Mods / Newfies Animal Limiter

Tags:
Utility Tweak
Author:
Newfie
Side:
Server
Created:
Sep 28th 2025 at 10:58 PM
Last modified:
Nov 16th 2025 at 8:17 PM
Downloads:
384
Latest release (for Vintage Story 1.20.12, 1.21.0, 1.21.1 and 1.21.2 - 1.21.5, outdated):
NewifesAnimalLimiter-v1.1.0.zip  1-click install

Newfies Animal Limiter

Take control of runaway animal populations and protect your server’s performance.

Overview

Newfies Animal Limiter automatically monitors every chunk column and enforces per-species population caps. It culls excess animals and throttles new spawns in real time, preventing laggy “animal explosions” while leaving pets and tamed creatures untouched.

Key Features

  • Per-Species Limits – Default 50 animals of the same type per chunk column. Override limits for specific codes (e.g. chickens 80, boars 20) with simple JSON config.

  • Pet Protection – Detects tamed or owned animals and skips them, so players’ companions are always safe.

  • On-Demand Cull – Admins can run /animallimit cull to sweep all currently loaded chunks instantly.

  • Spawn Throttling – Stops new spawns if a chunk is already at the cap, preventing endless breed-and-cull cycles.

  • Chunk-Event Driven – Hooks directly into chunk load/unload events for efficient, low-overhead operation.

  • Detailed Logging – Console notifications plus optional daily CSV logs (in the server data path) show exactly what was removed, when, and where.

Configuration

After first launch, edit the generated file:

ModConfig/animal_limiter.json

Example:

{
// Max animals of the SAME code per 32x32 chunk column (X/Z), full height.
// Example: with 40, if a column has 100 "chicken-white", it trims to 40.
"PerCodeLimitPerChunk": 40,

// Optional overrides by exact code or prefix. Longest key wins.
// Example: { "chicken-": 80, "boar-normal": 20 }
"PerCodeOverrides": {},

// Only entities whose Code.Path starts with any of these prefixes are managed.
// Everything else is ignored.
   // Also works to target all entities
   //"IncludeCodeStartsWith": [ "" ],
"IncludeCodeStartsWith": [
"chicken-",
"hen-",
"hare-",
"pig-",
"boar-",
"sheep-",
"bighorn-",
"cow-"
],

// Hard exclusions. If a code matches any of these prefixes, it’s NEVER culled
// or counted against the cap (e.g., dogs/pets/companions).
"ProtectedCodeStartsWith": [
"dog-",
"pet-",
"companion-"
],

// Extra safety: try to detect tamed/owned/domesticated animals via attributes
// (owneruid/owner/tamed/pet/domesticated/domesticationlevel) and skip them.
"ProtectTamedOrOwned": true,

// When culling, keep the animals closest to players; remove the farthest first.
"KeepNearestToPlayers": true,

// Write human-readable log lines to server console for culls/throttles.
"LogActions": true,

// Also write a daily CSV audit file with each removal (timestamp, coords, code, etc.).
"LogToCsv": true,

// Subfolder under the server **data path** for CSV files.
"CsvDirName": "AnimalLimiter",

// CSV file name prefix. Files rotate daily like: removals-YYYY-MM-DD.csv
"CsvFilePrefix": "removals"
}

Commands

/animallimit cull – Immediately scans and culls all loaded columns.

Requirements

  • Vintage Story 1.20.12+

  • Server-side mod; no client install required.

Mod Version Mod IdentifierFor Game version Downloads Released Changelog Download 1-click mod install*
1.1.0 newfieanimallimiter
1.21.2 - 1.21.5
384 Sep 28th 2025 at 11:02 PM Empty NewifesAnimalLimiter-v1.1.0.zip 1-click install

9 Comments (oldest first | newest first) (threaded | flat)

GiggaMouse, Aug 3rd at 4:31 AM

Any chance of updating this mod? It was really useful

PerkCuss, Jun 30th at 2:40 PM

Would love to see this get an update for 1.22, if possible. 

ToR_, May 22nd at 1:04 AM

Newfie Hey! Will this be updated for 1.22.2? :)

Newfie , May 22nd at 1:10 AM
@ToR_: Newfie Hey! Will this be updated for 1.22.2? :)

I can get it done sometime soon if you would like :)

 

ToR_, May 22nd at 1:17 AM
@Newfie: I can get it done sometime soon if you would like :)

Yes please!! That would be really awesome :D

yukish, Mar 9th at 2:29 AM

ChiefKrogan sou have loads of animals mods do u see all of them and all ur old animals n do u have bugs n do you come across them commonly or ralerly ?

i have loads and i find a ffew but loads are there.

Newfie , Sep 28th 2025 at 11:42 PM (modified Sep 28th 2025 at 11:44 PM)

AgentOfChaos If you use the line below in the config It should work with every entity, Limits are individual so for ex: if the limit is set at 40 there can be 40 chickens and 40 cows per chunk, its not a shared limit so it can be fairly low without affecting much besides peoples farms or certain mods that has mass spawns. It will cull them when the chunk reloads, or stop them from breeding entirely, or you can use the cull command to fast track culls.
"IncludeCodeStartsWith": [ "" ],

AgentOfChaos, Sep 28th 2025 at 11:38 PM

Will support for some other entity's like from wilderlands rustbound and rot and rust be added?

ChiefKrogan, Sep 28th 2025 at 11:08 PM

This is amazing. I have a feeling I'll be adding this to my single player world soon, with how many animal mods I have.