Sheldon Spawn Controller

Remove or cap wild creatures by class. Configured through INI on the server.

Under development. This is an early release. Settings and some behavior may change in later versions. Test with a small block list before applying one to a full server.

What it does

Sheldon Spawn Controller removes or limits wild creatures by class name. It acts on the creatures themselves, as they spawn and through a timed background sweep, rather than by editing spawn tables. Because of this it can remove creatures that spawn-config settings such as spawn-weight multipliers or NPC replacements cannot reach, including creatures added by other content mods.

You supply a list of class names. The mod applies the same rules to vanilla creatures, modded creatures, or any other creature class.

Features

Hard-block a class: set its cap to 0 and it is removed the moment it spawns.
Cap a class: set its cap to N and up to N are allowed; the sweep removes the rest.
Acts on the creatures directly, reaching modded creatures that spawn-config edits cannot.
Two mechanisms, selected with the Mode setting: removal on spawn and a timed background sweep.
The sweep processes one region of the map at a time, so it never scans the whole map in one step.
The block list uses numbered INI keys, so a long list is not limited by line length.
Optional WebSocket control for managing the block list on a running server without a restart. Off by default.

Modes

The Mode setting selects which mechanism runs.

Buff: creatures on the block list are removed when they spawn. No background sweep runs, so caps are not enforced.
Scan: sweep-only. On-spawn removal is disabled; the background sweep removes hard-blocked creatures it finds and trims classes over their cap. Required for caps.
Both (default): on-spawn removal plus the sweep. Leave it on Both unless you have a reason not to.

Installation

Add the mod to your server's mod list.
Add the [SheldonSpawnController] block to the server's GameUserSettings.ini (below).
Restart the server.

The mod affects newly spawned creatures. To remove creatures already in the world, run cheat DestroyWildDinos once after configuring; they respawn under the new rules.

Configuration

Add this to GameUserSettings.ini on the server:

[SheldonSpawnController]
Mode=Both
ScanIntervalSeconds=30
ScanTileRadius=42000
ScanGridWrap=15
bEnableBridge=False
NumEntriesBlock=2
BlockClass1=Dodo_Character_BP_C
BlockCap1=0
BlockClass2=Bronto_Character_BP_C
BlockCap2=3

Include all of these keys. If a key is missing it falls back to a default: a missing Mode behaves like Both, a missing ScanIntervalSeconds is 0, which disables the sweep, and a missing NumEntriesBlock means an empty block list.

Mode: Buff, Scan, or Both. Which mechanism runs. Scan or Both is required for caps.
ScanIntervalSeconds: seconds between sweep steps. Must be above 0 for the sweep to run.
ScanTileRadius: size of each swept region. Raise it on larger maps.
ScanGridWrap: the sweep covers a ScanGridWrap by ScanGridWrap grid of regions. Default 15. Raise it on larger maps so the sweep reaches the edges.
bEnableBridge: True or False. Enables the optional WebSocket control (below). Default False.
NumEntriesBlock: how many BlockClassN / BlockCapN pairs follow. Must match the count.
BlockClassN: the creature's class name. One per numbered entry.
BlockCapN: 0 removes the class. N allows up to N; the sweep removes extras.

Block list

Entries are numbered, so a long list is not limited by line length:

NumEntriesBlock=3
BlockClass1=Dodo_Character_BP_C
BlockCap1=0
BlockClass2=Raptor_Character_BP_C
BlockCap2=5
BlockClass3=Argent_Character_BP_C
BlockCap3=0

NumEntriesBlock must equal the number of pairs. BlockCapN=0 removes the class; BlockCapN=5 allows up to five, which requires Mode=Scan or Both.

Class names

A class name is the creature's generated class, ending in _C, such as Dodo_Character_BP_C or Rex_Character_BP_C. For modded creatures, check the mod's documentation or confirm the class in game with cheat GMSummon "<ClassName>" 1. Names must match exactly. A wrong name matches nothing and reports no error.

WebSocket control (optional)

The mod can connect to an external service to receive block list changes on a running server, with no restart. It is off by default. Enable it only if you run a compatible controller:

bEnableBridge=True
BridgeURL="ws://your-controller-host:port"
BridgeAuthToken=your-shared-token

The BridgeURL value must be quoted. The game truncates an unquoted value at the double slash.

The mod dials out to the address you set and authenticates with the token; it never listens for inbound connections. Over the link a controller can replace, add to, remove from, or clear the block list, switch Mode, adjust the sweep, and query status and per-class removal counts from both mechanisms. Messages are plain delimited text.

Notes

Runs on the server. All configuration is server-side; there is no client-side setup.
Affects newly spawned creatures. Run cheat DestroyWildDinos to clear existing ones.
Class names must match exactly.
Removed creatures despawn with no corpse or loot.
ARK refills the wild population toward its target, so removing a class does not lower the overall wild count. Other creatures take the freed slots.
A cap holds the population near its limit over each sweep rather than as an exact ceiling at every moment.
On very large maps, raise ScanGridWrap or ScanTileRadius so the sweep covers the whole map. If the sweep causes brief hitching, raise ScanIntervalSeconds
Settings and defaults may change while the mod is in development.