Xyphias' Creatures: Vetulicolians
The oceans of the Island have always been dangerous, filled with predators like Megalodons and Mosasaurs. However, survival often depends on resources just as much as combat prowess. With the introduction of Xyphias' Creatures: Vetulicolians, players can now encounter a bizarre and fascinating group of prehistoric chordates that change how you gather one of the game's most tedious materials: sand. These weird, fish-like organisms are not just cosmetic additions; they serve a vital economic role in your late-game industrial operations.
Meet the Ancient Filter-Feeders
This mod populates the shallow waters and deeper trenches with six distinct species, each modeled after real-world fossil records from the Cambrian explosion. You will encounter Shenzianyuloma, Nesonektris, Yuyuanozoon, Banffia, Vetulicola, and Skeemella. Unlike the aggressive fauna you are used to fighting, these creatures generally wander passively through the water columns. Their unique biological trait allows them to filtrate water continuously, converting it into usable sand over time. This passive production makes them excellent candidates for automation setups near your coastal bases.
Taming these creatures requires a specific approach rather than brute force. You cannot simply knock them out with tranq arrows. Instead, survivors must craft Vetulicolian Food, a special bait created by combining raw fish meat with sand. Once you have prepared this dish, simply throw it near the target creature to initiate the taming process. It is a peaceful interaction that rewards patience with a steady supply of construction materials.
Strategic Value and Resource Generation
The primary reason to integrate Xyphias' Creatures: Vetulicolians for ARK: Survival Ascended into your server is resource efficiency. Sand is essential for crafting glass, which is required for greenhouses, aquariums, and various advanced electronics. Traditionally, gathering sand involves tedious manual labor on beaches or diving repeatedly with a pickaxe. By taming a flock of Vetulicolians, you establish a living factory. They passively generate sand in their inventory, which you can harvest periodically. If you find yourself in a pinch, they can also be harvested directly upon death for a large lump sum of sand, though this eliminates your long-term production line.
For players managing multiple maps or difficulty settings, compatibility is key. This mod functions seamlessly across the current early access versions of the game, adapting to the updated lighting and water physics of the ascended engine. Keeping track of mod versions can sometimes be a hassle when managing a large library of add-ons. Fortunately, using the foxygame.net launcher simplifies this process significantly by offering a centralized catalog where you can manage Xyphias' Creatures: Vetulicolians alongside your other favorites, ensuring automatic updates and version compatibility without manual file intervention.
Spawning and Console Commands
If you are running a single-player session or an admin-controlled server, you might want to spawn these creatures directly to test their mechanics or populate a specific area quickly. The mod includes a robust set of console commands to summon any of the six species at level 150. You can also summon their Aberrant variants if you are playing on the corresponding map, adding a glowing twist to these already strange beings.
To spawn a standard Banffia, you would use the command: cheat sdf banffia 1 150 1 1. Similar commands exist for Yuyuanozoon, Vetulicola, Skeemella, Shenzianyuloma, and Nesonektris. Simply replace the creature name in the string to get the desired animal. For those looking to bypass the crafting requirement immediately, you can also spawn the food item directly using the command: cheat gfid vetulicolianfood.
How to Install the Mod
Getting started with these ancient swimmers is straightforward. When you search to download Xyphias' Creatures: Vetulicolians, you will typically find it via the in-game mod browser or community repositories. Knowing how to install it correctly ensures that your save files remain stable. After subscribing to the mod in the workshop or downloading the files manually, ensure the mod ID is added to your server's configuration list before launching the session. Failure to load the mod order correctly may result in missing textures or the creatures failing to spawn in their designated biomes.
In conclusion, this add-on offers a perfect blend of educational paleontology and practical gameplay utility. It fills a niche in the aquatic ecosystem that felt previously empty, providing a non-combat alternative for resource gathering. Whether you are a lore enthusiast interested in Cambrian lifeforms or a pragmatic survivor looking to automate your glass production, these creatures are a valuable addition to your ark. Dive into the depths, prepare your bait, and start building your underwater farm today.