Heartwood: An Ecosystem Platform

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 1.5rem;"> <h1>Heartwood</h1> <div style="background-color: #fff0f0; border: 2px solid #cc0000; border-radius: 0.375rem; padding: 1rem 1.25rem; color: #cc0000;"><strong>⚠ Early Pre-Release &mdash; Work in Progress</strong><br />This mod is in active development and not feature-complete. Expect bugs, missing content, and breaking changes between versions. Save compatibility is not guaranteed during the pre-release period. Feedback and bug reports are welcome.</div> <section>Core ecosystem simulation platform for Vintage Story. Bridges the game to a 24/7 population server that manages persistent wildlife, habitat patches, and cross-mod coordination.</section> <article style="border: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-radius: 0.375rem; background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0.125rem 0.25rem rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.075);"><header style="padding: 0.5rem 1rem; background-color: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-top-left-radius: 0.375rem; border-top-right-radius: 0.375rem; font-weight: bold;">Ecosystem Simulation</header> <div style="padding: 1.25rem;"> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Persistent Populations</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">Wildlife populations are simulated 24/7 by an external Go server using logistic growth models. Animals persist across chunk loads, server restarts, and player sessions.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li>Populations grow, decline, and migrate between habitat patches</li> <li>Predator-prey dynamics with configurable food webs</li> <li>Seasonal presence modifiers per species</li> <li>Hunting pressure tracking &mdash; overhunting reduces local populations</li> </ul> </section> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: solid 1px #dee2e6; margin-block: 1.25rem;" /> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Habitat Patches</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">The world is automatically divided into habitat patches based on temperature, rainfall, and vegetation. Species spawn only in habitats that match their ecological niche.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li>16 habitat types from frozen tundra to tropical forest</li> <li>Carrying capacity varies by patch size and quality</li> <li>Migration corridors connect neighboring patches</li> </ul> </section> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: solid 1px #dee2e6; margin-block: 1.25rem;" /> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Entity Lifecycle</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">Heartwood manages the full lifecycle of every entity it controls &mdash; from spawn to death.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li>Entities materialize when chunks load, persist when chunks unload</li> <li>UUID-tagged for round-trip identity across sessions</li> <li>Spawn suppression &mdash; native VS spawning is replaced for managed species</li> <li>Age stages, breeding, home establishment, and natural death</li> </ul> </section> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: solid 1px #dee2e6; margin-block: 1.25rem;" /> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Herds, Homes &amp; Settlements</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">The simulation tracks group behavior, territory, and NPC villages &mdash; not just individual entities.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li>Herd membership and cohesion managed server-side</li> <li>Home/den/nest assignments with establishment and decay</li> <li>Settlement data synced for NPC village population modeling</li> </ul> </section> </div> </article> <article style="border: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-radius: 0.375rem; background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0.125rem 0.25rem rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.075);"><header style="padding: 0.5rem 1rem; background-color: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-top-left-radius: 0.375rem; border-top-right-radius: 0.375rem; font-weight: bold;">Cross-Mod Platform</header> <div style="padding: 1.25rem;"> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Addon Architecture</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">Heartwood doesn't add any creatures itself. Instead, addon mods register species from other mods (vanilla VS, Critters, MoreAnimals, etc.) with the ecosystem platform.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li><strong>Wingspan</strong> &mdash; registers birds, adds flocking, nesting, birdwatching</li> <li><strong>Fauna</strong> &mdash; registers land animals, adds herding, denning, predator AI</li> <li><strong>Settlement</strong> &mdash; registers NPCs, adds autonomous villages with construction</li> </ul> <p style="margin-top: 0.75rem;">Any mod author can write their own addon to register species with Heartwood.</p> </section> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: solid 1px #dee2e6; margin-block: 1.25rem;" /> <section> <h5 style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold;">Web Dashboard</h5> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.75rem;">Built-in web UI at <code>localhost:8080</code> with real-time visualization.</p> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li>Entity map with species color-coding and player tracking</li> <li>Habitat patch overlay with population counts</li> <li>Population heatmap and migration corridors</li> <li>Species registry, event log, and settlement markers</li> <li>Optional password authentication for remote access</li> </ul> </section> </div> </article> <article style="border: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-radius: 0.375rem; background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0.125rem 0.25rem rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.075);"><header style="padding: 0.5rem 1rem; background-color: #f8f9fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #dee2e6; border-top-left-radius: 0.375rem; border-top-right-radius: 0.375rem; font-weight: bold;">Commands</header> <div style="padding: 1.25rem;"> <ul style="padding-left: 1rem;"> <li><strong><kbd style="display: inline-block;">/heartwood status</kbd></strong> &mdash; Connection info and t