SpawnKit — spawn any creature, anywhere¶

SpawnKit is a kit for Outward that spawns creatures at runtime as real vanilla hostiles — and an in-game menu that lets you do it yourself. Press F11, pick a creature, and it appears beside you. It's for players who want to stage fights, and for modders who want a one-line creature spawn.

Alpha. The core spawn / despawn / AI loop is solid, but you will hit rough edges (see Known limitations): roughly a quarter of the creature roster can't be fetched yet, spawning is host-driven in co-op, and there's an occasional cosmetic terrain glitch. Back up saves you care about before experimenting.

At a glance - Type: gameplay tool + reusable library (kit) - GUID: cobalt.spawnkit - Requires: BepInEx 5 (Outward's Mono branch), plus ForgeKit, CompanionKit, and NetKit - Config: BepInEx/config/cobalt.spawnkit.cfg - Commands: BepInEx/config/SpawnKit_cmd.txt

For players¶

SpawnKit gives you a real vanilla hostile — not a dummy or a stand-in. It wanders, it aggros, it fights, it drops its normal loot, and it dies like the wild version, because it is the wild version. Spawn a pack of hyenas to train on. Drop a Tuanosaur next to a bandit camp and watch them fight each other. Restock a region you've already cleared out.

Spawns are ephemeral: they never enter your save file, and they vanish when you leave the area.

Launch the game, load a save, and press F11 for a draggable window listing every creature you can spawn.

● means the creature is ready — it spawns instantly.
○ means it's cold: the first spawn pauses 1–6 seconds while SpawnKit fetches its body (see How it works). Click Prewarm to pay that cost up front instead.
Set a count, hit Spawn, and use Despawn All / Kill All to clean up.

The key is rebindable ([Menu] MenuKey; Backslash is a classic debug-menu choice). The menu closes on Esc, on F11 again, or when you open a vanilla menu.

Installing¶

Installing through a mod manager pulls in every dependency automatically. By hand, drop SpawnKit and its dependency kits — ForgeKit/, AggroKit/, NetKit/, CompanionKit/, SpawnKit/ — side by side into BepInEx/plugins/. If BepInEx logs a dependency error and refuses to load SpawnKit, one of the others is missing. See Installing for the full setup.

How it works¶

Outward has no way to create a creature from nothing — every creature is baked into the scene it lives in. So SpawnKit borrows one: it quietly loads the scene a species lives in, copies a live creature out of it, gives the copy a fresh identity, drops it on solid ground near you, and unloads the scene again. That's the 1–6 second pause on a cold spawn, and it's why the result behaves perfectly — it's the same creature the game itself would have spawned, not an imitation.

The creature roster comes from CompanionKit, which owns the table mapping each species to the scenes it can be found in. spawnlist prints it. You can add or fix an entry without rebuilding anything by dropping a DonorScenes.txt into BepInEx/config/:

Hyena=Emercar_Dungeon5,ChersoneseDungeonsSmall
Alpha Tuanosaur=Hallowed_Dungeon3,HallowedMarshNewTerrain

Region-only creatures need an extra step. Open-world regions and towns are too big to load in the background — trying it crashes the game, so SpawnKit refuses to. Creatures that live only out in a region (Pearlbird, Torcrab, Coralhorn and friends) therefore can't be fetched the usual way; their rows are labelled (expedition-only) and a cold spawn fails with a clear message. To stock them, run an expedition: SpawnKit takes the whole party through a loading screen to the donor region and back (saving on each leg), and from then on that creature spawns like any other. Use spawnexpedition <species>, or the menu's expedition button.

Settings¶

BepInEx/config/cobalt.spawnkit.cfg, created on first launch:

Setting	Default	What it does
`[Spawner] Enabled`	`true`	Master kill-switch. Off = no new spawns (cleanup still works).
`[Spawner] AllowSpawnInRoom`	`false`	Override the co-op safety gate: spawn in a room even when a peer doesn't have SpawnKit. Those peers see nothing (the spawn is an invisible ghost to them, and locks the host in unwinnable combat), so it's off by default. Solo play never consults this.
`[Spawner] MaxActiveSpawns`	`8`	Cap on live spawns at once (pending spawns count).
`[Spawner] SpawnDistance`	`5`	How far from you they appear, in meters.
`[Spawner] MaxCachedTemplates`	`12`	How many creature bodies stay in memory. Higher = more instant spawns, more RAM. `0` = unlimited.
`[Spawner] DefaultCorpsePolicy`	`Vanilla`	`Vanilla` leaves the corpse and its loot. `NoBody` deletes the corpse (and its loot) after death.
`[Spawner] DefaultCorpseLingerSeconds`	`0`	Seconds a `NoBody` corpse lingers (death-anim time) before it's removed.
`[Spawner] ForceLootableEnabled`	`true`	Re-enable a disabled loot component on a spawn so its corpse is lootable. Doesn't invent loot — a creature with no drops still drops nothing.
`[Menu] EnableMenu`	`true`	The in-game spawn menu.
`[Menu] MenuKey`	`F11`	Key that toggles the menu.
`[Expedition] EnableExpeditions`	`true`	Allow fetching a region-only species via a real loading-screen round trip. Off = those rows only spawn if something already cached the body.
`[Expedition] ConfirmMenuExpedition`	`true`	Require a second click in the menu to launch an expedition (a stray click shouldn't teleport the party and write a save).
`[Coop] EnableCoopSpawns`	`true`	Replicate host spawns to guests running SpawnKit. Off = spawns refuse in a co-op room.
`[Coop] DespawnOnMirrorFailure`	`true`	If a guest can't mirror a spawn, despawn it everywhere (safer than leaving a ghost).
`[Coop] MirrorQueueTimeoutSeconds`	`20`	How long a guest holds a received spawn (waiting for its scene) before giving up.

