This goal of these new modlets is to provide core "Packs" that contains various vanilla compatible and fully featured characters such as bandits, survivors, animals, wandering traders, etc. without breaking EAC or requiring the DMT utility. Included in this test version are samples of each type of character with very basic xml to get them working in game. No balancing of spawn rates, weapon power, etc was attempted.

There are 4 creature packs.  This one is the 0-CreaturePackZombies - Zombies, you know, dead things that used to be human. Humanoid rigged.

The other are: 

0-CreaturePackAnimals - Things like animals, birds, insects etc.
0-CreaturePackHumans - Various bandits, traders, and survivors and other humanoid rigged entities
0-CreaturePackMechs - Robots, drones and other mechanical things like SphereBot, the avatar of my modding partner SphereII

Other character modders have committed to contributing additional characters to this pack like they do to the POI (Buildings) collection called CompoPack. Want to join them? Start here: https://community.7daystodie.com/forum/39-tutorials-guides/

The methods used to make this vanilla compatible were researched and developed over the past 2 years and finally it seems to be working well enough to test. However, this is something very new and challenging to develop so expect imperfections as we work out all the issues. Once initial testing is complete I plan to teach the development workflow to others.

Features:

Most characters support all vanilla character features. These include Humanoid rigging, root motion animation, collision with vehicles, rag-dolling, 100's of animated reactions (including hit locations, limping, etc.), limb decapitation and gore, and even the ability to spawn the characters with vanilla or custom weapons just by editing xml. These can also be retextured in xml to offer even more variety. There are some exceptions, especially on animals, as I just started to explore that controller. They also work very well as sleepers in POIs, but stumbling onto a bandit that has a MP7 at close range isn't something you will live to enjoy.

Hopes and Dreams:

Beyond hoping that this pack someday contains 100's of new characters, I hope some folks develop custom quests and story lines for some of the characters. Bandits are one thing, but earning a positive faction with the bandit leader by doing some hit jobs for him makes for a better end game.

Known issues:

New zombies can use all walktypes but humanoids like bandits and survivors, walktype 7 is used as its the least zombie-ish of the walktypes. On this walktype I only replaced the idle/walk/run animations, and added specific new animations for rifles and bows. Many more need to be added or replaced when time allows but its not bad as is.

There are currently no footstep sounds when these guys walk or run. Vanilla footsteps require a C# script to trigger sound events and we can not use scripts without breaking EAC. I expect to create a work around for that at some point but for now, look around more.

I handle character physics differently than vanilla does so there may be issues in this area.

Installation:

Just drop the modlets into your MODS folder and have fun. They are not dependent on each other so load the ones you want.

Compatibility:

The modlets are named with a prefix of 0- to insure they load before other modlets that will edit the basic xml provided in these core modlets. Nothing in these modlet's xml should change vanilla in a way that collides with other modlets but let me know if it does.

Testing was done on A19 b180  

Each submitted Unity.3d file (multiple entities in one file) should have a size less than 100 megs for Github compatibility.

Terms of Use:

The goal of everything SphereII and I do is to share information and examples of how to make this game better. So use this for yourselves or as part of a mod you develop for others to enjoy. Giving credit to the author is always a class act, but at least don't be that guy who spends an hour editing someones work and then claims to be the original author.  You can use the .unity3d models only by referencing them inside the creaturepack but you may not copy those files as they usually contain one or more copyrighted, paid assets. Any derivative modlet must ensure compatibility with the base creaturepacks, and cannot directly break them.  If you don't know how to make compatible mods, just ask for help. 

Alternate Download:  Latest version will always be here.  Nexus is only updated occasionally

https://github.com/7D2D/A19Mods Look for the 0-CreaturePacks, but there are other fun things there too, like No Potty Mouth, and character effects.


It is important to know that I don't use Nexus often so any support questions and for the latest version visit the official forums at: https://community.7daystodie.com/topic/17173-a19a18-creaturepacks-a-community-entity-project/