Add a creature

Build a new tactical creature from your rigged GLB. The creature keeps its own skeleton and animations; it can also join a new campaign’s starting roster.

You need

• ContentTool installed and enabled.
• One skinned GLB with bones and named walk, idle, attack and death clips. A reaction clip is useful. See the animation contract.
• A shipped TacCharacterDef with a suitable component structure to use as a donor.
• Animation event times measured from your clips. Do not guess when an attack connects.

Folder layout

MyCreature\
  meta.json
  ppcontent.json
  Content\
    Models\
      creature.glb             <- rig, weighted mesh and named clips
  Dist\
    MyCreature.bundle          <- created by the bake

Steps

1. Put your GLB directly in Content\Models. In the game console, find a donor by name and type:

ct_list defs Swarmer TacCharacterDef

The spider demo uses Swarmer_TacCharacterDef. Choose a donor whose component structure suits your creature.

1. Create meta.json:

{
  "ID": "example.mycreature",
  "AssemblyName": "",
  "Version": "1.0.0",
  "Name": [{ "Key": "English", "Value": "My creature" }],
  "Dependencies": ["com.morgott.ContentTool"]
}

1. Create ppcontent.json with an empty creature block, then bake once:

{
  "id": "example.mycreature",
  "bundle": "MyCreature.bundle",
  "creature": {}
}

ct_project MyCreature

Look for creature-scaffold: WROTE the clip list into <path> - map each one to a role there. The first bake can end with creature-roles FAIL: the tool has found your clips but needs you to assign their roles.

1. Edit the generated ppcontent.json. This example shows the shape used by a spider; replace its model stem, clip names, scale, lift and event times with values from your GLB:

{
  "id": "example.mycreature",
  "bundle": "MyCreature.bundle",
  "scale": 0.008,
  "play": "Spider_Idle",
  "loop": "Spider_Idle, Spider_Walk",
  "creature": {
    "clips": {
      "Spider_Walk": "walk",
      "Spider_Idle": "idle",
      "Spider_Damage": "reaction",
      "Spider_Attack_1": "attack",
      "Spider_Death": "death"
    },
    "events": {
      "attack": "ActionDo 0.4054, ShootShot 0.4865, ActionEnd 0.8378",
      "death": "Ragdoll 0.9"
    },
    "name": "Spider",
    "model": "creature",
    "donor": "Swarmer_TacCharacterDef",
    "startingRoster": true,
    "up": "0,1,0",
    "lift": 2.1372,
    "health": 40,
    "will": 10,
    "speed": 16,
    "volume": 1
  }
}

Use the bake’s creature-measure line to choose scale and lift. Map all four required roles. Reaction, ranged, climb and jump are optional. Declare attack and death events at the frames where they happen.

1. Bake again and read the entire result:

ct_project MyCreature

Fix any creature-events WARN UNDECLARED: line. Each missing blocking event can stall an action. Package only after the bake passes:

ct_package MyCreature

1. Enable the mod and restart the game. With startingRoster set to true, start a new campaign. Run ct_creature list to inspect built templates.

ct_mission list publicly lists tactical save names. If you use ct_creature gate for a tactical test, save first: it loads the named save immediately, without confirmation, and discards unsaved progress.

Check it worked

The bake should include:

creature-events PASS every blocking event the game waits for is declared
creature-roles PASS "clips" maps <mapped> of <discovered> discovered animation(s); every required role (walk, idle, attack, death) is mapped
ct_project: ALL PASS - <path>

After restart, inspect the creature in the roster and in tactical play. Check movement, attack timing, damage reaction and death; a clean bake alone does not prove those actions look right.

Common errors

What you see	Why	Fix
creature-roles FAIL	A required role is unmapped.	Assign walk, idle, attack and death to clips the scaffold actually found.
creature-events WARN UNDECLARED:	An attack or death event is missing.	Add the named event at its measured fraction of the clip.
SOURCE SKIPPED:	A model source could not be imported.	Correct the file named by the line, then bake again.
ct_creature FAIL ppcontent.json "creature": "model" names	The model stem does not match a direct GLB under Content\Models.	Match the model value to the GLB stem.
ct_creature FAIL ppcontent.json "creature": "donor" is	The donor is not the name of a shipped TacCharacterDef with a component set.	Choose an exact suitable TacCharacterDef returned by ct_list defs.

See messages for more diagnostics.

Example

CustomCreature shows a spider with its own clips.