AmbientLife

AmbientLife

AmbientLife is a Techtonica mod that brings your factory world to life with intelligent ambient creatures. From spiders crawling on walls and ceilings to flying beetles soaring overhead, dogs following you around, and deer grazing in the distance - this mod creates an immersive ecosystem using real 3D creature models with smart AI that properly navigates terrain without clipping.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Creature Categories
• Smart AI System
• In-Game Configuration UI
• 3D Asset Integration
• Installation
• Configuration
• General Settings
• Flying Insects
• Spiders
• Ground Animals
• Requirements
• Compatibility
• Changelog
• Credits
• License

Features

Creature Categories

AmbientLife v2.0 features 13 unique creature types across 4 categories:

Flying Insects

| Creature | Speed | Behavior | Notes |

|----------|-------|----------|-------|

| Butterflies | 1.5 m/s | Hovering | Colorful, flutters at low altitude |

| Fireflies | 0.8 m/s | Hovering | Pulsing glow effect, atmospheric lighting |

| Flying Beetles | 3 m/s | Flying | Soars at medium altitude |

| Nightmare Beetles | 4 m/s | Flying | Larger, intimidating, high altitude |

Spiders (Wall Crawlers)

| Creature | Speed | Behavior | Notes |

|----------|-------|----------|-------|

| Brown Spiders | 2 m/s | Wall Crawling | Climbs walls, floors, and ceilings |

| Green Spiders | 1.8 m/s | Wall Crawling | Camouflaged variant |

| Black Spiders | 2.5 m/s | Wall Crawling | Larger, faster |

Ground Animals

| Creature | Speed | Behavior | Notes |

|----------|-------|----------|-------|

| Dogs | 3 m/s | Ground | Friendly, follows terrain |

| Cats | 2.5 m/s | Ground | Curious wanderers |

| Chickens | 1.5 m/s | Ground | Flees from player |

| Deer | 4 m/s | Ground | Skittish, runs when approached |

| Wolves | 5 m/s | Ground | Pack wanderers |

| Penguins | 1.2 m/s | Ground | Waddles around |

Smart AI System

Every creature features intelligent movement with advanced pathfinding:

• Terrain Following: Ground creatures properly follow slopes, stairs, and uneven terrain
• Wall Crawling: Spiders can climb walls and transition to ceilings seamlessly
• Obstacle Avoidance: 360-degree collision detection prevents clipping through buildings
• Height Management: Flying creatures maintain safe altitudes and avoid structures
• Dynamic Fleeing: Shy creatures (deer, chickens, spiders) flee when player approaches
• Weighted Spawning: Configurable density per creature category

In-Game Configuration UI

Press F8 to open the configuration panel:

• Master Controls: Enable/disable all creatures, set max count
• Per-Creature Toggles: Turn individual creature types on/off
• Density Sliders: Adjust spawn weights for flying, crawling, and ground animals
• Status Display: See active creature count and loaded prefab count
• Quick Actions: Reload assets, clear all creatures

3D Asset Integration

• Uses real 3D models from AssetBundles when available
• Automatic fallback to procedural geometry if bundles missing
• Supports animated models with proper Animator components
• Disables default AI controllers to use custom smart movement

Installation

Mod Manager Installation (Recommended)

• Open r2modman or Mod Manager
• Search for "AmbientLife"
• Click Install
• Launch the game through the mod manager

Manual Installation

• Install BepInEx 5.4.2100+ and TechtonicaFramework
• Download the latest release
• Extract to BepInEx/plugins/CertiFried-AmbientLife/
• Ensure the Bundles folder is present for 3D creature assets
• Launch the game

Configuration

Configuration file: BepInEx/config/com.certifired.AmbientLife.cfg

Or use the in-game UI by pressing F8.

General Settings

| Setting | Default | Range | Description |

|---------|---------|-------|-------------|

| Enable Ambient Life | true | - | Master toggle for all spawning |

| Max Creatures | 40 | 5-150 | Maximum creatures in world |

| Spawn Radius | 50 | 20-150m | Distance from player to spawn |

| Despawn Radius | 80 | 30-200m |