Creatures 3 & Docking Station Community Recommended Fixes and Addons

Introduction
Hello there, I'm Mad_Doodles, and welcome to the world of Creatures 3 & Docking Station (abbreviated to C3DS), a weird and wonderful world where you are charged with looking after the titular creatures that inhabit it.

This year, Creatures 3 is 20 years old. 20! I myself was a mere 6 years old when this game came out and let me tell you, the game has only managed to grow in that time. Over the years the community has pushed this venerable title to new limits and continues to do so to this day.

Now we here in the Creatures Community (CC) love this series, but I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say it definitely has a few bugs and oversights. This guide is here to help! Many of the advancements the community has made have fixed bugs, gotten broken mechanics working again, and even added more depth with just a few key changes to the original code (never mind the brand new add-ons that have been created)!

Another important thing to note about this guide is that it should be considered a “living” document, and as such it will be continually updated with new information, different add-ons, all that lovely jazz.

Getting Started
This guide will be assuming you're running Creatures Exodus on Windows 10, which you can buy from GoG here. The process of installing the game and add-ons is much the same regardless of the version you are playing.

When installing Creatures Exodus, it is very important that you install the game to (Drive Letter):\Documents\Creatures. This is not the default setting, which is unfortunate as not doing this will cause some strange behaviour, largely the game being unable to find the files it requires to run certain add-ons! For this reason, if you intend to use GoG Galaxy, I would highly recommend installing the game through the standalone .exe file. This is what the installer should look like before hitting install:



After you have done this, you can point GoG Galaxy to the correct folder. It is also recommended you install the Creatures Remastered Patch if you intend to run 3rd party programs in the future, such as the Genetics Kit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the time of writing there appears to be an issue with the GoG Standalone version of the installer. This will point almost all registries to /documents/creatures / instead of the correct location. The only way to fix this appears to be editing the registry.

We’re nearly done with the bare minimum setup. At this point Creatures 3 will be playable, but not Docking Station? Why’s this? Sadly the official servers were shut down a long time ago, and originally DS required an account to even get into the game world! Sounds like we’re in more trouble than a Norn in the Jungle Terrarium, right? As you have probably seen a mile away, absolutely not! The industrious folks in the CC have created a workaround, called DS Offline Option (funnily enough). Whilst we are doing this, we will also install Catalogue Tester (available for download here). This add-on will help us make sure everything is installed correctly. Our first add-ons, exciting!

So how do we install these? This process may seem a little daunting at first, but it’s actually super easy. We’ll install Catalogue Tester first as this consists of only one file, Catalogue Test.agents.

First, open up the install location for DS, which should be Documents\Creatures\Docking Station. Then, open up the .zip folder for Catalogue Tester Copy the .agents file over to the “My Agents” folder.

And that’s it, we’ve just installed our first add-on! Normally I would suggest testing it out, but we still cannot get into Docking Station. To fix this we will now install DS Offline Option.

Open up DS OfflineOption.zip You will see the files offlinelogin.c16 and zzz_gamestart_login.cos. Neither of these, as I’m sure you’ve very cleverly worked out, are .agents files! The .c16 file is an image file, and the .cos file contains code. The .c16 file needs to be placed in “Images”. The .cos file, however, must be placed in “Bootstrap\010 Docking Station”. For the above to work, you need to create a new world! And that’s it, we’re all done! The game is now playable. If you are using GoG Galaxy, you will need to select Docking Station from the drop-down menu on the game’s page. If you are launching the game directly, you need to ensure that any shortcuts link to “engine.exe”.

At this point, you will want to boot the game up. You will be prompted to create a new world. After doing so, the game will load and you will start in Docking Station’s Hub, with a window asking you to log in. Obviously, you can’t do this, however, we have added a new button in this window, in between the tick and the cross. This is our “start in offline mode” button!



Once you have clicked that button, you’ll be taken to the Norn Meso, and another window will be presented to you. Select whatever option you want here, although if you’re brand new and intend to play around a while first I would suggest the starter norns. Once you’ve done this navigate back to the Hub, either by clicking on the door on the far right of the middle level or by scrolling with the mouse wheel. In the Hub, click the middle door, and you will be taken to the Comms Room.



Click on the Agent List button, the cube looking icon fourth down in the list, and you will be presented with a list of your current injectable agents. Click on “Catalogue Tester”, and click the big green tick. Soon a window should pop up confirming the game is unpacking Catalogue files in the correct place. If it says it is not, then something has gone wrong with the install, please refer to Common Issues at the end of this guide. Assuming everything has proceeded correctly, congratulations! You’ve just injected your first agent. Give yourself a cookie!

