unique creature types to the world, each with distinct visual appearances and behaviors:
| Creature |
Description |
Flight Height |
Movement Speed |
| Butterflies |
Colorful insects with animated wings that flutter around plants and open areas. Wings feature randomized vibrant colors (pink, purple, orange variations). |
1-4 meters |
Slow (1-2 m/s) |
| Birds |
Small avian creatures that soar between perches at higher altitudes. Feature natural brown/gray coloring. |
5-15 meters |
Fast (5-10 m/s) |
| Fireflies |
Bioluminescent insects that emit a soft yellow-green glow. Feature pulsing light animation for realistic effect. |
0.5-3 meters |
Very Slow (0.5-1.5 m/s) |
| Moths |
Nocturnal flyers with muted brown/tan coloring. Share behavior with butterflies but with darker aesthetics. |
1-4 meters |
Slow (1-2 m/s) |
| Dragonflies |
Fast-moving insects with elongated bodies and blue coloring. Quick, darting movement patterns. |
1-4 meters |
Medium (3-6 m/s) |
| Beetles |
Ground-level creatures (currently in framework). |
Ground level (0.2m) |
Slow |
| Fish |
Aquatic creatures (requires water detection - disabled by default). |
Below water (-1m) |
Varies |
Behavior System
Each creature features sophisticated AI-driven behavior:
- Wandering AI: Creatures autonomously select target positions and navigate toward them
- Dynamic Target Selection: Birds wander up to 20 meters, while smaller insects stay within 5 meters
- Smooth Movement: Lerped rotation and position updates for natural-looking motion
- Height Management: Each creature type maintains appropriate altitude ranges
- Wobble Effects: Insects feature subtle vertical oscillation during flight for realism
- Direction Facing: Creatures smoothly rotate to face their movement direction
Visual Effects
- Animated Wings: Butterflies and moths feature real-time wing flapping animation using sine-wave oscillation (30-degree flap range)
- Firefly Glow: Point lights with pulsing intensity (0.2 to 1.0 range) create atmospheric lighting
- Emission Materials: Fireflies use emissive materials for enhanced glow effects
- Randomized Colors: Butterflies spawn with unique, randomized color variations
- Procedural Geometry: All creatures are built from Unity primitives for lightweight performance
Performance Optimization
AmbientLife is designed with performance as a priority:
- Creature Limit: Configurable maximum creature count (default: 30, range: 5-100)
- Distance-Based Spawning: Creatures spawn within configurable radius around the player
- Automatic Despawning: Creatures beyond the despawn radius are automatically cleaned up
- Collider-Free: All creature visuals have colliders removed to prevent physics overhead
- Spawn Throttling: 2-second interval between spawn attempts prevents sudden performance spikes
- Efficient Updates: Single update loop manages all creature lifecycle
Installation
Manual Installation
-
Install BepInEx 5.4.2100 or later
- Download BepInEx from the official releases
- Extract the contents to your Techtonica game folder
- Run the game once to generate BepInEx folders
-
Install AmbientLife
- Download the latest
AmbientLife.dll from the releases page
- Place
AmbientLife.dll in your BepInEx/plugins folder
- The full path should be:
[Techtonica Install]/BepInEx/plugins/AmbientLife.dll
-
Launch the Game
- Start Techtonica normally
- Ambient creatures will begin spawning automatically
Mod Manager Installation
If using a mod manager (r2modman, Thunderstore Mod Manager):
- Search for "AmbientLife" in the mod browser
- Click Install
- Launch the game through the mod manager
Configuration
Configuration is handled through BepInEx's configuration system. After first run, a config file will be generated at:
BepInEx/config/com.certifired.AmbientLife.cfg
You can edit this file with any text editor, or use a BepInEx configuration manager mod for in-game editing.
General Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Range |
Description |
Enable Ambient Life |
true |
true/false |
Master toggle for all creature spawning. Disable to completely turn off the mod. |
Max Creatures |
30 |
5-100 |
Maximum number of ambient creatures allowed in the world at once. Lower values improve performance. |
Debug Mode |
false |
true/false |
Enables detailed logging for troubleshooting. Outputs spawn events and creature management info. |
Spawning Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Range |
Description |
Spawn Radius |
40.0 |
20-100 |
Distance (in meters) from the player where creatures can spawn. Creatures spawn at 50-100% of this radius. |
Despawn Radius |
60.0 |
30-150 |
Distance (in meters) from the player where creatures are automatically removed. Should be larger than Spawn Radius. |
Creature Toggles
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
Enable Butterflies |
true |
Toggle butterfly spawning |
Enable Birds |
true |
Toggle bird spawning |
Enable Fireflies |
true |
Toggle firefly and moth spawning (both controlled by this setting) |
Enable Fish |
false |
Toggle fish spawning (experimental - requires water detection) |
Example Configuration
[General]
# Enable ambient creature spawning
Enable Ambient Life = true
# Maximum ambient creatures at once
Max Creatures = 30
# Enable debug logging
Debug Mode = false
[Spawning]
# Distance from player to spawn creatures
Spawn Radius = 40
# Distance from player to despawn creatures
Despawn Radius = 60
[Creatures]
# Spawn butterflies
Enable Butterflies = true
# Spawn birds
Enable Birds = true
# Spawn fireflies (glow at night)
Enable Fireflies = true
# Spawn fish (requires water detection)
Enable Fish = false
Requirements
Required Dependencies
| Dependency |
Minimum Version |
Notes |
| Techtonica |
Latest |
Base game |
| BepInEx |
5.4.2100+ |
Mod framework - Download |
| .NET Framework |
4.7.2 |
Included with modern Windows |
Optional Dependencies
| Dependency |
Purpose |
| BepInEx Configuration Manager |
In-game configuration UI |
Compatibility
- Techtonica Version: Compatible with current game version
- Multiplayer: Untested - creatures are client-side only
- Other Mods: Should be compatible with most mods as AmbientLife doesn't modify core game systems
Known Compatibility
- Works alongside other visual enhancement mods
- Does not conflict with gameplay-altering mods
- Safe to add or remove mid-save
Troubleshooting
Creatures Not Spawning
- Check that
Enable Ambient Life is set to true in config
- Verify at least one creature type is enabled
- Ensure you're in a loaded game (creatures require player position)
- Check BepInEx console for errors
Performance Issues
- Lower
Max Creatures value (try 15-20)
- Reduce
Spawn Radius to limit creature spread
- Disable creature types you don't want
Visual Glitches
- Try restarting the game
- Check for conflicting visual mods
- Verify graphics drivers are up to date
Debug Mode
Enable Debug Mode = true in the config to see detailed spawn/despawn logging in the BepInEx console. This helps identify issues with creature management.
Changelog
v1.0.0 (Initial Release)
Features:
- Added 5 active ambient creature types (Butterflies, Birds, Fireflies, Moths, Dragonflies)
- Framework for 2 additional types (Beetles, Fish)
- Implemented wandering AI behavior system
- Created procedural creature visuals using Unity primitives
- Added wing flapping animation for butterflies and moths
- Implemented firefly glow effects with pulsing light
- Added comprehensive configuration options
- Performance-optimized spawning and despawning system
- Distance-based creature lifecycle management
Credits
Development
- Certifired - Lead Developer
- Claude Code (Anthropic) - AI-assisted development, code architecture, and documentation
Resources & Tools
- BepInEx Team - Modding framework
- Harmony - Runtime patching library
- Unity Technologies - Game engine
Special Thanks
- The Techtonica modding community for support and feedback
- Fire Hose Games for creating Techtonica
License
This mod is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
AmbientLife - Ambient Wildlife Mod for Techtonica
Copyright (C) 2024 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.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
What This Means
- Free to Use: Use this mod for personal or commercial purposes
- Free to Modify: Create derivative works and modifications
- Free to Share: Distribute copies of the original or modified versions
- Copyleft: Derivative works must also be licensed under GPL-3.0
- Source Available: Source code must be made available when distributing
Links
Project Links
Techtonica Modding
Modding Resources
Community
- Discord: Join the Techtonica modding Discord for support and discussion
Made with care for the Techtonica community
