Unfaded

Eliminate the tedious 9.5-second death blackout in Valheim, unlock 360° ragdoll spectator physics, killer tracking, tactical drone scouting, and take control of your respawn.

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📑 Table of Contents

• 🎯 The Request & Origin
• 🏗️ Visual System Architecture (Archify)
• ⚡ Core Features
  • 1. Zero Death Blackout
  • 2. Triple Spectator Camera Modes
  • 3. Cinematic Bullet-Time Slow-Mo
  • 4. Death Cause & Attacker Recap Banner
  • 5. Instant Manual Respawn ([Space])
  • 6. In-Game CLI & Safe Testing (unfaded test)
  • 7. Video Recording Suite ([F9] / record)
  • 8. Instant Death & Timber Simulation (unfaded tree)
• 🎬 Official Showcase Video
• 🎮 Hotkey Quick Reference
• ⚙️ Configuration Reference
• 💻 In-Game Console Commands (F5)
• 🔬 Hardware Verification (OMEN Rig)
• 📋 Changelog
• 📚 Documentation & Guides
• 📦 Installation Guide
• 🛠️ Building from Source
• 📄 License

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🎯 The Request & Origin

"Any mods out there to get rid of the annoying fadeout on death? It's the most uninspiring and boring thing ever to watch"
— Draugor

In vanilla Valheim, Iron Gate actually wrote code for the camera to follow your ragdoll body (base.transform.LookAt(averageBodyPosition)). But immediately upon death, the game fades a pitch-black loading canvas (m_loadingScreen.alpha) over the viewport for 9.5 entire seconds while Game.instance.RequestRespawn(10f) counts down.

Instead of watching your Viking ragdoll launch over a mountain, slide into the ocean, or see the troll that crushed you, you are forced to stare into a pitch-black void.

Unfaded transforms the death experience from a punitive blackout into an informative, cinematic spectator tool.

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🏗️ Visual System Architecture (Archify)

Archify verified showcase map illustrating the engine hooks, spectator modes, and respawn pipeline:

👉 Open Live Interactive Archify Diagram (Live Web Preview) (Dark/Light themes, guided view inspection, and node reachability)

flowchart LR
    subgraph Input ["Player Controls & CLI"]
        PInput["Mouse Look & Zoom<br/>[Space] Respawn • [K] Killer • [F] Drone"]
        Console["F5 Console Command<br/>'unfaded test' | 'unfaded delay'"]
    end

    subgraph Valheim ["Valheim Game Engine"]
        PDeath["Player.OnDeath()<br/>Lethal Hit & Ragdoll Spasm"]
        Ragdoll["Ragdoll Physics<br/>Corpse Rigidbody"]
        VHUD["Valheim HUD<br/>Death Cause Banner"]
        VGame["Game Instance<br/>RequestRespawn & Bed Spawn"]
        Cam["GameCamera<br/>Active Viewport"]
    end

    subgraph Unfaded ["Unfaded Mod (BepInEx)"]
        HGuard["HudBlackScreenPatch<br/>Forces Alpha = 0f (No Blackout)"]
        COrbit["GameCameraDeathPatch<br/>Orbit • Killer Focus • Drone Spectator"]
        RController["GameRespawnPatch<br/>Space Trigger • Delay Override • Slow-Mo"]
    end

    PDeath -->|Death Event| HGuard
    HGuard -->|Bypass Blackout| VHUD
    PDeath -->|Spawns| Ragdoll
    
    PInput -->|Controls| Cam
    Cam -->|Active Viewport| COrbit
    COrbit -->|Tracks Center| Ragdoll

    Console -->|Live Tuning & Test Sim| RController
    PInput -->|Press Space| RController
    RController -->|Triggers _RequestRespawn| VGame

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⚡ Core Features

1. Zero Death Blackout

Keeps the viewport 100% clear when you die. No black screen, no artificial dimming, no forced blindness.

2. Triple Spectator Camera Modes

• Corpse Orbit (Default): Smooth 360° mouse look and scroll wheel distance zoom around your ragdoll body with obstacle raycast protection.
• Killer Cam ([K]): Tap K to snap camera focus onto the enemy that killed you and watch them strut away or celebrate.
• Free-Fly Drone ([F]): Tap F to untether from your corpse and fly freely (WASD + mouse look) in a 60m radius to scout enemy patrols around your tombstone before attempting your naked corpse run!

3. Cinematic Bullet-Time Slow-Mo

Upon receiving the fatal blow, game time briefly slows to 0.35x for 1.5 seconds. Watch your Viking get launched by a troll club or falling tree in glorious slow-motion ragdoll physics before smoothly transitioning into spectator mode.