At this point, you can go ahead and play the game for a while if you like. There is one last thing I like to do before playing, however, which will make the experience much more pleasant at modern resolutions. You will want to download an application called Windowed Borderless Gaming. Extract and run the application, then in your toolbar, right click on the application and then “Add Window” whilst running Docking Station (alternatively F3 should work). The game window should lose its borders, at which point you will need to right click on the application again and this time click “Settings>Game Settings”. You should then have a window that looks like this:



Set the resolution to your screen resolution, and I recommend ticking “Manage mouse”. Your game should now automatically run in borderless windowed mode whilst this application is running! If it doesn’t, you will simply need to hit apply again in these settings.

Recommended Fixes and Addons
This part of the guide will list out some recommended mods and agents to improve your play experience. These are split into three categories; Essential, Recommended and Advanced.

Essential add-ons are mods that are considered to fix critical issues and make important improvements within the game, and so this guide will be assuming that you are installing these. You don’t have to of course, but I would highly recommend it. Recommended add-ons are add-ons that I found interesting and that have been recommended by the wider community. These might be extra tools to make life easier or fun toys for your creatures to play with. Everything here should be considered optional for this guide. Advanced add-ons are additions that are useful, and even recommended, but are complex to use, very powerful, or require a bit of in-depth setup, or all three! Everything here is also considered optional.

To save space later on, here is a quick rundown of where to install any files you may encounter:
 * .agents files, the most common, go in “My Agents”
 * .c16 and .s16 files go in “Images”
 * .cos files go in “Bootstrap/010 Docking Station” (For Docking Station) or “Bootstrap/ 001 World” (For Creatures 3)
 * .catalogue files go in “Catalogue”
 * .wav and .mng files so in “Sounds”

In addition, it is important to install agents to their correct game. If it is marked as C3, the agent must be installed in the Creatures 3 folders. If it is marked DS, it must be installed in the Docking Station folders. If it is marked C3/DS, I would personally install them in Docking Station folders, just to make sure everything is working correctly in a docked world. If for whatever reason you wish to play Creatures 3 standalone, these can be installed to the Creatures 3 folders, as long as they don’t rely on any Docking Station files themselves (and if they do, they should be marked DS anyway!)

If in doubt, the agent’s readme file will likely contain install instructions or a member of the community will more than likely be available to help!

Patches
This section of the guide focuses on patches to exisiting game content. Essential

Advanced tip: I would extract the contents of any .agents files in this section with Monk (part of Jagent) in order to avoid having to go through a lengthy world set up each time. Do bear in mind however that some agents may not work like this regardless, at least in my experience. BACK UP YOUR ORIGINAL FILES! In fact, you should probably do that anyway.

The C3 Aquarium Patch is a series of .cos files that make life in the Marine Terrarium of the Ark more sustainable, and allow your creatures to interact with the plants and animals within.
 * C3 Aquarium Patch:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1773

The C3 Aquarium Update is a small update that lowers the floor above the fish nursery entrance to stop baby creatures getting stuck, and in general allow non-swimming creatures to explore better.
 * C3 Aquarium Update:
 * - Download: https://grendelman.blogspot.com/p/c3ds-agents.html

The C3 Desert Terrarium Updates fix a variety of issues in the Desert Terrarium of the Ark. Populations should be more stable, all seeds and critters will be injected to the desert level instead of underground, and no critters or seeds should be able to escape to the levels below.
 * C3 Desert Terrarium Updates:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=401

A simple fix that makes the map in the Bridge track creatures in all rooms correctly.
 * C3 Display Map Update:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1755

Does what it says on the tin, it makes the Balloon Bugs interactable and edible. This will overwrite files provided by C3 Desert Terrarium Updates: this is fine!
 * C3 Edible, Squishable Balloon Bugs:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=111

Makes the Jungle Terrarium Fungi produce 5 spores instead of 1, making them much more prolific!
 * C3 Fungi Update:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1059

This update fixes a few issues with the Ark, including stopping Creatures hurling themselves to their doom from the platforms in the Norn Terrarium as well as stopping critters trying to live in the tunnels below, and fixes an issue in the Marine Terrarium.
 * C3 Map Update:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1721

This update gives the Meerk a bit more life and interactivity and fixes a glitch in the game related to it. This agent is reliant on Edible, Squishable Balloon Bugs seed bank update to work!
 * C3 Meerk Update:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1434

This series of .cos files fix a few small issues in the game. We will only be using the Lift, Mosquito and Medicine Maker files.
 * C3 Minor Fixes:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=745

The rocks blasted out of the volcano were classified as toys, but didn’t do anything. This makes the rocks entertaining to play with now, as to not confuse Creatures.
 * C3 New Volcano Rocks:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=63

