Mount Modding Guide

This guide is the end-to-end path for making a custom mount in Kingdom Two Crowns with KingdomMod. It covers the full loop:

Inspect existing mounts.
Pick a base mount to clone.
Change stats and behavior.
Replace mount sprites or animation frames with your own art.
Add the mount to an in-game selector.
Test, package, and debug it.

Mounts are game Steed objects. A complete custom mount is usually a cloned existing Steed prefab with modified fields and replaced visual assets. This is safer than trying to build a mount prefab from nothing, because the existing prefab already has the right colliders, renderers, animator, audio hooks, network/saving hooks, and mount ability components.

KingdomMod ships no Kingdom Two Crowns art. Custom mount packs must contain only your own PNGs or other assets you have permission to distribute.

Quick Checklist

Run the game with KingdomMod installed.
Press F3 after entering a run or opening menus that load mount assets.
Read <KTC>/UserData/KingdomMod/dump/steeds.json.
Choose a base mount with the closest behavior and animation set.
Clone that prefab at runtime.
Change Steed fields such as speed, stamina, eating, and deer attraction.
Replace sprites on the clone before calling Player.Ride.
Register the mount with Kingdom.CustomMounts so the F1 console shows it in the separate Custom Mounts menu.
Swap the player onto the clone with Player.Ride(instance, replace: true, applyToCampaign: true).
Test P1 and P2, save/load, scene transition, stamina, eating, ability, and switching away/back.

Inspect Existing Mounts

The F3 dumper writes loaded mount data to:

<KTC>/UserData/KingdomMod/dump/steeds.json

That file shows the Steed fields that are safe to start experimenting with: speed, stamina, eating rules, deer attraction, recoloring flags, and animation flags.

Not every mount prefab is loaded at the main menu. Enter a run, open relevant menus, or switch biome/content before dumping if a mount seems missing.

Choose A Base Mount

Pick the base mount by behavior first, art second.

Desired custom mount	Good base choice
Normal horse with new art	P1/P2 default horse
Deer-luring mount	Stag or Reindeer
Night-eating predator	Wolf
Coin-generating or special economy behavior	Unicorn-style mount
Fast stamina-focused mount	Griffin or fast horse
Defensive/charge behavior	Warhorse-style mount
Fire/attack ability	Lizard-style mount

Use the closest existing ability path. It is much easier to reskin and tune a wolf into a custom predator than to add wolf-only night-eating behavior to a plain horse from scratch.

Prefabs Versus Live Mounts

The game exposes mount data through Il2Cpp.Steed.

Prefab mounts usually have steed.gameObject.scene.handle == 0. Live scene mounts have a nonzero scene handle.

For a mount selector, use prefabs:

foreach (var steed in Resources.FindObjectsOfTypeAll<Steed>())
{
    if (steed == null) continue;
    if (steed.gameObject.scene.handle != 0) continue; // skip live scene mounts
    if (steed.steedType == SteedType.INVALID) continue;

    // Add to selector.
}

For runtime effects on the currently ridden mount, use live scene instances:

static bool IsActiveSceneSteed(Steed steed)
{
    return steed != null
        && steed.gameObject != null
        && steed.gameObject.scene.handle != 0
        && steed.gameObject.activeInHierarchy;
}

Do not pass a live scene mount as if it were a prefab to a selector. Instantiate the prefab, customize the instance, then ride the instance.

Minimal Custom Mount Flow

static void RideCustomMount(Player player, Steed basePrefab)
{
    var instance = UnityEngine.Object.Instantiate(basePrefab);
    instance.name = "My Custom Mount";
    instance.transform.position = player.transform.position;
    instance.gameObject.SetActive(true);

    ApplyStats(instance);
    ApplySprites(instance);

    player.Ride(instance, replace: true, applyToCampaign: true);
}

Player.Ride(Steed, bool, bool) is the game's own mount-swap path. Use it instead of trying to parent the player manually.

replace: true replaces the current mount. applyToCampaign: true asks the game to persist the chosen mount through its campaign path where applicable.

