Groundshadowhandler

Overview

This component manages a non-networked, dynamic ground shadow entity for its owner. It keeps the shadow aligned horizontally with the owner while adjusting the shadow's size based on the owner's height above the ground (higher entities cast smaller shadows). It automatically spawns and removes the shadow when the component is attached or detached.

Dependencies & Tags

• Requires the owner entity to have a Transform component (for position queries) and a DynamicShadow component on the shadow entity (for sizing and rendering).
• The shadow entity is assigned tags: FX, CLASSIFIED, NOCLICK, NOBLOCK, and has SetCanSleep(false) and persists = false.
• No external component dependencies are added to the owner entity.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
inst	Entity	(passed in constructor)	The entity to which this component is attached.
ground_shadow	Entity?	nil (set in _ctor)	Reference to the spawned shadow entity.
original_width	number?	nil	Stored base width used for scaling. Set via SetSize.
original_height	number?	nil	Stored base height used for scaling. Set via SetSize.

Main Functions

GroundShadowHandler:SetSize(width, height)

• Description: Sets the base (unscaled) dimensions of the ground shadow and directly applies them to the shadow’s DynamicShadow component.
• Parameters:
  • width (number): Base width of the shadow.
  • height (number): Base height of the shadow.

GroundShadowHandler:OnUpdate(dt)

• Description: Called each frame while the component is active. Updates the shadow’s horizontal position to match the owner’s X/Z coordinates, and dynamically scales the shadow based on the owner’s vertical (Y) height—higher entities have smaller shadows, with scale smoothly interpolated between MIN_SCALE (0.3) and MAX_SCALE (1.0).
• Parameters:
  • dt (number): Delta time since the last frame (unused in calculation, but required by the update loop).

GroundShadowHandler:OnRemoveEntity()

• Description: Safely removes the shadow entity if it exists and sets the reference to nil. Invoked automatically when the component is removed or the owner entity is destroyed.

Events & Listeners

• inst:StartUpdatingComponent(self) is called in the constructor, enabling OnUpdate(dt) to be invoked regularly.
• No explicit event listeners (inst:ListenForEvent) or custom events (inst:PushEvent) are used.