This file gives the Rhino Beetles in the Jungle Terrarium a chance to survive. This is a modified file limiting the maximum number of beetles to 10.
 * C3 Rhino Beetle Respawn (Limited):
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1864

This agent creates extra water plants of the type found in the Norn Terrarium pond in the Jungle Terrarium pond and the Desert Pond. A version without the Desert Terrarium plant is included for use with the Desert Nursery (included later in this guide as a Recommended Addon).
 * C3 Water Plants RFAG:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1862

This patch forms the basis of the next weather patch and is very important! It adds light and heat emitters all over the place and helps create actual weather in Terrariums other than the Norn Terrarium. The environmental controls are now more than decoration!
 * C3 Weather Patch:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1779

This addition to the Weather Patch makes the Ark much more habitable for the TWB/TCB species of creatures featured in this guide. Most rooms are warmer, including the Bridge and a big increase for the Desert, the Marine Terrarium is no longer affected by seasons, and most temperature controls will begin one step higher.
 * C3 TWB/TCB Weather Patch:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1854

This patch allows for larger sprites to be used by the game.
 * C3/DS Bigger Sprite Allocation
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1798

Gives critters and bugs a smell that norns can detect, using CA 0. This will be invaluable for your Bondi Norns and other carnivorous breeds.
 * C3DS Critter and Bug Smells
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1738

Gives toys a smell, using CA 19, so creatures can find them when out of sight.
 * C3DS New Toy Smell
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1649

This agent fixes creatures getting mesmerised by the Awkwood Creeper by making the food invisible and smell-less until it drops from the vine. The vine itself is now also invisible, as creatures were found to stare at that for long periods of time, for whatever reason. This requires the Hardman Norn Pack to work!
 * C3DS Non-Hypnotic Awkwood Creeper:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1857

A handy little tool that gives creatures brains a prod now and then to help get them out of any weird loops they may be in, such as the infamous Eat Elevator Syndrome. This agent may cause lag on very large populations, so if you are having issues with that, this may be the culprit.
 * C3DS Snap Out of It:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1752

Creatures leaving a room try to find a door, whereas the umbilical cord was classed as an elevator, resulting in lost creatures. This reclassifies the umbilical cord as a door. Naturally, this is only for docked worlds.
 * C3DS Umbilical Fix:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=746

This is a large collection of .cos files to help balance out and maintain life in the C3 Norn Terrarium. There have been a couple of reports of this not working in Creatures 3 standalone if it is not the Exodus version of the game (C3 Exodus uses Docking Station’s engine, which this seems to rely on).
 * C3DS Norn Woodland Fix Pack:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=750

This agent pack includes a few very useful and interesting changes to the game. At a minimum, this guide expects the user to have installed the Activate 1 & 2 Separation file, Bacteria Revamp Dish, and Detritus Smell, but the other files are recommended too.
 * DS Agent Pack Big and Tiny:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1855

Allows adult Grendels to use the DS lifts!
 * DS Elevator Fix:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=749

In vanilla Docking Station, Grazers accidentally make a beeping sound when touched. This restores the original sound from Creatures 3.
 * DS Grazer Sound Fix:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=322

This is a mix of three fixes. This patch stops the fruit on the Bramboo from smelling or being visible, so creatures are no longer hypnotised by food they can’t reach, and a small amount of vitamin C has been added to aid in the care of TWB/TCB creatures.
 * DS Non-Hypnotic Scurvy Fighting Bramboo:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1858

Dead creatures are supposed to have a photo taken when they die, but this was broken until this fix came along.
 * DS Photo Fix:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=744

This changes much of the Capillata (but not all of it!) to be much more hospitable to TWB creatures.
 * DS TWB Capillata:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1843

The official Mall Breeds are all a fantastic addition to the game, however due to copyright grey areas they cannot be shared publicly anymore, as they used to be premium products. However, the community has been given permission to share the packs privately, so if you ask politely someone will be able to help you out.
 * Special Mention: Mall Breed Packs:

Recommended

This will remove the pond in the Desert Terrarium and replace it with a nice little nursery, moving the Ettin Egg Layer in the process. Make sure to install the correct version of C3 Water Plants RFAG, and if using with the Creatures 3 Grettin_Switch, note that it will turn the Ettin Egg Layer back on if turned off. This agent is part of the Dustdevil Grendel Pack, and the whole pack must be downloaded and installed to access it. Feel free to use or leave the rest of the included agents as you see fit. Advanced Note: Apparently the Nursery doesn’t produce actual incubating temperatures, although I personally have seen eggs growing at least a bit quicker than normal in it, I think. Either way, if you want to fix this with advanced tools I’d recommend doing so.
 * C3 Desert Nursery:
 * - Download: http://ghostfishe.net/bbw/breeds.php?w=1024&b=dustdevil