Changing Mount Stats

Change fields on the cloned Steed before Player.Ride:

static void ApplyStats(Steed steed)
{
    steed.walkSpeed = 2.2f;
    steed.runSpeed = 5.0f;
    steed.forestSpeedMultiplier = 1.0f;

    steed.walkStaminaRate = 0.06f;
    steed.runStaminaRate = -0.06f;
    steed.standStaminaRate = 0.22f;
    steed.reserveStamina = 0.35f;
    steed.reserveProbability = 0.75f;

    steed.canEat = true;
    steed.onlyEatsAtNight = false;
    steed.eatDelay = 0.5f;
    steed.eatDuration = 3.0f;
    steed.wellFedDuration = 48.0f;
    steed.tiredDuration = 18.0f;

    steed.attractsDeer = true;
}

Keep first experiments conservative. Very high speeds or extreme stamina values can expose animation, collision, camera, or network assumptions.

Steed Field Reference

These fields come from the F3 steeds.json dump and the generated Il2Cpp.Steed reference. The exact gameplay formula can still be hidden inside IL2CPP method bodies, but the field purposes are stable enough for modding.

Field	Meaning
`assetName`	Unity object or prefab name, such as `Wolf P1`. Useful for display and debugging.
`steedType`	Game enum identity used by save/swap logic, such as `P1Wolf`, `Stag`, or `Unicorn`. For fully custom clones, you usually keep the base type and distinguish the mount by your mod's selector/name.
`walkSpeed`	Base walking speed.
`runSpeed`	Base gallop/run speed.
`forestSpeedMultiplier`	Movement multiplier in forest/rough movement contexts. `0.9` means 90% speed there.
`walkStaminaRate`	Stamina change while walking. Positive values recover stamina.
`runStaminaRate`	Stamina change while running. Negative values drain stamina.
`glideStaminaRate`	Stamina change during glide or special movement states. Often only meaningful for mounts with that ability path.
`standStaminaRate`	Stamina recovery while standing still.
`reserveStamina`	Backup stamina amount the mount can sometimes use after normal stamina is low or exhausted.
`reserveProbability`	Chance to receive/use reserve stamina. `0.7` means 70%.
`glidePayThreshold`	Coin/payment threshold tied to glide or special ability behavior. Present on all mounts, but not always relevant.
`rearingDuration`	How long the mount rears up.
`rearingCooldown`	Cooldown before rearing or an ability-like action can happen again.
`canEat`	Whether the mount can graze/eat to recover stamina.
`eatDelay`	Delay before eating starts after conditions are met.
`eatFullStaminaDelay`	Extra timing around reaching full stamina from eating.
`eatDuration`	How long the eating action lasts.
`onlyEatsAtNight`	Whether eating is restricted to night. Wolves use this.
`wellFedDuration`	How long the well-fed/full-stamina benefit lasts after eating.
`tiredDuration`	How long the mount stays tired after exhausting stamina.
`eatAmbientThreshold`	Environmental/ambience threshold for eating. `0` means no extra threshold.
`attractsDeer`	Whether deer are attracted to/follow this mount. Stag/reindeer use this naturally.
`wanderRange`	How far an unridden/idle mount can wander.
`recolorToCoatOfArms`	Whether mount sprites get recolored to player/kingdom coat-of-arms colors. Disable this if your custom art should keep exact colors.
`hasBirthAnim`	Whether the mount has a birth/spawn animation path.
`disableSteedSwitching`	If true, blocks normal switching away from or through this steed.
`resumesGallopingAfterUsingAbility`	Whether the mount resumes galloping automatically after its special ability finishes.
`forwardAnimsToRuler`	Whether mount animation events are forwarded to the monarch/rider animation system.

Custom Mount Art

Most visible mount art is rendered through SpriteRenderer components on the mount object and its children. Some mounts also use additional renderers for effects, armor, mane/tail pieces, glow overlays, or biome variants.