Config values are re-read live with the reloadcfg command (a raw file edit alone does nothing until then, or a relaunch); a few — the corpse policy and cached bodies — apply to new spawns only.

Example configuration¶

BepInEx/config/cobalt.spawnkit.cfg — created on first launch. Excerpt:

[Spawner]
Enabled = true
MaxActiveSpawns = 8
SpawnDistance = 5

[Menu]
EnableMenu = true
MenuKey = F11

[Expedition]
EnableExpeditions = true
ConfirmMenuExpedition = true

[Coop]
EnableCoopSpawns = true

Dev commands run from BepInEx/config/SpawnKit_cmd.txt, and the species→scene table is config-overridable by dropping BepInEx/config/DonorScenes.txt (see How it works). The shared-settings overlay is config/shared/cobalt.spawnkit.cfg.overlay (see config/README.md).

Commands¶

Everything the menu does is also driven by writing a line into BepInEx/config/SpawnKit_cmd.txt — it runs on the next poll, even while the game is paused. Useful for scripting, or if a keybind conflicts. Unknown verb or help lists them all.

Verb	What it does
`spawn <species> [count]`	Spawn 1 or more beside you. Names may contain spaces: `spawn Armored Hyena 3`.
`spawnex <species> [dist=N] [life=N] [faction=Name] [owner=tag] [body=vanilla\\|none] [linger=N] [keepquest]`	One spawn with the full per-spawn option surface.
`despawnall [kill]`	Remove every spawn. `kill` gives them a real death (animation + loot) instead of deleting them.
`despawnowner <tag> [kill]`	Remove only spawns tagged with `<tag>`.
`spawnlist` / `spawndump`	List spawnable creatures / show what's live right now.
`spawnprewarm <species>` / `spawnprep <scene>`	Pay the body-fetch cost now so later spawns are instant.
`spawnclearcache`	Drop cached bodies (frees memory; next spawn re-fetches).
`spawnexpedition <species> [spawn] [force]`	Fetch a region-only species via a loading-screen round trip; `spawn` also spawns it on return.
`expeditionreset`	Force a stuck expedition guard open (the fix for "the spawn menu stopped opening"). Doesn't teleport anyone.
`spawnmenu`	Toggle the in-game menu regardless of `MenuKey`.
`lootprobe`	Per-spawn corpse-loot diagnosis.
`skcoopdump`	Co-op state on this machine: handshakes, mirrored spawns, message counters. (More co-op dev verbs under `help`: `skinject` / `skfail` / `skdrop` / `skresync` / `skgone` / `skstream` / `skfollow`.)
`selftest`	Sanity-check the install; look for `[SELFTEST] … DONE` in the log.

SpawnKit also registers ForgeKit's shared CommonVerbs pack on the same channel, so give, goto, teleport, settime, learnskill, scenedump and the rest are available here too.

Known limitations¶

Some creatures don't work. Roughly a quarter of the rows in the list can't be fetched — their body isn't in the scene the table expects, or they're region-only and not stocked yet. You get a clear message in the log rather than anything harmful.
Co-op is host-driven. With [Coop] EnableCoopSpawns=true, the host spawns and every guest running SpawnKit mirrors the creature as a real networked enemy — it moves, fights, dies and drops loot for everyone. Guests can't start spawns themselves (refused cleanly). If any player in the room doesn't have SpawnKit, in-room spawns refuse and the log names who, because to them the spawn would be an invisible ghost. [Spawner] AllowSpawnInRoom=true overrides that, knowingly; the whole co-op wire rides NetKit.
A rare visual glitch. Very occasionally, after a lot of spawning in one session, a patch of ground can go invisible (you can still walk on it) — changing zone and coming back repairs it.

