Companion Dogs [ALPHA]

Companion Dogs [ALPHA]

Adopt a stray. Feed it, earn its trust, and you end up with a dog that follows you around, warns you about things you cannot see and throws itself at zombies for you. It also has to eat every day, and it can die.

ALPHA, meaning playable and stable but still growing, and new features can bring new bugs. Five breeds in this base mod: Caramelo, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Border Collie and Husky. They breed and raise puppies too.

Which version does it run on? — Build 42.19 up

Can I add it to a save or a server already running? — Yes. Dogs spawn in areas you have already explored

Does it work on servers? — Yes, dedicated and co-op

Which languages? — Fifteen, listed at the end of this description

How many breeds are there? — Five in the base mod (listed above), seven in the official collection (linked above), and plenty more made by the community: search the Workshop for CD or Companion Dogs

Can my dog die? — Death is off by default, and you can turn it on in the sandbox menu at any time

Can I have more than one dog following me? — Not today. An update to improve this is on the roadmap

Will it keep getting updates? — Yes. The roadmap is long, and it stays in alpha/beta for a few more months

Known issue: dog looks crumpled / has no texture

Fix: enable Companion Dogs in the main-menu Mods list, then fully restart the game before loading your save. Co-op hosts must do the same and restart the server.

Removing the mod? Read first

>> Full removal guide <<

What your dog does

• Commands from the radial, the paw menu or right-click, and you can bind hotkeys in Paw menu > Settings

• Sniff out zombies in four steps that tell you how close they are, though the loudest alert can pull zombies in

• Combat that knocks zombies down, or kills them outright with anything but the small breeds

• Hunting that starts at insects and works its way up to deer as the skill grows

• Saddlebags for extra cargo

• Livestock care that keeps your herd calm while you are away, herds the birds in and shuts the coop at night

• Needs, loyalty and a companion moodle per breed

• Five skills with XP and inborn trait genes

• Obedience tricks: walk to a tile, distract, sniff out an item, fetch it

• Breeding and puppies

• Vet care: wounds, illnesses, vet meds and herbal remedies you forage and craft

• Wolf packs in the forests that hunt you down, and a beaten wolf can be finished off or nursed back and tamed

• Rides with you in any vehicle

• Dogs left at home wander, nap, sniff and stretch their legs instead of standing frozen

• A management window for all of it

>> All the details in the wiki <<

Roadmap: coming in Beta

• More breeds & rarity. Additional breeds, each with its own traits and skill-XP boosts. Genes scale with rarity: the Caramelo is humble, rarer breeds are born stronger.

• Art & audio polish. Custom icons, refined skins, new breed models, and better dog sounds.

Credits

Animations derived from Quaternius "Ultimate Animated Animals" (CC0). Dog sounds from BigSoundBank / Joseph Sardin (CC0). Doggie medicine item icons by Xianah. Custom dog model, skeleton & skinning by the author.

Translations

Fifteen languages so far, English and Portugues (Brasil) by the author and the rest by players who volunteered. Chinese (简体/繁體中文) by duwenju1203. Italian (Italiano) by d4rk83 and Daniel. Japanese (日本語) and Spanish (Español) by 一匹狼. Thai (ไทย) by momineko. Russian (Русский) by Jackson WalWhite and MechJeb2, who also did Ukrainian (Українська). Korean (한국어) by Hagaren. Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) by huuhoa43. German (Deutsch) by Katinka1988. French (Français) by lordtmk and Xianah. Finnish (Suomi, in progress) by TuftedTuba.

Asset usage

Feel free to build add-ons and new breeds for Companion Dogs, and to use the mod's art in them, just give proper credit :D For anything outside that, please do not extract, repackage or redistribute the mod's content in unrelated projects without our explicit permission.

Support

If you enjoy the mod, you can check out our kofi pages. Thank you! <3

—

Wiki & Discord

Question about how a mechanic or a breed works? READ THE WIKI BEFORE ASKING.

Every feature, every breed and ev