This is a mod I originally created to fix a few "issues" myself, my wife and some friends felt the game had. Turns out I really enjoy modding so I've expanded on it quite a bit. The intent is to drag out the early game, so it will take you longer than usual to get to Iron and Steel. I've also tried to inject a little realism by locking away quite a few recipes behind perks, since most normal folks wouldn't know how to do/make those things. 

Also, I started playing in Alpha 8, so I wanted to try and bring back a few things from that era. Hub city, sharp rocks and sticks are pretty good examples, and I want to try and incorporate more features from that era of gameplay. I will also be trying to add in new zombies/enemies to make the "end game" more difficult.

Features.

• 8 Classes to choose from, with 6 quests each!
• 96 slot backpack! 12 slot crafting queue!
• Custom UI! Food/Water bars next to the hotbar.
• Increased zombie spawn/respawn rate!
• Night time is now dangerous. The ferals come out to play...
• Zombie Behemoth (male and female) added!
• Scrap Iron Tools added. Iron requires level 15.
• Titanium added! Can be found as trophies, underground and above ground. Used to make tools, weapons and blocks.
• Forge Ahead & Leather Tanning books are back! (can also be purchased as perks)
• Wrench is now a perk and a schematic, but crafted and repaired with Iron.
• All common books added as perks, so you have the choice of finding the book or spending points.
• Action skills are back!
• Skill books added for all 100 level skills.
• Generic skill point book added so you have ways to get skill points.
• Skill notes! Find a recipe you already have? Scrap it into a skill note and craft that into something more useful.
• Extra crops! Grow apple, orange banana and coconut trees, plus wheat, carrots and tomatos!
• More food! Way too much to list, but bread is now an option. So are sunday roast dinners. YUM!
• Animal Coops and Snares from Valmod added.
• Clay bowls are back, and used for more than just pretty plants!
• Craftable Small Engines and Lead Batteries!
• Several new guns! Like the P225 Pistol, AR-15 Automatic Rifle, Winchester Rifle and Combat Shotgun.
• Gun crafting! Gun parts are back and require the rare, find-only Lathe to be crafted.
• Arrows can now use cloth fragments instead of feathers. Sticks and Sharp Stones have also made a return!
• Tree sap is now a thing! Try left-clicking on non-dead trees with jars or bowls...
• Sterile Bandage! New healing item to fill the void between normal Bandages and First Aid Bandages.
• Working sinks and ovens! Both types craftable, so pick whichever matches your kitchen.
• 5 new workstations. The Advanced Forge (required to smelt steel, but no fuel needed!), the Mortar and Pestle and two workbenches! There is also the rare, loot-only, Lathe!
• Stone hammer added. Counts as a construction tool. Used only for repairing and upgrading.
• Lockpicks added! Now you can lockpick all safes and most doors.
• Steel crossbow added that takes steel, exploding and titanium bolts. Both crossbows can be scoped.
• Combat axe added. There's also a titanium version.
• Trader's are no longer protected! Take care of your local business!
• Guards added to the trader, with a Guard Captain NPC! Talk to them to buy quest starters, which can earn you skill notes! (Single player only due to server bugs)
• Larger player-crafted storage (kitchen cabinets, lockable!).
• Time REMOVED from under the compass and on the map. Added to the trader window (under restock time).
• Junction box added for invisible wires. Unlocked via electricity perk.
• Bomber zombies added! These @%$*#!s are designed to tear your base to bits. You have been warned!
• 7 Day hordes re-done (less game stages so difficulty should ramp up faster and ferals appear sooner).
• Writing Desk, Ink and Quill available! Used together, these halve the cost of creating skill books and class papers.
• Grass spawns reduced for better performance/easier to see things.
• Traders now have more basic materials for building.
• Localization HEAVILY edited to show where items are crafted, including if they can be made in multiple workstations (one will have a reduced resource cost) and what tools may be needed.
• Compo pack added!
• Hornet from A15 and earlier is back, with it's original sounds and model! Keep an eye out for them in forest biomes.
• Trader Caitlin has arrived! She has her own POI, her own voice, lives in the wasteland and carries the most powerful items.