Troubleshooting¶

Symptom	What it means	What to do
`No spawnable species matches '<x>'`	Not in the table	Check `spawnlist`; add a line to `BepInEx/config/DonorScenes.txt`
`has NO viable donor (all candidates oversized)`	A region-only creature, not stocked yet	Run `spawnexpedition <species>` (or the menu's expedition button)
First spawn of a creature pauses, later ones don't	Normal — that's the body fetch	Use `spawnprewarm` to pay it early
No mods load at all, no crash log	Wrong Steam branch (IL2CPP instead of Mono)	See Installing

For modders¶

SpawnKit is also a library. Reference it and declare the dependency:

[BepInDependency(SpawnKit.Plugin.GUID)]

Then spawning is one line:

SpawnHandle h = Spawner.Spawn("Hyena");

Everything else is optional — per-spawn customization rides a SpawnOptions, and the returned SpawnHandle is your window onto the creature's lifecycle:

Spawner.Spawn("Alpha Tuanosaur",
    new SpawnOptions
    {
        Faction = Character.Factions.Tuanosaurs, // null = the donor's own faction
        Distance = 12f,                          // ring-probe radius (clamped 1–50m)
        // Position = somewhereExact,            // skip the ring probe entirely
        LifetimeSeconds = 120f,                  // auto-despawn clock (null = forever)
        Corpse = Core.CorpsePolicy.NoBody,       // destroy the corpse after death (null = the
                                                 //   [Spawner] DefaultCorpsePolicy config;
                                                 //   NoBody takes the LOOT with it — see traps)
        CorpseLingerSeconds = 8f,                // death-anim time before the NoBody destroy
        OwnerTag = "mymod",                      // namespace your spawns (see DespawnAll)
        // StripQuestEvents = false,             // default true — leave it unless you KNOW
    },
    onReady: handle =>
    {
        if (!handle.IsAlive) { /* handle.FailReason says why */ return; }
        handle.OnDied += _ => DropReward();
        handle.OnDespawned += _ => CleanupMarker();
    });

The full surface (SpawnKit.Spawner, all static):

Call	What it does
`Spawn(species, options?, onReady?)`	Spawn ONE creature; returns a `SpawnHandle` immediately (`Pending` → `Alive`/`Failed`; sync refusals return already-`Failed` with a `FailReason`). One call = one creature — loop for more; a cold-species loop still costs one fetch (in-flight acquires dedup).
`Despawn(handle, kill=false)`	Remove one spawn: `kill` = real damage pipeline (death anim + loot, → `Died`); silent = destroy (→ `Despawned`). Cancels a still-`Pending` handle.
`DespawnAll(ownerTag=null, kill=false)`	Sweep by owner tag. `null` = EVERYTHING — that's the operator verb; mods should pass their own tag.
`Prewarm(species, onDone?)` / `IsPrewarmed(species)`	Pay/check the body fetch off your hot path.
`CanMintNow(species)`	True if a spawn can mint a body right now, from either cache (prewarm or expedition) — the question UI actually wants.
`IsExpeditionOnly(species)` / `IsExpeditionCached(species)`	Whether a species can only be stocked by an expedition, and whether one already has.
`Expedition(species, onDone?, force=false)`	Go fetch an expedition-only species (party round trip, saves on each leg). Host/offline only.
`Active(ownerTag=null)`	Snapshot of tracked handles (Pending + Alive).
`SpeciesKeys()` / `ResolvedDonorName(species)`	The spawnable roster, and the real donor creature a species key resolves to (once revealed).

Trap table — read before shipping on this¶

Trap	Rule
`handle.Character` can go Unity-null under you (scene unload, despawn)	Check `handle.IsAlive` before every use; never cache the `Character` across scene loads.
Spawns are ephemeral by design	Scene unload = `OnDespawned`, and saves skip `SK_` UIDs both directions. Don't build persistence on top.
A cold species blocks ~1–6s before `onReady`	`Prewarm` on your init path if the spawn must feel instant.
`MaxActiveSpawns` is global across all consumers (pending spawns count too)	Tag your spawns (`OwnerTag`) and never call `DespawnAll(null)` from a mod — you'd sweep other mods' spawns.
Callbacks run on the main thread inside the watch tick	Keep them cheap. A throwing callback is isolated (swallowed + logged) — it won't break SpawnKit, but you won't get a second chance either.
Co-op clients always get `Failed/NotMaster` — guests never initiate	Design your feature so only the host drives spawning. Host-side in-room spawns work when every peer handshakes; otherwise the refusal names the unmodded peer.
An unmodded guest in the room blocks in-room spawns (`PeersNotReady`)	That's the feature: a spawn would be an invisible ghost to them. `AllowSpawnInRoom=true` overrides, knowingly.
A guest's first mirror of a species runs its own ~1s donor harvest	Prewarm on both machines if it matters.
Late-join / scene-return flush covers Alive spawns only	A guest joining never sees pre-existing corpses; a `NoBody` corpse removal can destroy a loot container a guest has open (same as a scene unload mid-loot — vanilla tolerates it).
`StripQuestEvents = false` on a quest-flagged creature fires real quest events on death	The default (true) exists because live donors really do carry quest triggers — leaving it on is what keeps spawns from mutating quest state.
`CorpsePolicy.NoBody` destroys the loot bag with the body	The corpse GameObject IS the loot container — never combine NoBody with a drop-loot expectation.
Ring geometry (step angles, elevation band, navmesh snap) is not configurable	By design. If you need exact placement, pass `SpawnOptions.Position` and own the spot yourself.
The species roster and creature supply are CompanionKit's, not SpawnKit's	An expedition-only species fails cold spawns until an expedition stocks it.