Fixes a fun little easter egg, somewhere in the depths of space…
 * C3 Fixed Star:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=748

This agent mixes two changes to speech bubbles together; Amaikokonut’s Speech Bubble Upgrades and Malkin’s Invisible Speech Bubbles.
 * C3DS Invisible Speech Bubbles Plus:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1863

A little fix that allows Banshee Grendels to lay eggs with Banshee Grendel egg sprites.
 * C3DS Natural Banshee Egg Laying:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=800

C3DS does have seasons, although this isn’t trackable without certain tools. One of the effects this has in-game is affecting the chances of a Creature of a particular sex being born. This mod changes this to be 50/50 chance all year around.
 * C3DS No Seasonal Gender Bias:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1456

A little fix that makes Dead Creatures invisible to Living Creatures. They can also now be moved by the hand, making diagnosing a cause of death a little easier and getting final photos of the departed less of a hassle.
 * C3DS Peaceful Death:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1471

This is the most up-to-date version of the agent that allows swimming breeds to do their swimmy thing. Only needed for use with those breeds, if you don’t intend to have swimming breeds this can be skipped.
 * C3DS Swimming Agent V3:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1714

This will tag Creatures with their name, and what generation they are, which is super helpful for tracking the progress of Wolfling Runs, or if you’re being picky about the breeding of generations. Requires the original Creature Nametags to work!
 * C3DS Wolfling Nametagger:
 * - Original Agent Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1469
 * - Addon Download: http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2015/news.php?id=30

Back when the official DS servers were still running, there was a tracking system to stop multiple versions of the same Creature running around and confusing things. This meant that every Creature imported into a world had to be a renamed clone. This service no longer exists and so there is no need for this feature, so any Creatures exported can be imported their true selves.
 * DS Bypass Import Cloning:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1457

Simple, this makes the agent injector in the Comms Room much faster. This also makes the agent list scroll faster, although care should be taken not to scrolls through it too quickly.
 * DS Faster Agent Injector:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1727

Changes and adds a couple of keyboard shortcuts related to Hoverdoc; Ctrl+H will send you to Hoverdoc, whereas Ctrl+Shift+H will bring one to you.
 * DS Hoverdoc Update:
 * - Download: http://www.webpetz.com/creatures/toolsce.php

Edits the humble Snotrock to contain a little more Heavy Metal Cure than it’s food, the tubas, and makes them edible and interactive, perfect for your carnivorous breeds!
 * DS Medicinal Snotrock:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=669

This makes the somewhat addictive Holistic Learning Machine only usable once by each Creature.
 * DS Modified HLM:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=801

This tweak stops the delay between photos being taken in Docking Station. This delay was in place to stop a Creature being spammed with photos and resulting in large files being sent over the Warp so if using Albian Warp, don’t be a butt and spam loads of photos!
 * DS Photo Fade-In Stopper:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1485

This mod allows you to manage and re-organize your metaroom favourite place icons.
 * DS Pilla's Improved Favplaces
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1740

A little immersion mod that adds water drops to objects that have just been taken out of water.
 * DS Wetness:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=86

This is a somewhat essential fix if you intend to perform Wolfling Runs with the Wolf Control. On faster machines, running the game on fast ticks can sometimes cause divide by zero errors, this stops that.
 * DS Wolf Control Fix:
 * - Download: https://naturingnurturing.blogspot.com/2010/06/half-released-cosfiles.html

This wonderful work of magic brings online functionality back to the game! I have placed this in Recommended for now as the project is still in beta, and thus it might break stuff. It is working amazingly well, however, and I personally use it almost all the time I’m properly playing at the moment. Installation is a little involved, so I will pass you over to the lovely C-Rex, who has a video guide on how to get this installed:
 * Albian Warp:

Advanced

This change makes, in my opinion, a huge improvement to the Creature History Screen. It shows more events in the life of your Creatures, more information on their origin and even gives you a real-time view of their parents if they are in that world. I have listed this as an advanced tool for a couple of reasons, however. First of all, this does lag the Creature History Screen when it is loading, which could be quite irritating if you’re not very interested in the information. In addition, I have discovered that at the moment, for whatever reason, this add-on does not play very nicely with Albian Warp. It will throw up an error (although not always) when loading the History Screen, which can be ignored by clicking “Continue” on the pop-up box. This may also be too annoying to deal with, however.
 * C3 History Update:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=95

Tools
This section of the guide focuses on extra tools and utilities that are useful in some way, or just provide some nice quality of life improvements. Essential

A simple tool that automatically throws out any toys that find themselves in the Norn Terrarium Pond. This is useful as baby Creatures, in particular, are very susceptible to drowning themselves trying to retrieve these toys.
 * C3 Toy Out:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1511