The Player class also has _steedRenderer and _additionalSteedSpriteRenderers, but for custom mounts start by changing the renderers on the cloned Steed instance. The ride path copies/uses the mount's visual setup.

Pack Layout

Use a pack folder next to your mod DLL:

Mods/
  MyCustomMount.dll
  MyCustomMount/
    pack/
      kingdommod.pack.json
      sprites/
        shadow_wolf_body_idle_0.png
        shadow_wolf_body_walk_0.png
        shadow_wolf_body_walk_1.png
        shadow_wolf_body_run_0.png
        shadow_wolf_body_run_1.png

Example kingdommod.pack.json:

{
  "name": "MyCustomMount",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "author": "Your name"
}

The file names are your mod's lookup keys. They do not need to match the game's original sprite names unless you are using broad ReskinPack-style replacement.

Load Sprites

private static readonly Dictionary<string, Sprite> Sprites = new();

static void LoadMountSprites()
{
    foreach (var pack in Kingdom.Packs.DiscoverPacks(MelonEnvironment.ModsDirectory))
    {
        if (pack.Name != "MyCustomMount" || !pack.HasSprites) continue;

        foreach (var path in Directory.EnumerateFiles(pack.SpritesDirectory, "*.png"))
        {
            var key = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(path);
            var texture = Kingdom.Packs.LoadTexture(path);
            var sprite = Kingdom.Packs.MakeSprite(
                texture,
                pixelsPerUnit: 16f,
                pivot: new Vector2(0.5f, 0.5f));

            if (sprite != null)
                Sprites[key] = sprite;
        }
    }
}

LoadTexture preserves the pixel-art look with point filtering and clamp wrap mode. MakeSprite builds a Unity Sprite from your PNG.

Preserve Scale And Alignment

When replacing an existing frame, copy the original sprite's important settings:

static Sprite MakeReplacementLike(Sprite original, Texture2D texture)
{
    var ppu = original != null ? original.pixelsPerUnit : 16f;
    var pivotPixels = original != null
        ? original.pivot
        : new Vector2(texture.width * 0.5f, texture.height * 0.5f);
    var pivot = new Vector2(
        pivotPixels.x / texture.width,
        pivotPixels.y / texture.height);

    return Kingdom.Packs.MakeSprite(texture, ppu, pivot);
}

If the mount floats, sinks, or slides, check these first:

PNG width and height.
Transparent padding around the drawing.
pixelsPerUnit.
Pivot.
Whether the renderer is flipped or offset by a child transform.

Replace The Current Visible Sprites

This changes every renderer currently visible on the clone. It is good enough for a static reskin or a first prototype:

static void ApplySprites(Steed steed)
{
    foreach (var renderer in steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true))
    {
        if (renderer == null || renderer.sprite == null) continue;

        var oldName = renderer.sprite.name;
        if (Sprites.TryGetValue(oldName, out var replacement))
        {
            replacement.name = oldName;
            renderer.sprite = replacement;
        }
    }
}

This approach depends on your PNG names matching the current sprite names. To discover those names, log the renderers on a cloned mount:

static void LogMountRenderers(Steed steed, MelonLogger.Instance logger)
{
    foreach (var renderer in steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true))
    {
        var spriteName = renderer.sprite != null ? renderer.sprite.name : "(none)";
        logger.Msg($"{BuildPath(renderer.transform)} -> {spriteName}");
    }
}

static string BuildPath(Transform t)
{
    var parts = new List<string>();
    while (t != null)
    {
        parts.Add(t.name);
        t = t.parent;
    }
    parts.Reverse();
    return string.Join("/", parts);
}

Replacing Animation Frames

For a complete custom mount, replacing only the currently visible sprite is not enough. When the animator changes from idle to walk/run/eat/tired, it may assign different sprites from animation clips or sprite libraries.

