Soft Capes

By maving.

Give your capes a softer, more flowing feel while keeping Valheim's modern cloth system.

Soft Capes adjusts how easily the fabric bends, how strongly it returns to its original shape, and how far it can bend. Each supported cape has its own preset. The package also includes optional upper-arm collision protection to help reduce arms clipping through the fabric. This can be toggled without independently of using the soft capes for anyone who just wants the collision fix.

Features

• Individual presets for ten capes: Lox, Feather, Wolf, Linen, Troll, Deer, Ashen, Asksvin, Deep North and Deep North Mage.
• F8: toggle Softe Capes and compare it with the original.
• F7: toggle upper-arm collision protection.
• (F7 and F8 can be rebound in the config files)
• Edit a config file, save it, then toggle off and on to reload without restarting to adjust the settings to your own liking. (I recommend trying it out when it is really windy "devcommands > env ThunderStorm")
• Optional removal of the raised Ashen collar, enabled by default.
• Local visual changes. No item stats, gameplay hitboxes or save files are changed.

Installation

Install Soft Capes with your mod manager and launch the game modded. Requires the Valheim BepInEx 5 pack.

Controls and configuration

Config files are created after the first launch. Both start enabled. Set [General] StartEnabled = false.

Edit these in maving.softcapes.cfg

Lower BendingMultiplier lets the cape fold more easily.

Lower RestorationMultiplier reduces the pull toward its original shape.

Higher AngleLimitMultiplier allows more bending. These are multipliers of each cape's original settings, so identical values do not necessarily give identical motion on different capes.

Allowed ranges: bending and restoration 0–1, angle 1–3. Set all three to 1 to use the original values. Use decimal points in config files. Values outside there ranges will throw an error.

Collision protection on the upper-arm

Edit these in maving.capecollisions.cfg

The collision radius is the shoulder-to-elbow distance multiplied by RadiusRatio, plus the padding for that side. 0.02 adds 2 cm. Larger values may reduce clipping but can push the cape further away from the body.

Allowed ranges: RadiusRatio 0.1–0.5, padding 0–0.12 meters. Zero padding removes the extra margin, not the base capsule. Values outside there ranges will throw an error.

Ashen collar

[Ash] HideRaisedCollar = true hides the raised collar on the Ashen cape. Set it to false, save, and press F10 off/on to keep the collar with softer cloth. F10 off restores both the original cloth settings and collar.

Compatibility

• Client-side: install on the client where you want the visual changes. No dedicated-server installation is needed. Other players do not need the mod; the changes affect your own character's cape on your client.

• Uses the game's existing models, materials, wind and modern cloth simulation.

• The collision component adds upper-arm protection, not full armor-specific collision meshes. Some clipping may remain during extreme poses or with bulky armor (you can experiemtn with the values in the config)

• Other mods that modify the same cape physics or render mesh may conflict.

• The Odin cape is not included (I don't have it, can't test).

• Developed and tested on Linux with BepInEx 5. Windows and macOS have not been verified. The package contains managed plugin DLLs and no native binaries.

Troubleshooting

After equipping a supported cape, the log should report the selected cape and the applied settings. The collision component normally reports two added arm colliders and confirms their registration in the cloth simulation.

If nothing changes, check BepInEx/LogOutput.log, confirm the component is enabled, and try re-equipping the cape. Config changes require saving the file and toggling the relevant component off and on.

To uninstall, close the game and remove this package's plugin folder. No original game files or saved items need to be restored.