This incredibly useful tool adds a bridge between the treehouse and the elevated area above the Learning Room in the Norn Terrarium, stopping Creatures from simply dropping down and hurting themselves. This tool also allows you to place a barrier on the other end of this level, stopping Creatures from dropping into the pond as well. If you wish, you can also make more treehouse tables as well. Because why not?
 * C3: Panel/Updates:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1395

A simple addition to Muco that adds a menu you can cycle forwards and backwards through, allowing you to select from a list of available breeds instead of going through each one, one at a time.
 * DS Advanced Muco:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=904

This tool will allow you to create spots of heat in a metaroom that might otherwise lack any or enough to help care for TWB/TCB Creatures. They can also produce a Home Smell and can be set to incubation temperatures. Do be careful, as it is possible to overheat your creatures with this tool!
 * DS Heatlamp:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1805

Recommended

This is classed as a Toy and can be used as such, but its main utility is to teach any Creatures in range their entire vocabulary in a single push, by either themselves or the hand.
 * C3 Ancient Dragon Skull:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1439

An official tool released to allow the player to turn the Grendel and Ettin Egg Layers on and off.
 * C3 Grettin Switch:
 * - Download: http://www.webpetz.com/creatures/lifece.php

A handy little gadget that could help create non-lethal traps. Once the Creature has been sent to sleep by it once, there appears to be a significant delay before it can be affected by it again.
 * C3 Sleeping Trap:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1748

This tool allows you to set off another agent automatically after a set amount of time, and keep doing so indefinitely.
 * C3 Timer:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1441

A fun tool that automatically and randomly generates names for all of your Creatures. The names are taken from lists of names which can be configured.
 * C3DS Advanced Protective Tub:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1764

Sometimes, you just don’t want to worry about those doors you can’t lock, or those buttons Creatures can get obsessed with. These tools let you hide them as if they didn’t exist.
 * C3DS Door and Lift Hider:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1328

Got a lot of eggs? Don’t want to go on egg hunts?! These tools will automatically collect them for you, based on player set parameters.
 * C3DS Egg Collector:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1775

These little tools emit home smell appropriate to each species of Creature wherever they are placed.
 * C3DS Home Smells:
 * - Downloads: Ettin, Grendel, Norn

A portable teleporter that can link to other agents of its kind based on a variety of player set parameters. They also fold up into toy balls, because why not?!
 * C3DS Interporter:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=168

This reduces the crowdedness of Creatures in its vicinity, which can help with large worlds and with easily crowded breeds such as Treehugger Norns.
 * DS Air Purifier:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=651

This tool makes the Training Dummy in the Workshop moveable by the Hand.
 * DS Dummy Control:
 * - Download: http://www.creaturesvillage.com/emmental/

This gives a more thorough breakdown of your world’s population, including exact numbers of each species, and how many eggs are in the world, as well as a total number of Creatures.
 * DS Updated Creature Counter:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=730

Advanced

This tool will make the game save after each birth, death and warp event. This can help keep a regular backup of a world in case of crashing, however, this can result in a game that is saving A LOT in large populations, and can, in fact, backfire if an event happens just as an error occurs. I would make sure your world is relatively stable first before using it.
 * C3DS Advanced Autosaver:
 * - Download: http://www.webpetz.com/creatures/toolsce.php

A very cool tool that can help with the care of TWB/TCB genomes, and only works with them. This tool allows you to extract blood from one Creature, and inject it into another. “Useful for helping injured Norns recover from a Grendel attack, immune-compromised Creatures fight off an infection, or just as a general way of keeping track of the health of your population.”
 * C3DS Bloodbank:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1853

A tool and UI addition all in one, this tool allows you to monitor a variety of conditions in a room including heat and soil nutrients and keep track of the time of day and seasons.
 * C3DS Ecology Kit:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=968

This is a powerful tool that allows you to add a variety of props and agents to a metaroom for complete customisation of a metaroom. Here are a few agents to get started with:
 * C3DS Garden Box:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=709


 * Chili Peppers: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=737
 * Apples: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=738
 * Medlar: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=736
 * Pears: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=766
 * Picnic Table: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1616
 * Tubas: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1807
 * Aquatic Garden Box Agents: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=729

This adds a button to the UI allowing you to select up to two creatures and mix their genes, and click on another to impregnate them with the resultant genetics. Essentially a portable, non-fatal splicing machine.
 * C3DS Inseminator:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1433

This powerful tool allows you to perform a variety of actions based on which modules you download, from cloning agents to editing metarooms in game. This is a powerful tool that can make massive, irreversible changes to worlds, so be careful! Here are some modules I can recommend:
 * C3DS Magic Words:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1463
 * Clone: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1465
 * Room Edits: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1479
 * Teaching Update: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1466

