ValBallCompatibility

VALBALL COMPATIBILITY

FROM WILD TRAILS TO HOME PASTURES

Bring the animal home. Let taming take its time.

ValBall Compatibility adds capture progression and animal transport rules to ValBall. Carry supported livestock to a new pasture, move an established pet, or work toward harder creatures as your Val Master skill and the world's boss progress grow. Wild animals still need normal taming after release.

> Compatibility / v0.1.5 > Requires ValBall 1.6.0, ConditionalConfigSync 1.0.9 and BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2351. Built against Valheim 1.0.16. Install on every client and the dedicated server with matching helper versions. Optional horse support targets OdinHorse 1.8.2. Other creature mods are optional and are not bundled. > Validation: 77 offline rule and real assembly checks plus 33 cargo/API model checks passed for 0.1.5. Animal transport, saddlebag persistence and multiplayer transfers still need in-game validation with OdinHorse 1.8.2.

SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI

If this saves you another long walk behind a runaway deer, buy me a coffee. Your support helps me spend more time on compatibility fixes and small improvements for modded games. A tip is optional and appreciated. Vercadi

BRING THEM HOME / WHAT IT DOES

• Sets capture requirements through personal Val Master skill and world boss defeats.
• Supports listed livestock, horses, pets and selected hostile or aquatic creatures.
• Carries animal identity, stars, health, names and taming progress through supported captures.
• Includes handling for OdinHorse coat, armor, saddle and saddlebag contents.
• Checks horse cargo weight and portal restrictions, and requires suitable water for aquatic releases.
• Prevents repeat captures, tamed animals and failed attempts from farming capture XP.

This helper extends ValBall; it does not add its own ball items or tame a wild creature just by catching it. Creature support is limited to the list below and the documented versions. The implemented behavior is described here; the early-release note above explains which gameplay checks remain open.

READY THE BALL / INSTALLATION

1. Close Valheim and stop the dedicated server normally before installing or replacing its plugins.
2. Install this package and its dependencies in every player profile and on the server.
3. Start the server to generate BepInEx/config/vercadi.ValBallCompatibility.cfg, then join with the same helper version. Server-controlled settings take precedence during a session.

Manual installation: copy plugins/ValBallCompatibility from the ZIP into BepInEx/plugins after installing the dependencies.

Coming from the local candidate? Remove the local entry while the game is closed, install the published package and keep your config. Keep exactly one active ValBallCompatibility.dll.

Updating from 0.1.0–0.1.4? This release changes the helper DLL and reports 0.1.5 in logs. Update every client and the dedicated server together, keeping your existing config.

Removal: Release stored animals and empty filled balls before uninstalling the helper. Native ValBall does not restore the helper's extra horse cargo/state by itself. A world reset is not required to install it.

EARN THE CATCH / PROGRESSION

Personal Val Master skill and world boss defeats control new wild captures. Boss progress is shared by the world. Already-tamed supported pets can be relocated at any skill level without capture XP.

| Skill | Supported creatures | World requirement | |---|---|---| | 0 | Boar, deer, Darkhorn, OdinHorse, hens, five Odin's Hares variants and supported young | None | | 0 | Vanilla Mistlands hare and its young | Yagluth | | 10 | Greyling, neck | None | | 25 | Greydwarf, skeleton | Eikthyr | | 25 | RtD dolphin | Elder | | 35 | Greydwarf brute and shaman | Elder | | 40 | Bjorn bear | Elder | | 40 | Wolf | Bonemass | | 45 | Draugr | Elder | | 45 | RtD orca | Bonemass | | 50 | Lox | Moder | | 55 | Troll | Elder | | 60 | Fenring and ordinary cultist | Bonemass | | 65 | Stone golem | Moder | | 65 | RtD mermaid | Yagluth | | 70 | Unbjorn | Yagluth |

Wild hostile creatures need 50% health or less. A basic ball starts at 60% success at the required skill, multiplied by 75% per star. Better balls and additional skill improve the chance, capped at 90%. Peaceful supported livestock is reliable once its requirements are met. Bosses, summoned pets, traders, camp workers and unreviewed creatures are excluded. Rejected targets return the ball; genuine failed catches retain ValBall's BreakOnFail setting.

The helper prevents repeat, already-tamed, young and home-bred captures from farming XP. Failed attempts award no XP. For the intended gentler progression, the development modpack uses XpMultiplier=2 and TameableXpFactor=100: a fresh zero-star Meadows capture then earns 40 raw XP before world/skill modifiers. This package does not distribute that private ValBall config; check the native ValBall settings on your server.

KEEP YOUR COMPANION / ANIMALS AND CARGO

Capturing a wild creature does not tame it. Normal food and taming still apply after release. The helper carries prefab identity, stars, health, names, feeding/pregnancy/growth timers and remaining taming progress through the ball. Supported OdinHorse state also includes coat, armor, waiting state, saddle and serialized saddlebags. Dismount, detach carts and close storage first. Conflicting local/network saddlebag contents cause a refusal rather than an overwrite.