 SDX Integration

• AnimationSDX added so custom models can all be added, rigged and animated in-game.
• Plants (not tree's) now REQUIRE water to grow on a farm! They will still spawn in the world with no issues. However, they must have water within 4 blocks of them (any direction, including underneath) otherwise they will die. Water must also be topped up.

Class Information.

 

Civilian Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - Full suit, +1 skill point.

Quest 2 - 2 murky water, 2 red meat, +1 skill point.

Quest 3 - 2 painkillers, 2 first aid bandages, +1 skill point.

Quest 4 - Flashlight and +1 skill point.

Quest 5 - 2 painkillers, 2 first aid bandages, +2 skill points.

Quest 6 - Bicycle.

 

Class mastery: None.

 

Farmer Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - Cowboy hat, t-shirt, denim pants, cowboy boots.

Quest 2 - 2 boiled water, 2 beef rations, +1 Living off the Land perk.

Quest 3 - 2 first aid bandage and +1 Sous Chef perk.

Quest 4 - No reward.

Quest 5 - Blunderbuss, 50 blunderbuss ammo and +1 Sous Chef perk.

Quest 6 - Iron Hoe Recipe.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the two Mastery perks grants the following:

Wheat Seed Recipe.

Carrot Seed Recipe.

Tomato Seed Recipe.

Banana, Orange, Coconut and Lime Tree Recipes.

Grandpa's Awesome Sauce Recipe.

Grandpa's Moonshine Recipe.

Grandpa's Learnin' Elixir Recipe.

Beer Recipe.

Roast Dinner Recipe.

Blueberry Pancakes Recipe.

Banana Pancakes Recipe.

Banana Bread Recipe.

Orange Marmalade Recipe.

Orange Tea Recipe.

Meat Bolognaise Recipe.

Veggie Bolognaise Recipe.

 

Hunter Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - T-shirt, denim pants, worn boots, Cowboy Hat.

Quest 2 - 2 boiled water, 2 chicken rations, The Huntsman Perk.

Quest 3 - 2 first aid bandage.

Quest 4 - Scrap Machete, The Huntsman Perk.

Quest 5 - Pipe Rifle, 100 7.62mm Bullets, Stealth Assassin Perk.

Quest 6 - No Reward.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the Hunter Mastery perk grants the following:

Titanium Machete Recipe.

Titanium Combat Axe Recipe.

Steel Crossbow Recipe.

Titanium Bolt Recipe.

 

Laborer Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - T-shirt, brown denim pants, worn boots, mining helmet.

Quest 2 - 2 boiled water, 2 beef rations, Hammer and Forge Perk.

Quest 3 - 2 first aid bandage.

Quest 4 - Hammer and Forge Perk.

Quest 5 - Hammer and Forge Perk.

Quest 6 - Nailgun item.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the Laborer Mastery perk grants the following:

Titanium frame recipes for building bases.

Titanium bar recipes (normal and centred).

All Titanium tools (Hammer, Fireaxe, Pickaxe, Shovel, Auger, Chainsaw)

 

Mechanic Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - ZU Football T-Shirt, Overalls, Ball Cap, Worn Boots.

Quest 2 - 2 first aid bandage, Salvage Operations Perk.

Quest 3 - Wrench Item, Salvage Operations Perk.

Quest 4 - 2 boiled water, 2 chicken rations.

Quest 5 - Salvage Operations Perk.

Quest 6 - No Reward.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the Mechanic Mastery perk grants the following:

Motorbike + Parts Recipe.

4x4 + Parts Recipe.

Oil Pump Recipe.

Steel Wrench Recipe.

Car Battery Recipe.

Small Engine Recipe.

 

Scientist Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - White jacket, t-shirt, suit pants, suit shoes.

Quest 2 - Physician Perk.

Quest 3 - 2 boiled water, 2 chicken rations, Self Medicated Perk.

Quest 4 - Scrap Machete Item.

Quest 5 - Physician Perk.

Quest 6 - No Reward.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the Scientist Mastery perk grants the following:

Antibiotics Recipe.

Painkillers Recipe.

Paramedic Kit Recipe.

Coedine Pills Recipe.

Acid Recipe.

 

Security Class.

 

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - Army shirt, army pants, worn boots, ball cap.