This is another very powerful tool that allows you to change room types and CA values to tweak rooms to your liking.
 * C3DS Room Changer 2:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=102

This tool gives you a comprehensive breakdown of a Creature's organs and chemicals, great for experimenting and diagnosing health problems.
 * C3DS X-Ray:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=385

A useful tool to create custom elevators, which will teleport a creature up or down a network of Elevines. This tool requires correct CA links to work, so best used in conjunction with Magic Words: Room Edit. Some rooms will require this to function properly due to incorrect setup.
 * DS Elevines:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=734

This adds a series of buttons to the HUD allowing you to control a wide variety of options, from game speed to turning auto-kill on and off. Very useful for Wolfling Runs!
 * DS Game Controller 2.0:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1759

A great UI addition that automatically alerts you to bacterial infections and toxins in your Creatures.
 * DS Medical Monitor:
 * - Download: http://www.creaturesvillage.com/emmental/

From the creator of the UI addition above, this tool allows you to see a quick rundown of information on Creatures in your world and can help identify immortal and fast ageing creatures.
 * DS Norn Statistics:
 * - Download: http://www.creaturesvillage.com/emmental/

This tool gives you a lot of extra fine control over the populations of your worlds.
 * DS Population Control Panel:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=735

This is a fun addition to the Norn Meso that allows you to “adopt” an egg, which will contain a creature that more often than not has intense mutations of some form. As far as I am aware these Creatures are made by randomly splicing Creatures together based on installed Genetics.
 * DS SERU:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=743

This tool creates a little satellite that generates weather from its location. It can create rain, clouds, snow and sunshine, each of which will have an actual effect on the room it is in.
 * DS Weather Generator:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=68

Breeds
This section of the guide focuses on improved or extra Creatures Breeds you can take care of in your games. Essential

These breeds really are the meat of the game, and essential to this guide’s vision of what this game can be. The vast number of changes and improvements made with these breeds is staggering, building on years of gengineers fixing and tweaking the genetics of Creatures. I would thoroughly recommend reading the list of changes here if you’re curious. The essential parts of this pack are the official breed replacements. The others are considered recommended for being TWB/TCB. Most of the creatures in this pack will require the originals to have been installed in order to utilise the correct sprites.
 * True Warmbloods\True Coldbloods 2.5:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Breeds&view=547

Recommended

If you are a fan of the Creatures 1 Creatures, then these would fit in smashingly with your other TWB\TCB Creatures. You will need to install C12DS in order for the correct sprites to appear. There may also be interbreeding issues between C1 and C3DS Creatures due to body data.
 * C12DS TWB\TCB Conversions:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Breeds&view=548

Advanced

These are TCB versions of the Draconian Norns, and they are advanced because Draconian Norns are very fragile as babies. An interesting breed for sure, but definitely more work! The originals are needed for sprites, but these come with an option for winged Draconians!
 * TCB Draconian Norns:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Breeds&view=549

Flora & Fauna
This section of the guide focuses on extra plants and animals that are either useful to include, or are just plain neat. Essential

Coconots provide a valuable source of food in the Marine Terrarium, and if left long enough leave a little surprise!
 * C3 Coconots:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1723

Recommended

A fully functional and plantable version of the C3 Bluebell. This version has had the smell removed in order to play nicely with Verm’s Detritus Smell.
 * C3DS No Smell Bleubell:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1861

A funky tree from The Canopy. This tree grows fruit, which can be plucked or knocked off.
 * C3DS Boomba Tree:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=71

An interesting plant that only grows in corridors and other non-organic places! It will also produce a kind of food, which can be handy for wandering Creatures.
 * C3DS Botanoid:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=51

Allows you to add tadpoles to your ponds, which will eventually grow into frogs! These critters are also edible at all life stages.
 * C3DS Frogs:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=244

Creates a small variety of goldfish to inhabit your ponds. They eat seeds to grow and can themselves be eaten, as well as their eggs. Designed for use with the Water Weed agent further down this list.
 * C3DS Goldfishies:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1593

A useful plant that produces underwater Fruit and provides air for Creatures to breathe.
 * C3DS Grow Control Plant:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=970

Some nice aquatic plants that produce edible seeds.
 * C3DS Oasis Anemones:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1307

This agent vends little edible critters for underwater Creatures, which can also breed given enough plants.
 * C3DS Oasis Shrimpton:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=898

Creates seeds that produce edible mushrooms.
 * C3DS Rainbow Shrooms:
 * - Download: http://creaturesfrance.free.fr/1024/4agents/bouffe/bouffe3.htm