Use one of these strategies:

Strategy A: Name-Matched Global Replacement

This is easiest and matches examples/ReskinPack:

Dump/log every sprite name used by the base mount.
Create a replacement PNG for each frame with the same name.
Load those PNGs into a dictionary.
On scene load and after mount instantiation, scan SpriteRenderers and replace matching sprite names.
Reapply after animation evaluation in LateUpdate and before camera rendering, as ReskinPack does; a one-time scene scan cannot keep animated frames replaced. Refresh renderer discovery for newly spawned mounts and preserve each original frame's pivot and pixels-per-unit.

This works best for replacing the look of an existing mount everywhere.

Strategy B: Targeted Clone Replacement

This is better for adding one custom mount without changing all wolves/horses:

Clone the base prefab.
Traverse the clone's renderers and animator-related children.
Replace sprites only under that clone.
Reapply after Player.Ride and after likely animation changes.

If animation clips directly reference sprites, the renderer may get reset by the animator on the next animation frame. In that case, add a lightweight postfix to mount animation methods such as Steed.SetAnimation(int) or reapply during a short startup window after riding.

Example reapply-after-ride patch:

[HarmonyPatch(typeof(Player), nameof(Player.Ride),
    new[] { typeof(Steed), typeof(bool), typeof(bool) })]
internal static class PlayerRidePatch
{
    private static void Postfix(Steed steed)
    {
        if (steed == null || steed.name != "My Custom Mount") return;
        MyMountSprites.ApplySprites(steed);
    }
}

Strategy C: Replace Animator Clip Bindings

This is the most complete path, but also the most advanced. Inspect the Animator, Animation, or child renderers on the base mount, then replace the sprites referenced by the clips or sprite libraries with your own sprites.

Use this only when renderer assignment keeps being overwritten and targeted reapply is not enough. Keep the same frame count, timing, and sprite dimensions at first. Once the mount works, experiment with new animation timing.

Renderer And Sprite Discovery

A good custom mount mod should include a debug hotkey or one-time log that lists the clone's renderers, child paths, and sprite names.

static void DumpSteedVisuals(Steed steed, MelonLogger.Instance logger)
{
    foreach (var renderer in steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true))
    {
        var sprite = renderer.sprite;
        logger.Msg(
            $"renderer={BuildPath(renderer.transform)} " +
            $"sprite={(sprite != null ? sprite.name : "(none)")} " +
            $"ppu={(sprite != null ? sprite.pixelsPerUnit : 0)} " +
            $"size={(sprite != null ? sprite.rect.width + "x" + sprite.rect.height : "-")} " +
            $"pivot={(sprite != null ? sprite.pivot.ToString() : "-")}");
    }
}

static string BuildPath(Transform t)
{
    var parts = new List<string>();
    while (t != null)
    {
        parts.Add(t.name);
        t = t.parent;
    }
    parts.Reverse();
    return string.Join("/", parts);
}

Use this output as your art checklist. If the base mount has 30 animation frame sprites and you replace 3, the mount will visually snap back to vanilla during unreplaced animations.

Coat-Of-Arms Recoloring

Some mounts set recolorToCoatOfArms = true. That means the game may recolor parts of the mount based on kingdom/player colors.

For exact custom art colors:

steed.recolorToCoatOfArms = false;

For banner-colored custom art, leave it true and design the relevant sprite regions to tolerate recoloring. Test both P1 and P2 because their mount variants and colors can differ.

Registering The Mount In F1

Custom mounts should register with Kingdom.CustomMounts. The loader renders registered mounts in F1 -> Custom, uses the same P1/P2 target selector as the normal mount picker, and calls the game's own Player.Ride after your factory returns a live Steed.

Kingdom.CustomMounts.Register(
    "shadow_wolf",
    "Shadow Wolf",
    "Fast night predator cloned from the wolf prefab.",
    (player, log) =>
    {
        var basePrefab = FindBasePrefab(SteedType.P1Wolf);
        if (basePrefab == null)
        {
            log?.Invoke("Shadow Wolf: wolf prefab is not loaded yet.");
            return null;
        }

        var steed = Object.Instantiate(basePrefab);
        steed.name = "Shadow Wolf";
        steed.transform.position = player.transform.position;
        steed.gameObject.SetActive(true);
        ApplyStats(steed);
        ApplySprites(steed);
        return steed;
    },
    "Wolf");

The factory returns the customized mount instance; it should not call Player.Ride itself. That keeps all registered custom mounts on the same safe swap path and lets the loader log the F1 action.

examples/GloamHart is the current complete reference. It clones a Reindeer/Stag-style prefab, applies forest-friendly deer-attracting stats, hides the clone's body renderers (keeping the ruler/crown renderers so the mounted monarch stays visible), attaches a custom SpriteRenderer, and animates 32 original frames from embedded PNG resources.

