Gelblobspawner

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-03

Overview

GelBlobSpawner is a master-world-only component that controls the dynamic spawning of gelblob prefabs during active Shadow Rift events. It monitors registered spawning grounds (gelblobspawningground-tagged entities), responds to nearby alive non-ghost players, and coordinates blob production based on world tuning parameters and concurrent parasite wave overrides from ShadowParasiteManager. It ensures blob counts respect limits (MAX_GELBLOBS_TOTAL_IN_WORLD), enforces spawner-specific and global cooldowns, and handles serialization for world save/load.

This component only exists on the mastersim (server), as enforced by an assertion in its constructor.

Usage example

-- Typically attached automatically to TheWorld in the game's initialization.
-- Example of how a mod might register a custom spawning ground:
local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddTag("gelblobspawningground")
inst.Transform:SetPosition(x, 0, z)
TheWorld.components.gelblobspawner:RegisterGelBlobSpawningPoint(inst)

Dependencies & tags

Components used: health, riftspawner, shadowparasitemanager
Tags: Registers and listens to entities with tag gelblobspawningground; listens to onremove on spawned gel blobs and spawners.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
enabled	boolean	false	Whether blob spawning logic is active (toggled on/off by rift state).
spawnpoints	table of entities	{}	List of registered gelblobspawningground entities that can produce blobs.
gelblobs	table: gelblob entity → spawner entity	{}	Tracks currently active gel blobs and their associated spawner.
gelblobcount	number	0	Total number of active gel blobs.
blobbedspawners	table: spawner entity → true	{}	Tracks spawners that have recently spawned blobs.
cooldownspawners	table: spawner entity → number (time left)	{}	Tracks spawners on cooldown and remaining time.
MIN_GELBLOBS_PER_SPAWNER	number	TUNING.MIN_GELBLOBS_PER_SPAWNER	Minimum blobs spawned per spawner per attempt.
MAX_GELBLOBS_PER_SPAWNER	number	TUNING.MAX_GELBLOBS_PER_SPAWNER	Maximum blobs spawned per spawner per attempt.
MAX_GELBLOBS_TOTAL_IN_WORLD	number	TUNING.MAX_GELBLOBS_TOTAL_IN_WORLD	Maximum total gel blobs allowed.
MIN_GELBLOB_DIST_FROM_EACHOTHER_SQ	number	TUNING.MIN_GELBLOB_DIST_FROM_EACHOTHER^2	Squared minimum distance between spawned blobs.
MAX_GELBLOB_DIST_FROM_SPAWNER	number	TUNING.MAX_GELBLOB_DIST_FROM_SPAWNER	Maximum distance blobs may spawn from a spawner.
MIN_GELBLOB_SPAWN_DELAY	number	TUNING.MIN_GELBLOB_SPAWN_DELAY	Minimum delay before a blob becomes active after spawn.
VARIANCE_GELBLOB_SPAWN_DELAY	number	TUNING.VARIANCE_GELBLOB_SPAWN_DELAY	Variance added to spawn delay.
COOLDOWN_GELBLOB_SPAWNER_TIME	number	TUNING.COOLDOWN_GELBLOB_SPAWNER_TIME	Cooldown duration for a spawner after spawning.
logictickaccumulator	number	0	Accumulator for timed logic updates (every LOGIC_TICK_TIME seconds).
LOGIC_TICK_TIME	number	1	Interval in seconds between blob logic checks.

Main functions

RegisterGelBlobSpawningPoint(spawner)

• Description: Registers a spawner entity as a valid source of gel blobs. Automatically unregisters it if the spawner is removed.
• Parameters: spawner (entity) — the spawning ground entity (must have tag gelblobspawningground).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Not meant for direct modder use; prefer TryToRegisterSpawningPoint.

TryToRegisterSpawningPoint(spawner)

• Description: Attempts to register a spawner only if not already registered. Exposed to mods for dynamic spawner management.
• Parameters: spawner (entity).
• Returns: true if successfully registered; false if already present.

UnregisterGelBlobSpawningPoint(spawner)

• Description: Manually unregisters a spawner.
• Parameters: spawner (entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

StartGelBlobs()

• Description: Enables blob spawning and starts component updates. Called when a Shadow Rift is added to the pool (i.e., active).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No-op if already enabled.

StopGelBlobs()

• Description: Disables blob spawning but retains state. Called when all rifts are removed from the pool.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

SpawnGelBlobFromSpawner(spawner, player)

• Description: Attempts to spawn one or more gel blobs from a given spawner near the specified player, subject to cooldowns, total blob limits, and parasite wave overrides. Uses pathfinding-aware random placement.
• Parameters:
  • spawner (entity) — the gel blob spawner entity.
  • player (entity, optional) — the player entity to bias blob placement toward; defaults to spawner if omitted.
• Returns: true if at least one blob was spawned; false otherwise.
• Error states: Fails and returns false if the spawner is currently blobbed or on cooldown, if the shadow parasite override succeeded, or if blob count limit would be exceeded.

TrySpawningGelBlobs()

• Description: Iterates over all alive, non-ghost players, finds nearby spawners within range, and triggers spawning for each.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

TryRemovingGelBlobs()

• Description: Removes one gel blob (via DoDespawn) when total count exceeds limits during deactivation. Spawns no more than one blob per call.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

CheckGelBlobs()

• Description: Central logic gate called every LOGIC_TICK_TIME seconds. Spawns blobs if enabled and under cap; removes blobs if disabled and count > 0; cleans cooldowns and stops updates when fully idle.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnUpdate(dt)

• Description: Drives spawner cooldown countdowns and triggers CheckGelBlobs periodically.
• Parameters: dt (number) — delta time since last frame.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSave()

• Description: Serializes active gel blobs and spawner cooldown timers into save data.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Two values:
  • data (table or nil) — save payload with keys gelblobs (list of {gelblob=guid, spawner=guid}) and spawnercds (list of {spawner=guid, timeleft=number}).
  • ents (table of guids) — list of GUIDs referenced in data (for save system tracking).

LoadPostPass(newents, savedata)

• Description: Reconnects gel blobs and spawners after save load using newents.
• Parameters:
  • newents (table) — map of GUID → {entity=ent, ...}.
  • savedata (table) — as returned by OnSave.
• Returns: Nothing.

GetDebugString()

• Description: Returns a human-readable debug string for the component’s state, including spawner count, current blob count, and spawner cooldowns sorted by time left.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: string.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • ms_registergelblobspawningground — triggers TryToRegisterSpawningPoint.
  • onremove (on spawners) — triggers UnregisterGelBlobSpawningPoint.
  • onremove (on gel blobs) — decrements blob count, manages spawner cooldowns.
  • ms_riftaddedtopool, ms_riftremovedfrompool — triggers UpdateState to toggle enabled.
• Pushes: None.