A nice set of food and fruit plants designed to grow underwater.
 * C3DS Sea Garden Pack 1:
 * - Download: http://grendelman.blogspot.com/p/c3ds-agents.html

A fully functional and plantable version of the C3 Starflower. This version has had the smell removed in order to play nicely with Verm’s Detritus Smell.
 * C3DS No Smell Starflower:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1860

A little freshwater plant that produces seeds and gives Creatures underwater a little oxygen boost.
 * C3DS Water Weed:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1584

A portable version of the Awkwood Creeper. Requires the Hardman Norn Pack to function.
 * DS Awkwood Hanging Basket:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1368

Underwater edible Critters.
 * DS Crabs:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=73

A group of plants that provide a lot more extra fruit for the Norn Meso.
 * DS Plantpack 1:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=87

Advanced

This plant produces a lot of plants if left unchecked, but produces seeds that Creatures seem to particularly enjoy.
 * C3DS Cabern Tree:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1079

As per its description, this plant spreads like, well, a weed! It does produce a lot of seeds as a result though, a great source of starch.
 * C3DS Terraka Weed:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=375

Food
This section of the guide focuses on extra food that a player may find useful or interesting. Recommended

A useful little plant that provides a filling, healthy snack for Creatures (although not Toxic Norns!). This cannot spread through seeds but regrows from the stump left from eating it.
 * C3 Shee Ginseng:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1004

A vendor that produces an endless supply of Manky, perfect for toxic breeds!
 * C3DS Bottomless Cauldron:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1731

This vendor produces carrot seeds which grow, shockingly enough, carrots!
 * C3DS Carrot Seed Box:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=856

The Creatures 2 cheese vendor returns!
 * C3DS Classic Cheese Vendor:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1725

This rather grim addition gives the player a variety of options for dead Creatures to drop chunks of meat when they die and adds interesting hunting and scavenging aspects for carnivorous breeds. The meat is classed as Critter, so Creatures who haven’t learned to eat critters for food probably won’t eat this meat.
 * C3DS Corpse Remains 2.0:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1810

Popcorn, simple as that!
 * C3DS Exploding Popcorn:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=383

These seeds produce purple carrots, which have slight antioxidant properties.
 * C3DS Purple Dragon Carrot Seed Box:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=857

This teapot will periodically produce some lovely herbal tea, which has health benefits as well as a calming effect. Particularly good for the more delicate Treehugger Norns, and I daresay grumpy Hardman Norns and Grendels!
 * C3DS Soothing Herbal Tea:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1578

This vendor produces a wide array of food, including growable fruit!
 * C3DS Super food vendor:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=208

This friendly floating creature periodically dispenses potions or manky for hot TWB/TCB creatures, and can even patrol a metaroom.
 * C3DS Waterfloog:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1837

A portable version of the C3 Infinite Cheese Machine, which recharges it’s internal power faster.
 * C3DS: Improved Infinite Cheese Machine:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=138

This is a portable and injectable carrot pod, which will also make the Norn Meso carrot pod portable.
 * DS Fixed Injectable Carrot Pod:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1865

This is a portable and injectable justanut pod, which will also make the Norn Meso justanut pod portable.
 * DS Injectable Justanut Pod:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=400

This is a portable and injectable lemon pod, which will also make the Norn Meso lemon pod portable. This has also had Malkin’s addition of Vitamin D included.
 * DS Injectable SF Lemon Pod:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1866

This agent spreads Tuba seeds, allowing the food to grow in many metarooms!
 * DS Tuba Seeder:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=99

Advanced

Special carrots designed for Chione (a metaroom listed later). These do produce a possibly dangerous amount of cold for TWB/TCB creatures, however!
 * C3DS Needleleaf Carrots:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1660

Allows Stinger nests to produce honeycombs! This does require stinger nests to be out and about, however, so take care!
 * DS Stinger Honeycomb:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1523

Metarooms
This section of the guide focuses on extra rooms to raise their Creatures in. Recommended

Norngarden is a very popular jungle-like metaroom, and part of the Norngarden series. This room is plenty warm enough for TWB/TCB Creatures and has a lot of food and toys included.
 * C3DS Norngarden 1:
 * - Download: http://norngarden.albia2000.com/downloadng.html

A jungle themed metaroom with a day/night cycle, ecology and original music!
 * DS Terra Pluvialis:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=66

Advanced

Another part of Norngarden, this room is aimed at aquatic Creatures. This room is quite cold in places, and not just the water, so it would need some set up for TWB/TCB Creatures.
 * C3DS Aquagarden:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=137

This is a huge aquatic room with a wide variety of critters. This is a very cold room, however, largely because it is mostly water. Dragoler has currently not made any aquatic TWB breeds but says that they will be made resilient to cold water when she does make them, so this may end up moving to recommended!
 * C3DS Artemia Sea:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=137

