Changelog

0.6.2

Fixed NullReferenceException in ItemDrop.Awake() that occurred when CIR instantiated item prefabs during BepInEx plugin loading, before any ZNetScene exists. Added a Harmony prefix on ItemDrop.Awake that skips execution when the item has no valid ZDO, matching the pattern used by vanilla Valheim for non-world-instantiated objects. Live in-world items created through ZNetScene are unaffected.

Fixed NullReferenceException in ItemDrop.Awake() that occurred when registering item prefabs whose ItemDrop component had uninitialized m_itemData or m_itemData.m_shared. CIR now initializes those fields on the source prefab before calling Object.Instantiate(), preventing the crash and the downstream SetupVisEquipment NRE when the item was later equipped.

Added optional YAML and JSON item-pack loading through soft runtime detection of YamlDotNet and Newtonsoft.Json.
Added LoadItemPacks, LoadItemPacksFromDirectory, LoadItemPack, and GetItemPackParserStatus APIs.
Added item-pack result and diagnostic types for per-file and per-item load errors.
Added recursive auto-load from BepInEx/config/CustomItemRegistry/packs.
Added raw-definition item-pack docs and examples.

Added strict prefab validation that lists missing ItemDrop, Rigidbody, ZNetView, ZSyncTransform, and collider components.
Added opt-in safe prefab preparation that can create missing ItemDrop, Rigidbody, ZNetView, and ZSyncTransform components.
Added PrefabPreparationBuilder controls for ItemDrop auto-add, physics auto-add, collider warnings, and Texture2D icon fallback.
Added opt-in Texture2D-to-Sprite fallback for .Icon("AssetName").
Added strict wearable armor visual validation for Chest, Legs, Helmet, and Shoulder items to catch missing SkinnedMeshRenderer, mesh, root bone, or bone references before equip-time crashes.
Improved missing prefab and icon AssetBundle diagnostics with case-sensitivity hints and candidate asset names.
Added grouped registration logging with item type, icon source, recipe station, added components, and warning count.
Added prefab preparation validation harness cases for simple scriptless prefabs.

Added typed recipe helpers with VanillaItem, CraftingStation, and ItemRef.
Added recipe builder overloads for vanilla items, crafting station enums, raw prefab refs, and soft third-party mod item refs.
Added ingredient factory helpers for typed vanilla and item reference requirements.
Added clearer validation for invalid helper enum values and empty item references.
Added optional dependency diagnostics for missing third-party recipe ingredients.
Added recipe helper docs and updated the example plugin with vanilla and modded ingredient examples.

Added typed item templates for common Valheim item types.
Added weapon, shield, armor, bow, ammo, tool, food, and material template builders.
Added template-aware validation for missing weapon damage, shield block power, armor value, and food stats.
Updated the example plugin to compile-test every template entrypoint.
Added a template validation harness for core failure/default scenarios.
Added template documentation.

Added fluent CustomItemRegistry.Item(...) builder API.
Added CustomItemDefinition, ItemRegistrationResult, and CustomItemRegistrationException.
Added definition, batch, and try-register overloads.
Added common item metadata, icon loading, practical gear stats, and shared-data escape hatch support.
Added preloaded and embedded AssetBundle builder sources inspired by production item-pack mods.
Added ammo/material/consumable/trinket item type helpers, parry, attack force, attack tuning, projectile tuning, and damage modifier builder methods.
Fixed recipe validation to allow upgrade-only ingredients where craft amount is 0 and amount per level is greater than 0.
Extended CraftingRecipe with repair station, station level, enabled flag, require-only-one ingredient, and quality result multiplier fields.
Improved validation and registration logging.
Updated the example plugin with builder, definition, try-register, and legacy API examples.