PetsCompanions
Companion Pets for Techtonica
A comprehensive companion pet mod for Techtonica that adds five unique robotic companions to accompany you on your factory-building adventures. Each pet features distinct behaviors, visual styles, and passive buffs to enhance your gameplay experience.
Table of Contents
Features
Companion Types
PetsCompanions introduces five unique robotic companions, each with their own appearance, movement style, and special abilities:
| Companion |
Type |
Movement |
Buff |
Color |
| Companion Drone |
Flying |
Aerial orbit |
Movement Speed |
Blue |
| Companion Crawler |
Ground |
Surface patrol |
Mining Speed |
Orange |
| Companion Floater |
Hovering |
Mid-level float |
Inventory Capacity |
Purple |
| Guardian Bot |
Combat |
Low hover |
Damage Reduction |
Green |
| Scout Drone |
Reconnaissance |
Fast aerial |
Resource Detection |
Yellow |
Companion Drone
A small flying drone that gracefully orbits around you at head height. Designed for speed enthusiasts, it provides a passive movement speed buff, helping you traverse your factory more efficiently.
Companion Crawler
A spider-like ground companion that scuttles along the terrain near your feet. Built for miners, it enhances your mining speed, making resource extraction faster and more productive.
Companion Floater
A hovering companion with integrated storage technology. It floats at mid-level and increases your inventory capacity, perfect for extended mining expeditions or factory reorganization.
Guardian Bot
A sturdy, robust guardian bot that maintains a protective stance near you. Its reinforced design provides damage reduction, keeping you safer during hazardous exploration.
Scout Drone
A fast, sensor-equipped scout drone that zips around at high altitude. Its advanced detection systems highlight nearby resources and points of interest, making exploration more rewarding.
Pet Behaviors
All companions feature sophisticated AI behaviors:
- Orbital Movement: Pets smoothly orbit around the player at a configurable distance
- Natural Motion: Each pet type has unique movement characteristics:
- Flying pets maintain higher altitude with gentle bobbing
- Hovering pets float at mid-level with subtle oscillation
- Ground pets stay close to terrain level
- Smooth Following: Pets use interpolated movement for natural, non-jerky following
- Directional Facing: Companions automatically rotate to face their movement direction
- Height Variation: Different pet types maintain appropriate heights based on their design
- Bobbing Animation: Subtle vertical oscillation adds life-like movement to airborne pets
Buff System
When enabled, each companion provides passive buffs while active:
| Companion |
Buff Type |
Effect |
| Companion Drone |
Movement Speed |
Faster player movement |
| Companion Crawler |
Mining Speed |
Increased mining efficiency |
| Companion Floater |
Inventory |
Expanded carrying capacity |
| Guardian Bot |
Defense |
Reduced damage taken |
| Scout Drone |
Detection |
Highlights nearby resources |
Note: Buff effects can be toggled on/off in the configuration.
Getting Started
Unlocking Companion Technology
Before you can craft any companions, you must first unlock the Companion Technology research:
- Progress to Tier 12 (XRAY) in the tech tree
- Navigate to the Modded category in the research menu
- Research Companion Technology using 150 Purple Research Cores
Crafting Companions
Once unlocked, companions can be crafted in Assemblers. Each companion requires different materials:
Companion Drone
| Material |
Quantity |
| Processor Unit |
5 |
| Electric Motor |
3 |
| Copper Wire |
20 |
| Steel Frame |
2 |
Companion Crawler
| Material |
Quantity |
| Processor Unit |
3 |
| Iron Components |
15 |
| Electric Motor |
4 |
| Steel Frame |
4 |
Companion Floater
| Material |
Quantity |
| Processor Unit |
4 |
| Electric Motor |
2 |
| Copper Wire |
30 |
| Iron Frame |
3 |
Guardian Bot
| Material |
Quantity |
| Processor Unit |
6 |
| Steel Frame |
8 |
| Electric Motor |
4 |
| Iron Components |
20 |
Scout Drone
| Material |
Quantity |
| Processor Unit |
8 |
| Electric Motor |
2 |
| Copper Wire |
40 |
| Shiverthorn Extract |
5 |
Crafting time: 60 seconds per companion
Using Your Pets
- Summon: Press the Summon Key (default:
, Comma) to spawn your first companion
- Cycle: Press the Summon Key again to dismiss current pet and spawn the next type
- Dismiss: Press the Dismiss Key (default:
. Period) to dismiss your active pet
Controls
| Action |
Default Key |
Description |
| Summon/Cycle Pet |
, (Comma) |
Summon a pet or cycle to the next type |
| Dismiss Pet |
. (Period) |
Dismiss the currently active pet |
All keybindings are configurable in the mod configuration file.