This is a deep, dark ocean floor metaroom, once again for aquatic creatures. This room will probably require more food and critters set up in it, hence the advanced tag.
 * C3DS Deep Abyss:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=125

This is an arctic room, complete with freezing temperatures! As well as the temperatures, this room will need considerable set up to get started.
 * DS Chione:
 * - Download: https://grendelman.blogspot.com/p/c3ds-metarooms.html

This is a metaroom designed as a home for Banshee Grendels. Unfortunately, it is also freezing, so take care with TCB Banshee Grendels.
 * DS Primordia Redux:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=74

Almost a tool more than a metaroom, Random’s Room is a blank, barren room that can be used for all sorts, from agent testing to plain ol’ extra storage.
 * DS Random's Room:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=Metarooms&view=6

Veridia is a large and friendly metaroom with a large number of plants to be found. It is however lacking food, critters and toys, and many players kill the provided lifts and use Elevines instead due to issues with the lifts.
 * DS Veridia:
 * - Download: http://www.creatures.org.uk/ccsf2011/addons.php?id=60

Toys
This section of the guide focuses on additional toys for their Creatures to play with. Recommended

This agent lets your Creatures express their creative sides!
 * C3DS Art Easel:
 * - Download: http://www.creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1420

Some cuddly norndolls for Creatures to play with.
 * C3DS Norndolls:
 * - Download: Bondi,Harlequin, Purple Mountain

A fun camera that produces actual photos!
 * C3DS Camera:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=466

Having trouble getting your Creatures to breed? Have them play with this toy and they’ll be in the mood and fertile in no time!
 * C3DS Cupid's Lyre:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1491

Creates a fake portal for Creatures to push and get their need to explore out of their systems.
 * C3DS Dummy Portal:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=658

A somewhat macabre toy, this ball is made from the head of a Chi-Chi Norn! Touted as good for Grendels, or those nastier norns.
 * C3DS Headball:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1067

A nice little clock your Creatures can interact with, possibly by smashing it!
 * C3DS Shee Clock:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1661

A nice stuffed toy that provides angry Creatures with a way to redirect their ire.
 * C3DS Substitute Doll:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=1769

A fun looking toy created as a prize for the 2012 Survivor Game.
 * C3DS Survivor Dolly:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=727

Provides some atmospheric lighting to an area, complete with CAs.
 * C3DS Tiki-Lantern:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=686

This robot toy will teach a random non-noun word to nearby Creatures. They also inject in random colours!
 * DS Vocab-bot:
 * - Download: http://creaturescaves.com/downloads.php?section=COBs&view=733

Common Issues
In this section, you can find a list of common issues that crop up during installation or play. Much like the rest of the guide, this section will be continually updated as new information crops up or new fixes are found, so if you have an issue and can’t see a solution here, please feel free to reach out to the community and we can help, and get this guide updated.

“When I try to run the game, I get an error box telling me the directory doesn’t exist.”
This is a problem that seems to occur for some people, but not others, and at the time of writing I have no idea what actually causes the issue, unfortunately.

What has happened is that for one reason or another, the registries for the game have pointed to the incorrect directory, usually by adding a space in front of “Creatures”, so it appears as \documents\creatures \ instead of \documents\creatures\. If you have attempted to run the game before fixing this, which is quite likely, the game’s machine.cfg file will also be looking for the incorrect directory.

How to fix:

The registry fix is the most daunting, but it is super easy. However, care should still be taken as the registry is super important to the computer system. You will need to use a registry editor such as the built-in regedit.exe (Windows Key+R, and search for regedit.exe), or another program like O&O RegEditor (which has a much better search function). You then need to search for every instance of creatures and change the incorrect directories. If you need to edit the machine.cfg file, you can open it up in Notepad (I prefer Notepad++), and fix the incorrect directories.

“When I run the Catalogue Tester, it says it cannot extract the catalogue files.”
The game has been installed to the wrong place, please ensure that the game has installed to \documents\creatures\ and not \documents\creatures exodus\ or anywhere else.

Suggestions
As this is a living document, and more mods will come, and more fixes will be found (I'm pretty sure!), I encourage the community to keep giving suggestions for things to add to the guide, and ways to help improve the experience of players new and old!

If you have a suggestion, please drop it here, and let me know!

Thank Yous
Whew! We made it! I want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped me with the guide (with suggestions or poking me to keep at it!), and to all those that have and will contribute to it.

And of course I want to give a huge thank you to the creators of each and every one of these mods, there literally wouldn't be a guide without you and the game would not be in any way the same. You peeps rock!