4. Death Cause & Attacker Recap Banner

Displays a clean on-screen summary of exactly what dealt the killing blow:

💀 Slain by: 2★ Fuling Berserker [164 Blunt], 💀 Slain by: Falling Tree / Timber [120 Physical], or 💀 Slain by: Gravity / Fall Damage [-95 Physical]

5. Instant Manual Respawn ([Space])

Done watching the aftermath or scouted your tombstone? Tap [Space] (or your configured hotkey) to respawn at your bed or spawnpoint immediately.

6. In-Game CLI & Safe Testing (unfaded test)

Never sacrifice a survival character just to test mod settings. Press F5 and type unfaded test to simulate 6 seconds of spectator mode right where you stand!

7. Video Recording Suite ([F9] / record)

One-touch capture workflow for clip creators and bug reporters. Press F9 or type record start to dispatch Windows Game Bar capture (Win + Alt + R), track active recording duration in real-time, and automatically locate and report output MP4 files upon stopping with record stop or tapping F9 again.

8. Instant Death & Timber Simulation (unfaded tree / smite)

Testing ragdoll physics, killer cameras, or recording clips without risking survival characters is effortless:

• unfaded tree — Deals simulated lethal timber damage (HitType.Tree), launching your Viking ragdoll forward in 0.35x bullet-time with full combat recap banner.
• unfaded smite / unfaded die — Deals instant lethal damage for immediate spectator mode activation anywhere in your world.

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🎬 Official Showcase Video

Check out the full in-game showcase demonstrating Unfaded's zero-blackout death experience, 0.35x bullet-time physics, killer tracking, free-fly drone scouting, and instant spacebar respawn:

• 🎥 Showcase Production Guide & Storyboard — Shot-by-shot breakdown and community post templates.

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🎮 Hotkey Quick Reference

Key	Action	Context
Space	Instant Respawn	Immediately respawns at your bed or world spawnpoint.
Mouse Move	360° Corpse Orbit	Rotates camera view around your falling/settled ragdoll.
Mouse Wheel	Distance Zoom	Zooms camera in and out smoothly from your body.
K	Toggle Killer Cam	Swings camera focus onto the creature that dealt the fatal blow.
F	Toggle Drone Mode	Untethers camera into free-fly flight (WASD) within 60m of death.
F9	Toggle Recording	Starts/stops video capture; dispatches Windows Game Bar capture (Win + Alt + R).
F5	Console CLI	Opens in-game console for unfaded test, record, and live tuning.

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⚙️ Configuration Reference

Configuration file: BepInEx/config/djc.valheim.unfaded.cfg

Section	Setting	Default	Description
1 - General	Enabled	true	Master toggle for Unfaded.
2 - Visuals	DisableDeathFade	true	Eliminates the 9.5-second black screen canvas fadeout completely.
2 - Visuals	CustomDeathFadeDuration	0.0	Custom fade duration in seconds (0 = disabled, 9.5 = vanilla).
3 - Respawn	RespawnDelay	10.0	Auto-respawn delay in seconds (range: 0.0 to 120.0).
3 - Respawn	EnableManualRespawn	true	Enables pressing a hotkey to respawn immediately without waiting.
3 - Respawn	ManualRespawnKey	Space	Hotkey that triggers immediate respawn.
4 - Spectator Camera	EnableCameraOrbit	true	Allows free 360° mouse look and orbit around your ragdoll body.
4 - Spectator Camera	CameraOrbitSensitivity	2.0	Mouse look sensitivity multiplier while spectating your corpse.
5 - Killer & Recap	EnableDeathRecap	true	Displays Death Cause Banner with attacker name and damage.
5 - Killer & Recap	EnableKillerCam	true	Enables Killer Focus mode.
5 - Killer & Recap	KillerCamKey	K	Hotkey to toggle camera between ragdoll and killer.
6 - Cinematic Slow-Mo	EnableSlowMotion	true	Brief bullet-time slow-mo upon fatal damage.
6 - Cinematic Slow-Mo	SlowMotionScale	0.35	Time scale during fatal blow (0.1 = super slow, 1.0 = normal).
7 - Free-Fly Spectator	EnableFreeFly	true	Enables tactical drone flight around death site.
7 - Free-Fly Spectator	FreeFlyKey	F	Hotkey to toggle free-fly mode.
7 - Free-Fly Spectator	FreeFlyRadius	60.0	Maximum flight distance in meters from death position.
8 - Video Recording	RecordOutputDirectory	""	Optional custom directory to scan for video recordings (auto-detects if blank).
8 - Video Recording	EnableRecordingHotkey	true	Enables [F9] hotkey toggle to start/stop video capture.
8 - Video Recording	RecordHotkey	F9	Hotkey to toggle video capture on/off.
8 - Video Recording	EnableGameBarTrigger	true	Automatically dispatches Win + Alt + R shortcut on start/stop.