Quest 2 - 2 boiled water, 2 chicken rations, Pain Tolerance Perk.

Quest 3 - Pipe Pistol, 100 9mm bullets.

Quest 4 - Flurry of Blows Perk.

Quest 5 - Pain Tolerance Perk.

Quest 6 - +1 skill point.

 

Class mastery: Gaining the Security Mastery perk grants the following:

Titanium Armor Recipes (Chest, Boots, Gloves, Legs, Helmet).

Titanium Spiked Club Recipe.

M4A1 and all parts Recipes.

Survivalist Class.

Grants the following:

Quest 1 - T-Shirt, army pants, cowboy boots, cowboy hat.

Quest 2 - 2 murky water, 2 chicken rations, all leather armour recipes.

Quest 3 - 2 first aid bandage, 2 painkillers, +1 skill point.

Quest 4 - No Reward.

Quest 5 - Scrap Fireaxe, Pickaxe and Shovel recipes.

Quest 6 - Watch Recipe.

Class mastery: Gaining the Survival Mastery perk grants the following:

Titanium Machete Recipe.

Survival Torch Recipe.

Radio Recipe.

Jerky Recipe.

Modlet Compatibility.

Darkness Falls is a total overhaul mod, which means I have changed large amounts of the XML files on a permanent basis. Not all modlets will be compatible, therefore I thought it might be a good idea to start a list of ones that do work.

USING MODLETS NOT ON THIS LIST MEANS I CANNOT OFFER YOU SUPPORT.

Confirmed Working.

Sorcery (A19 preview version confirmed working.)

Valmar's Expanded Traps (other modlets here are not confirmed)

DO NOT INSTALL COMPO PACK. It is already included, has been edited so quests work more reliably and better balance for loot/zombies.

DO NOT USE NITROGEN. It does not obey biome restrictions I have put in place for some POI's.

Known Issues.

• Animals have some issues that need to be investigated
• Food/Water don't display correctly. Anything over 100 doesn't seem to work, so bear that in mind.

Alpha 16.4, 45-slot BBM Version Download (Not EAC friendly, also includes 45 slot minibike and dropped backpack increase)

Alpha 16.4, 45-slot BBM Server Version Download (Server version of the 45-slot backpack mod)

Both versions are now available on the mod launcher!

Alpha 17.4 Client Download (Not EAC friendly)

Alpha 17.4 Server Download (Not EAC friendly)

Alpha 18.4 Client Download (Not EAC friendly)

Alpha 18.4 Server Download (Not EAC friendly)

Also available on the mod launcher!

A19.6 Client Download (Not EAC Friendly)

A19.6 Server Download (Not EAC Friendly)

Also available on the mod launcher!

A20.4/20.5 Client AND Server Download (Not EAC Friendly. Click the 3 dots, select download as zip)

Also available on the mod launcher 

Need a server? Check the "Buy Me A Coffee" section for an affiliate link for Bluefang Solutions! They'll even install the mod for you at the time of ordering and handle any updates.

Installation Instructions. (If you don't use the mod launcher)

Make a copy of your 7 Days to Die folder first!!!

Download the zip file at the link above. Unzip the Mods folder and Darkness Falls Icon and Serverconfig.xml to your 7 Days to Die folder. Overwrite when prompted.

Video here for folks who find that easier.

Installation Guide

1. Click the 3 dots in the top right and select "Download as Zip".
2. The zip file you downloaded should be called "DarknessFallsA20.zip". Open it in your favourite unzipping program (7-Zip recommended as it's good and free!)
3. Inside the zip file, you should find 2 files (an icon file and serverconfig.xml) and a single folder called Mods. This folder contains ALL the files the mod needs.
4. Open steam, right-click 7 Days to Die and select properties.
5. In the new window, select "Local Files" and then "Browse". This will open your 7 days to die directory.
6. If you don't want to run vanilla AND the mod, drag all the files from the zip you opened (and should've kept open) into the window where 7 Days to Die is.
7. In the 7 Days to Die directory, you will see 2 EXE files. 7DaystoDie.exe and 7DaystoDie_EAC.exe. Run 7DaystoDie.exe as Darkness Falls is NOT compatible with EAC.
8. Enjoy the mod!