Custom Mount Abilities

For custom behavior that does not already exist on the cloned base mount, keep the first version small and local to the custom mount. examples/GloamHart does this with Gloam Rush: the mod tracks live Gloam Hart instances, checks the rider's mapped gallop/Shift button (RewiredAxis.Gallop, with a raw Shift fallback), temporarily adjusts only that steed's movement/stamina fields, then restores the captured values when the effect ends or the mount is no longer ridden. The example also accepts RewiredAxis.ActivateRulerAbility as a secondary input, but the Shift path is the important mount trigger.

Prefer the game's mapped input over raw keyboard checks so controller and P2 bindings can work. If you temporarily mutate live Steed fields, capture the original values first and restore them on every cleanup path: timeout, mount switch, scene unload, and destroyed/inactive mount. Visual feedback can live in the same overlay/driver that animates your mount art, as long as it never touches ruler or crown renderers.

Embedded Sprites For Bundled Mount Mods

Pack folders are good for user-editable art. For a bundled example or a mod that should deploy as a single DLL, embed your generated PNGs:

<ItemGroup>
  <EmbeddedResource Include="assets\my_mount\*.png" />
</ItemGroup>

At runtime, read Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceNames(), load each PNG stream into a Texture2D, then create Sprite objects with the same rules as pack sprites: point filtering, clamp wrapping, a stable pixels-per-unit value, and a pivot that keeps the mount grounded.

Mark runtime textures and sprites HideFlags.HideAndDontSave. A mod loads its sprites in the boot scene, but the mount is created later, after the scene load into a run. Unity destroys ordinary runtime-created Texture2D/Sprite objects on that scene transition, so your frame lookup returns null and the mount renders nothing even though loading logged the right count. Set the flag right after creating each object so it survives the whole session:
texture.hideFlags = HideFlags.HideAndDontSave;
sprite.hideFlags  = HideFlags.HideAndDontSave;

Gloam Hart uses 32 frames:

Animation	Frames
idle	6
walk	8
run	8
eat	4
rear	3
tired	3

The frames are generated by tools/create-gloam-hart-sprites.py. The script keeps dimensions, transparency, palette, and naming consistent, which is much easier to maintain than hand-renaming a loose pile of PNGs.

Asset Designer

For full mount sprite sets, use the local browser-based asset designer:

tools\asset-designer.ps1

On first run it creates build/asset-designer/, seeds generated examples, and tries to extract private reference images from your local Kingdom Two Crowns install into build/asset-designer/references/game/. Those references are for comparison only. They are game-derived files, are gitignored, and must never be committed or redistributed.

The designer edits mount design JSON such as examples/GloamHart/design/gloam_hart.mount-design.json. A design controls frame size, animation frame counts, palette, body proportions, antlers, tail, glow, motion curves, pivot, and export target. The browser UI previews animations, shows a frame strip and local references, and exports:

individual PNG frames
a sprite sheet
a preview GIF
a mount-design JSON copy under the private workspace

tools/create-gloam-hart-sprites.py is now a compatibility wrapper around the same renderer used by the designer, so command-line regeneration and browser export use the same art recipe.

The same browser tool also has a Challenges & Islands tab. That tab reads the F3 challenge and island dumps, lets you edit safe ChallengeData / LevelConfig fields, and exports JSON into the F1 custom challenge selector. See Custom Challenges And Islands.

Overlay Animation Path

Some vanilla mount animation clips assign sprites internally. If you only replace the currently visible sprite, the animator can switch back to vanilla art on the next idle/walk/run transition.