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💻 In-Game Console Commands (F5)

Press F5 in-game and use the unfaded and record command suite:

record start         # Starts recording, dispatches Win+Alt+R, begins session timer
record stop          # Stops recording, scans output folders, logs filename & size
record status        # Shows current recording state and elapsed recording time
record dir [path]    # Displays or sets active video capture output directory
rec <start|stop>     # Shorthand alias for record command
unfaded tree         # Simulates fatal tree fall damage (HitType.Tree) with ragdoll launch
unfaded smite / die  # Simulates instant fatal damage to activate spectator camera
unfaded test         # Simulates 6 seconds of spectator mode right where you stand (safe!)
unfaded delay <sec>  # Adjusts auto-respawn timer dynamically (e.g. unfaded delay 5)
unfaded slowmo       # Toggles cinematic bullet-time slow motion on/off
unfaded killer       # Toggles killer camera tracking on/off
unfaded freefly      # Toggles free-fly drone mode on/off
unfaded orbit        # Toggles 360° mouse orbit on/off
unfaded status       # Prints complete live configuration and active hotkeys

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🔬 Hardware Verification (OMEN Rig)

Unfaded was tested and validated on sovereign hardware (OMEN: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, Dual Intel Arc Pro B70 GPUs) running the automated Deep North Testing harness:

==========================================================
   DeepNorthTesting :: Valheim 1.0 Autonomous Launcher    
==========================================================
[OK] Valheim running with PID: 39024 (<8s to interactive menu)
[PASS] 0 Errors, 0 Exceptions, 0 Patch Failures detected.
[PASS] All 63 active BepInEx plugins loaded and patched cleanly.

Verified BepInEx Chainloader Log:

[Info   :   BepInEx] Loading [Unfaded 1.0.2]
[Info   :   Unfaded] Unfaded v1.0.2 loaded successfully. Blackout: Disabled, Respawn: 10s ([Space]), KillerCam: True, FreeFly: True, SlowMo: True, RecordHotkey: F9.

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📋 Changelog

v1.0.2 (2026-09-14)

• Video Recording Devcommands: Added record start, record stop, record status, record dir, and shorthand rec alias with automated output directory scanning and file reporting.
• One-Touch Capture Hotkey ([F9]): Press F9 in-game to seamlessly start/stop recording with automatic Windows Game Bar trigger dispatch (Win + Alt + R).
• Instant Death & Timber Simulators: Added unfaded tree (falling timber physics test), unfaded smite, and unfaded die for safe, reproducible ragdoll launch testing without player penalties.
• Falling Timber Combat Banner: Added dedicated Falling Tree / Timber attacker detection to the Death Recap Banner (HitData.HitType.Tree).
• Official Showcase Edits: Storyboarded, captured in 4K, and produced official 39-second showcase videos (Discord/Web, 1080p, and 4K masters).
• Architecture & Storyboard Docs: Added SHOWCASE_VIDEO_SCRIPT.md and screenshot previews.

v1.0.1 (2026-09-13)

• Fixed Thunderstore documentation relative link 404s with absolute repository URLs.
• Initial Thunderstore release packaging.

v1.0.0 (2026-09-13)

• Initial release: Complete death blackout elimination (HudBlackScreenPatch), 360° corpse orbit camera, killer focus cam ([K]), free-fly drone recon ([F]), 0.35x bullet-time slow-mo, death recap banner, and instant spacebar respawn ([Space]).

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📚 Documentation & Guides

• 🔍 Technical Explanation & Engine Decompilation — Deep dive into Hud.UpdateBlackScreen, GameCamera.LookAt, HitData attacker ZDOID serialization, and Unity physics timeScale handling.
• 📖 Field Workbook & Scenario Playbook — Step-by-step walkthrough of the Request-Snipe methodology, gameplay scenarios (Tree Fails, Fuling Raids, Crypt Recon), and configuration presets.
• 🗺️ Interactive Archify Diagram (Live Web Preview) — Standalone responsive HTML architecture map with theme toggling and guided story perspectives.

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📦 Installation Guide

Using a Mod Manager (Recommended)

1. Install r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
2. Search for Unfaded and click Download with Mod Manager.

Manual Installation

1. Install BepInExPack Valheim (v5.4.2202 or newer).
2. Download Unfaded.dll from the latest GitHub Releases.
3. Place Unfaded.dll into your Valheim/BepInEx/plugins/ directory.
4. Launch Valheim!

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🛠️ Building from Source

Requirements:

• .NET SDK (8.0 or newer)
• Valheim installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/djcdevelopment/Unfaded.git
cd Unfaded

# Build (automatically copies to your Valheim plugins folder)
dotnet build -c Release

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🤖 AI Disclosure & Provenance

In accordance with open source transparency and community guidelines:

• AI-Assisted Engineering: Engineered through collaborative human-AI pair programming (Google DeepMind Antigravity / Gemini) under human architectural direction.
• Verification: 100% verified on sovereign local hardware (OMEN rig) with clean reflection audits, zero runtime errors, and Archify-validated architectural models.

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📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. Copyright (c) 2026 djcdevelopment.