FoodGuard

A client-side Valheim mod that reminds you to eat. Built for players who forget to eat food & rest, when leaving base or going into combat.

What it does

Four reminders, each a large center-screen popup (the same banner Valheim uses for "World saved"). The most important one — combat with low food — also plays an alert sound.

#	When	Popup	Sound
1	You leave base while needing food	yes, once per base-exit	no
2	A food is at 25% time remaining	yes (quiet while in base)	no
3	You're in combat AND food is low	yes	yes
4	You have no food eaten and are away from base	yes	no
5	You're in combat AND not Rested	yes	yes

"Needing food" = any active food at/under the threshold, or an empty food slot. The plain low-food nudge (#2) is suppressed at home so it doesn't spam while you're crafting; the leave-base and combat triggers always fire, because those are exactly when it matters.

Each trigger has its own cooldown so it never loops.

Install (r2modman)

1. Copy FoodGuard.dll onto the player's PC.
2. Open r2modman → select the Valheim profile the server uses.
3. Settings → Profile → Import local mod (or "Local Packages" → drag the DLL in).
   • On some r2modman versions: Profile menu → Import/Update → From file → pick FoodGuard.dll.
4. Launch with Start modded as usual. That's it — no profile-code change, no server restart.

Alternative manual path: drop the DLL directly into %APPDATA%\r2modmanPlus-local\Valheim\<ProfileName>\BepInEx\plugins\ and Start modded.

Configure

A config file appears after first launch at <r2modman profile>\BepInEx\config\jg224.FoodGuard.cfg. Edit it while the game is closed (or use BepInEx's ConfigurationManager if installed). Every knob is exposed:

[General]
Enabled              = true
DebugMode            = false
FoodThresholdPercent = 20      # remind when a food has this % of its time left
EmptySlotCountsAsLow = true    # an empty food slot also counts as needing food

[Base]
BaseZoneMode         = Both    # CraftingStation | Building | Both
SuppressLowFoodInBase = true   # the plain low-food nudge stays quiet at home

[Triggers]
LeaveBaseEnabled = true        # #1
LowFoodEnabled   = true        # #2
CombatEnabled    = true        # #3
NoFoodOutEnabled = true        # #4
CombatNoRestEnabled = true     # #5 (combat without the Rested buff)

[Sound]
CombatSoundEnabled = true      # sound is reserved for the combat case only
CombatSoundCooldown = 60       # seconds between repeated combat alert sounds
AlertSfxName = sfx_perfectblock  # vanilla SFX prefab name (resolved via ZNetScene)

[Cooldowns]
LeaveBaseCooldown = 8
LowFoodCooldown   = 30
CombatCooldown    = 60
NoFoodOutCooldown = 45
CombatNoRestCooldown = 60

[Messages]
LeaveBaseMessage = You left base without food -- EAT NOW before you head out!
LowFoodMessage   = Food at {pct}% -- time to eat!
CombatMessage    = COMBAT with low food -- EAT NOW!
NoFoodOutMessage = You have no food eaten and you're away from base -- EAT!
CombatNoRestMessage = COMBAT without Rested -- get to a fire/shelter first!

{pct} in the low-food message is replaced with the lowest remaining-food percentage.

How "base" is detected

Marked (default, recommended): you mark your one main base by standing at its center and pressing F7. "In base" = within MarkedBaseRadius (default 30 m) of that point. The mark is saved to the config file and persists across restarts; re-mark any time you move base.

This is deliberately strict: a walled farm, an outpost, or another player's base will never count as your base, no matter how many workbenches or walls it has. If you haven't marked yet, nothing counts as base (so the low-food nudge won't be suppressed anywhere — which is the safe default).

Alternatives if you prefer them (set BaseZoneMode):

• CraftingStation — inside any workbench/forge effect area (broad; trips on farms).
• Building — inside a roofed, fired interior (WarmCozyArea).
• Both — either of the two above.

Hotkeys

• F7 — mark your main base at your current position (saved to config). Re-mark to move it.

Rebindable (MarkBaseHotkey); set to None to disable.

Notes

• Client-only. No server half, no networking, no ServerSync. On a dedicated server the DLL loads but does nothing (no local player there).
• Combat detection = a creature is currently targeting you. It uses a brief 5s clear-window so the signal doesn't flicker off during retargeting.
• The alert sound is resolved from Valheim's prefab table by name (sfx_perfectblock by default — the sharp metallic perfect-block ring). If that prefab is missing or has no audio clip, the sound is skipped silently — the popup still shows. Change AlertSfxName to any other networked SFX prefab.
• No bundled game DLLs. The build references the game/BepInEx DLLs already on the machine (Private=false), matching the project's other custom mods.