For a complete custom mount without editing vanilla animation clips, use the overlay path:

Clone the closest base Steed prefab.
Disable the clone's body SpriteRenderers only — not every child renderer. See the ruler warning below.
Add one child GameObject with your own SpriteRenderer, and copy the body renderer's material and sorting onto it. See the render-context warning below.
Animate that renderer from your own frame list in OnUpdate.
Leave the cloned Steed components, colliders, movement, stamina, deer attraction, and ability behavior intact.

This is the path used by examples/GloamHart. It keeps the mount mechanically vanilla-compatible while making the visible mount fully custom.

Do not disable every SpriteRenderer on the clone. The Steed prefab also hosts the mounted ruler (monarch) and crown sprites as child GameObjects — they live under riderAnchor, in the _riderObjectPairs Dictionary<MonarchType, GameObject>, and in the _crowns list. A naive steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true) loop that sets renderer.enabled = false on everything will make the monarch and their crown invisible the moment they mount, because the game renders the rider through those same (now-disabled) renderers. Collect the ruler/crown renderers first and skip them, disabling only the steed's own body renderers:
// Renderers the mounted ruler and crowns use — never disable these.
var keep = new HashSet<System.IntPtr>();
foreach (var r in CollectRulerRenderers(steed)) // riderAnchor + _riderObjectPairs + _crowns
    if (r != null && r.Pointer != System.IntPtr.Zero) keep.Add(r.Pointer);

foreach (var renderer in steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true))
{
    if (renderer == null) continue;
    if (renderer.Pointer != System.IntPtr.Zero && keep.Contains(renderer.Pointer))
        continue; // ruler/crown renderer — leave enabled
    renderer.enabled = false; // steed body renderer — hidden behind the overlay
}
See AttachVisual / CollectRulerRenderers in examples/GloamHart/GloamHartMod.cs for the full, defensive version.

Give your overlay renderer the game's render context, or it draws invisibly. A bare gameObject.AddComponent<SpriteRenderer>() gets Unity's default sprite material and the default sorting layer at order 0 — the wrong layer/material for this game, so the sprite never appears. Resolve the steed's own body renderer and copy its context. Resolve it via the typed Steed.SpriteFX (a SpriteRendererFX wrapping the body SpriteRenderer), not by scanning for the first child renderer whose sprite != null: the body animator has not run its first frame when you clone the prefab, so that sprite is usually null and your scan finds nothing.
// Body renderer, resolved even before the animator assigns a sprite.
SpriteRenderer body = steed.SpriteFX != null
    ? steed.SpriteFX.GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>()
    : null; // fall back to the first non-ruler child renderer if null

var overlay = visualObject.AddComponent<SpriteRenderer>();
overlay.enabled = true;
overlay.color = Color.white;
if (body != null)
{
    overlay.sharedMaterial = body.sharedMaterial;   // the scene's sprite shader
    overlay.sortingLayerID = body.sortingLayerID;   // same sorting layer
    overlay.sortingOrder   = body.sortingOrder + 1; // just above the hidden body
    // Parent under body.transform.parent and copy its localPosition/localScale
    // so the overlay lands exactly where the body did.
}

Complete Skeleton Mod

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using Il2Cpp;
using KingdomMod;
using MelonLoader;
using UnityEngine;
using Object = UnityEngine.Object;

[assembly: MelonInfo(typeof(KingdomMod.Examples.MyCustomMount.MyMountMod),
    "My Custom Mount", "0.1.0", "Your name")]
[assembly: MelonGame("noio", "KingdomTwoCrowns")]

namespace KingdomMod.Examples.MyCustomMount
{
    public sealed class MyMountMod : MelonMod
    {
        private static readonly Dictionary<string, Sprite> Sprites = new();

        public override void OnInitializeMelon()
        {
            LoadSprites();