Configuration
The mod configuration file is located at:
BepInEx/config/com.certifired.PetsCompanions.cfg
Configuration Options
General Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Range |
Description |
| Enable Pets |
true |
true/false |
Enable or disable the entire pet system |
| Max Active Pets |
1 |
1-3 |
Maximum number of pets active simultaneously |
| Debug Mode |
false |
true/false |
Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting |
Behavior Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Range |
Description |
| Follow Distance |
3.0 |
1.0-10.0 |
Distance pets maintain from the player (in units) |
| Pet Speed |
8.0 |
3.0-15.0 |
Movement speed of pets when following |
Buff Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Pets Provide Buffs |
true |
Whether pets apply their passive buff effects |
Control Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Summon Pet Key |
Comma |
Key to summon or cycle through pets |
| Dismiss Pet Key |
Period |
Key to dismiss the active pet |
Example Configuration
[General]
Enable Pets = true
Max Active Pets = 1
Debug Mode = false
[Behavior]
Follow Distance = 3
Pet Speed = 8
[Buffs]
Pets Provide Buffs = true
[Controls]
Summon Pet Key = Comma
Dismiss Pet Key = Period
Installation
Prerequisites
Ensure you have the following installed before proceeding:
- BepInEx 5.4.2100 or newer
- EquinoxsModUtils v6.1.3 or newer
- EMUAdditions v2.0.0 or newer
- TechtonicaFramework v1.0.2 or newer
Manual Installation
- Download the latest release of PetsCompanions
- Extract the contents of the archive
- Copy
PetsCompanions.dll to your BepInEx/plugins folder
- Launch Techtonica
Installation via Thunderstore (Recommended)
- Install r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager
- Search for "PetsCompanions" in the mod browser
- Click "Install" - dependencies will be installed automatically
- Launch the game through the mod manager
Requirements
Required Dependencies
| Dependency |
Minimum Version |
Purpose |
| BepInEx |
5.4.2100+ |
Mod loading framework |
| EquinoxsModUtils |
6.1.3+ |
Core modding utilities |
| EMUAdditions |
2.0.0+ |
Resource and recipe registration |
| TechtonicaFramework |
1.0.2+ |
Tech tree and build menu integration |
Game Version
- Tested with Techtonica v0.3.x and later
- Compatible with the latest stable release
Compatibility
Known Compatible Mods
PetsCompanions is designed to work alongside other Techtonica mods. The mod uses the Modded category for tech tree entries to avoid conflicts.
Potential Conflicts
- Mods that significantly alter player movement may affect pet following behavior
- Mods that modify the tech tree structure should be tested for compatibility
Troubleshooting
Pets Not Spawning
- Verify that
Enable Pets is set to true in the configuration
- Check that all dependencies are installed and up to date
- Enable
Debug Mode and check the BepInEx console for error messages
Pets Moving Erratically
- Adjust the
Pet Speed setting to a lower value
- Increase the
Follow Distance to give pets more room
- Verify no other mods are conflicting with player transforms
Research Not Appearing
- Ensure you have progressed to at least Tier 6 in the tech tree
- Check the Modded category in the research menu
- Verify TechtonicaFramework is properly installed
Configuration Not Saving
- Close the game completely before editing the configuration file
- Ensure the config file path is correct:
BepInEx/config/com.certifired.PetsCompanions.cfg
- Check file permissions on the BepInEx folder
Changelog
v1.4.0 (Current)
- Tech tree positioning improvements
- Enhanced stability and compatibility
- Configuration system refinements
v1.3.0
- Added debug mode for troubleshooting
- Improved pet following behavior
- Fixed unlock linking issues
v1.2.0
- Added Guardian Bot and Scout Drone companions
- Implemented buff system framework
- Enhanced visual feedback for pet types
v1.1.0
- Added configuration options for controls
- Improved pet movement smoothing
- Added pet cycling functionality
v1.0.0
- Initial release
- 5 companion pet types (Drone, Crawler, Floater, Guardian, Scout)
- Following AI with orbital behavior
- Configurable keybinds and behavior settings
- Research unlock and crafting recipes
Credits
Development
- Certifired - Lead Developer
- Claude Code (Anthropic) - AI Development Assistant
Special Thanks
- Equinox - For creating EquinoxsModUtils and EMUAdditions, essential frameworks for Techtonica modding
- Fire Totem Games - For creating Techtonica
- The Techtonica Modding Community - For testing, feedback, and support
Tools & Resources
- BepInEx - Unity modding framework
- Harmony - Runtime patching library
- dnSpy - .NET decompiler for reverse engineering
License
This mod is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
PetsCompanions - Companion Pets 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
- You are free to use, modify, and distribute this mod
- Any derivative works must also be licensed under GPL v3
- You must provide attribution to the original author
- Source code must be made available for any distributed versions
Links
Official Resources
Dependencies
Game
Made with passion for the Techtonica community.