            Kingdom.CustomMounts.Register(
                "shadow_wolf",
                "Shadow Wolf",
                "Custom wolf mount cloned from the vanilla wolf path.",
                CreateMount,
                "Wolf");
        }

        private static Steed CreateMount(Player player, System.Action<string> log)
        {
            if (player == null) return null;

            var basePrefab = FindBasePrefab(SteedType.P1Wolf);
            if (basePrefab == null)
            {
                log?.Invoke("Shadow Wolf: base wolf prefab is not loaded yet.");
                return null;
            }

            var steed = Object.Instantiate(basePrefab);
            steed.name = "Shadow Wolf";
            steed.transform.position = player.transform.position;
            steed.gameObject.SetActive(true);

            ApplyStats(steed);
            ApplySprites(steed);

            return steed; // the loader calls Player.Ride for registered custom mounts
        }

        private static void LoadSprites()
        {
            foreach (var pack in Kingdom.Packs.DiscoverPacks(MelonEnvironment.ModsDirectory))
            {
                if (pack.Name != "MyCustomMount" || !pack.HasSprites) continue;

                foreach (var path in Directory.EnumerateFiles(pack.SpritesDirectory, "*.png"))
                {
                    var key = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(path);
                    var texture = Kingdom.Packs.LoadTexture(path);
                    var sprite = Kingdom.Packs.MakeSprite(texture);
                    if (sprite != null)
                        Sprites[key] = sprite;
                }
            }
        }

        private static void ApplyStats(Steed steed)
        {
            steed.walkSpeed = 2.2f;
            steed.runSpeed = 5.0f;
            steed.forestSpeedMultiplier = 1.0f;
            steed.runStaminaRate = -0.06f;
            steed.standStaminaRate = 0.22f;
            steed.attractsDeer = true;
            steed.recolorToCoatOfArms = false;
        }

        private static void ApplySprites(Steed steed)
        {
            foreach (var renderer in steed.GetComponentsInChildren<SpriteRenderer>(true))
            {
                if (renderer == null || renderer.sprite == null) continue;
                var oldName = renderer.sprite.name;
                if (!Sprites.TryGetValue(oldName, out var replacement)) continue;

                replacement.name = oldName;
                renderer.sprite = replacement;
            }
        }

        private static Steed FindBasePrefab(SteedType type)
        {
            foreach (var steed in Resources.FindObjectsOfTypeAll<Steed>())
            {
                if (steed == null) continue;
                if (steed.gameObject.scene.handle != 0) continue;
                if (steed.steedType == type) return steed;
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

For a one-DLL mod with embedded sprites and a custom overlay animator, use examples/GloamHart as the reference instead of the smaller pack-based skeleton above.

Testing Checklist

The custom mount appears near the chosen monarch.
Player.Ride succeeds and the previous mount is replaced cleanly.
Walk/run speed feels right on open ground and in forest.
Stamina drains, recovers, eating, tired state, and well-fed state behave as intended.
Ability-specific behavior still works if using wolf/stag/unicorn/lizard/etc.
Every animation state uses custom art: idle, walk, run, eat, tired, rear, special ability, hit/impact if present.
The mount does not visually snap back to vanilla frames.
P1 and P2 both work, or the mod clearly says it is P1-only.
Save/load and island transition do not break the mount.
Switching away and back does not leave stale modified fields on vanilla mounts.
No extracted game sprites are included in the mod package.

Common Problems

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Mount vanishes or pulls the original scene mount with it	You used a live scene mount as the source	Use a prefab where `scene.handle == 0`, instantiate it, then ride the clone.
Monarch (and crown) turn invisible once mounted	You disabled every child `SpriteRenderer` on the clone, including the rider/crown renderers the `Steed` hosts	Disable only the steed's body renderers; skip renderers under `riderAnchor`, `_riderObjectPairs`, and `_crowns` (see the overlay-path warning above).
Custom overlay sprite is invisible	Your new `SpriteRenderer` got the default material and/or the default sorting layer (the reference body sprite was null at instantiation, so a `sprite != null` scan found nothing)	Resolve the body renderer via `Steed.SpriteFX` and copy `sharedMaterial` + `sortingLayerID` + `sortingOrder` + transform onto the overlay (see the render-context warning above).
Frames load at startup but the mount renders nothing later	Runtime `Texture2D`/`Sprite` objects were destroyed on the scene load into the run, so the frame lookup returns `null`	Set `hideFlags = HideFlags.HideAndDontSave` on every generated texture and sprite (see the embedded-sprites note).
Mount is far too big or small	Wrong `pixelsPerUnit` for the source frame size	Pick PPU = frameHeightPx / desiredWorldHeight (e.g. 64px art at ~2 units → PPU 32).
Mount does not turn with the monarch	You flipped only from the mount's own movement, so it never turns while standing	Mirror the rider's on-screen facing (largest active sprite under `Steed.riderAnchor`, combining `flipX` with transform-scale sign).
Art appears offset	Pivot, transparent padding, or child transform mismatch	Match original frame size/padding and copy the original sprite pivot/PPU.
Art is too large or too small	Wrong `pixelsPerUnit` or image dimensions	Use the original sprite's `pixelsPerUnit`; start with matching dimensions.
Mount changes back to vanilla while moving	Animator assigned unreplaced frames	Replace all animation frames or reapply in/after animation paths.
Colors change unexpectedly	`recolorToCoatOfArms` is true	Set it false for exact colors, or design art for recoloring.
Ability does nothing	Base mount does not have that ability path	Clone a mount that already has the desired ability.
P2 looks different	P1/P2 use separate prefabs or color setup	Test and customize P1/P2 variants separately.
Save/load loses the custom mount	The game persists the base `steedType`, not your synthetic identity	Reapply your custom clone on load or expose the mount as an explicit selector option.

Practical Safety Notes

Clone existing mounts; do not build a Steed from an empty GameObject unless you are ready to recreate many hidden dependencies.
Keep first custom mounts as reskins/stat variants of a close base mount.
Keep Harmony patches tiny: check whether your feature applies, change the field/sprite, and let vanilla continue.
Cache original values when mutating live vanilla mounts so toggles can restore them.
Treat multiplayer as unsafe unless every player has the same mount mod and asset pack.
Do not redistribute extracted Kingdom Two Crowns sprites, atlases, prefabs, or generated interop assemblies.

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mount-modding.md

mount-modding.md

Mount Modding Guide

Quick Checklist

Inspect Existing Mounts

Choose A Base Mount

Prefabs Versus Live Mounts

Minimal Custom Mount Flow

Changing Mount Stats

Steed Field Reference

Custom Mount Art

Pack Layout

Load Sprites

Preserve Scale And Alignment

Replace The Current Visible Sprites

Replacing Animation Frames

Strategy A: Name-Matched Global Replacement

Strategy B: Targeted Clone Replacement

Strategy C: Replace Animator Clip Bindings

Renderer And Sprite Discovery

Coat-Of-Arms Recoloring

Registering The Mount In F1

Custom Mount Abilities

Embedded Sprites For Bundled Mount Mods

Asset Designer

Overlay Animation Path

Complete Skeleton Mod

Testing Checklist

Common Problems

Practical Safety Notes

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mount-modding.md

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mount-modding.md

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Mount Modding Guide

Quick Checklist

Inspect Existing Mounts

Choose A Base Mount

Prefabs Versus Live Mounts

Minimal Custom Mount Flow

Changing Mount Stats

Steed Field Reference

Custom Mount Art

Pack Layout

Load Sprites

Preserve Scale And Alignment

Replace The Current Visible Sprites

Replacing Animation Frames

Strategy A: Name-Matched Global Replacement

Strategy B: Targeted Clone Replacement

Strategy C: Replace Animator Clip Bindings

Renderer And Sprite Discovery

Coat-Of-Arms Recoloring

Registering The Mount In F1

Custom Mount Abilities

Embedded Sprites For Bundled Mount Mods

Asset Designer

Overlay Animation Path

Complete Skeleton Mod

Testing Checklist

Common Problems

Practical Safety Notes