Minionspawner

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

Overview

Minionspawner manages a dynamic group of minion entities that spawn around the owning entity in a radial pattern. It handles minion lifecycle (creation, ownership, death, removal), position assignment using a fixed spatial grid, and state persistence across network sessions. The component is designed primarily for boss or controlled entities that summon units (e.g., eyeplant). It tracks minions in a table, maintains a list of available spawn positions (freepositions), and coordinates timed spawning via DST’s task system. It does not perform AI decisions itself but acts as a manager and event dispatcher.

Note: The code includes inline warnings that this component is outdated and should not be used as a reference for new development.

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddComponent("minionspawner")

inst.components.minionspawner.miniontype = "eyeplant"
inst.components.minionspawner.maxminions = 5
inst.components.minionspawner.minionspawntime = { min = 8, max = 12 }

-- Optionally set callbacks for spawn/loss/attack events
inst.components.minionspawner.onspawnminionfn = function(spawner, minion) print("Spawned:", minion) end
inst.components.minionspawner.onlostminionfn = function(spawner) print("Lost a minion") end

-- Triggers the first spawn after an internal delay
-- Subsequent spawns happen automatically until maxed or stopped

Dependencies & tags

Components used: health (via minion.components.health:IsDead() and Kill()) Tags: None added, removed, or directly checked by this component itself (though it may interact with tags on minions like "eyeplant" during spawn validation).

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
inst	Entity instance	(injected)	Entity that owns this component.
miniontype	string	"eyeplant"	Prefab name to spawn for minions.
maxminions	number	27	Maximum number of active minions allowed.
minionspawntime	table	{ min = 5, max = 10 }	Table specifying min/max delay (seconds) between spawns.
minions	table	{}	Map of minion → minion tracking currently owned minions.
numminions	number	0	Count of active minions.
distancemodifier	number	11	Factor used in radial position calculation.
onspawnminionfn	function	nil	Callback fired when a minion is successfully spawned: (spawner_inst, minion).
onlostminionfn	function	nil	Callback fired when a minion is lost (died or removed).
onminionattacked	function	nil	Callback fired when any minion is attacked: (spawner_inst).
onminionattack	function	nil	Callback fired when any minion attacks: (spawner_inst).
spawninprogress	boolean	false	Whether a spawn task is currently scheduled.
nextspawninfo	table	{}	Holds { start = time, time = delay } for current spawn timer.
shouldspawn	boolean	true	Controls whether automatic spawning is enabled.
minionpositions	table	nil	Cached array of Vector3 positions for minion slots.
validtiletypes	table	DEFAULT_VALID_TILE_TYPES	Set of valid tile types where minions may spawn.
freepositions	table	[1..max] (generated)	List of available slot numbers (1-based), used for assigning minion IDs.

Main functions

GetDebugString()

• Description: Returns a formatted string for debugging the current spawner state, including minion count, spawn status, time until next spawn, and spawn toggle.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: string — Human-readable debug info.

RemovePosition(num)

• Description: Removes a specific position number (num) from the freepositions list.
• Parameters: num (number) — Position index to remove.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No effect if num is not in freepositions.

AddPosition(num, tbl)

• Description: Inserts num into the given position list (tbl, defaults to freepositions) in sorted order, avoiding duplicates.
• Parameters:
  num (number) — Position index to add.
  tbl (table, optional) — List to insert into (defaults to freepositions).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSave()

• Description: Serializes the current spawner state for network/persistence use. Includes minion GUIDs and numbers, max minion count, cached spawn positions, and remaining spawn time if a spawn is pending.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns:
  data (table) — Map containing:
  minions (array of { GUID, NUMBER }) — List of owned minions.
  maxminions (number) — Current max minion limit.
  minionpositions (array of { x, z }) — Serialized positions.
  spawninprogress, timeuntilspawn (if applicable).
  guidtable (array of GUID strings) — List of minion GUIDs.

OnLoad(data)

• Description: Restores spawner state from serialized data. Applies maxminions, minionpositions, and resumes a pending spawn if indicated.
• Parameters: data (table) — Data from OnSave().
• Returns: Nothing.

LoadPostPass(newents, savedata)

• Description: Called after entities are created in a load session. Reconnects minion instances to this spawner using saved GUIDs, assigns minion positions and restores ownership.

• Parameters:
  newents (table) — Map of GUID → entity instance (post-load).
  savedata (table) — Loaded save data (same as passed to OnLoad()).

• Returns: Nothing.

TakeOwnership(minion)

• Description: Registers a minion entity as owned by this spawner, increments numminions, assigns a minionnumber if missing, and sets up event listeners for death/attack/loss.
• Parameters: minion (Entity instance) — Minion to claim.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No effect if minion is already owned (i.e., present in self.minions).

OnLostMinion(minion)

• Description: Handles cleanup when a minion is lost (died or removed). Recycles its position into freepositions after 3 seconds, removes listeners, decrements count, and may trigger a new spawn if allowed.
• Parameters: minion (Entity instance) — The lost minion.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No effect if minion is not tracked by this spawner.

MakeMinion()

• Description: Spawns a new minion prefab if not at max capacity.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: minion (Entity instance or nil) — The new minion, or nil if miniontype is nil or MaxedMinions() returns true.

CheckTileCompatibility(tile)

• Description: Checks whether the given tile type is allowed for minion spawning.
• Parameters: tile (number/string, WORLD_TILES constant) — Tile type to check.
• Returns: boolean — true if self.validtiletypes[tile] exists and is true.

MakeSpawnLocations()

• Description: Computes a radial pattern of valid spawn positions around the spawner, using physics, tile, and entity-density checks. Updates minionpositions and regenerates freepositions based on valid positions found.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: positions (table or nil) — Array of Vector3 positions, or nil if no valid positions were found. May also reduce self.maxminions if fewer positions are viable.

GetSpawnLocation(num)

• Description: Returns the precomputed spawn Vector3 for slot num, if valid and tile-compatible.
• Parameters: num (number) — Slot index (1-based).
• Returns: Vector3 or nil.

GetNextSpawnTime()

• Description: Returns a random delay based on minionspawntime.min and minionspawntime.max.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: number — Random delay in seconds.

KillAllMinions()

• Description: Immediately kills all currently owned minions after a small random delay. Cancels pending spawn tasks.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

SpawnNewMinion()

• Description: Attempts to spawn a single minion: reserves a free position, places the minion, registers ownership, sets state to "spawn", and may start the next spawn.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Silently exits if spawn is not enabled (shouldspawn), at max minions, or position unavailable.

MaxedMinions()

• Description: Checks if the current minion count has reached maxminions.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: boolean — true if numminions >= maxminions.

SetSpawnInfo(time)

• Description: Records the current spawn timing data and returns the assigned delay.
• Parameters: time (number) — Delay (seconds) for the spawn.
• Returns: time (number) — The same input time.

StartNextSpawn()

• Description: Schedules the next minion spawn task if spawning is enabled and not already in progress.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

ResumeSpawn(time)

• Description: Resumes a pending spawn task (used during save/load). Schedules a spawn after time seconds.
• Parameters: time (number) — Time remaining until spawn.
• Returns: Nothing.

LongUpdate(dt)

• Description: Handles elapsed time for long network pauses or fast-forward (e.g., fast travel). Cancels existing spawn task and spawns minions for each missed interval.
• Parameters: dt (number) — Time delta (seconds) to process.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  attacked (on minions) — Triggers self.onminionattacked if set.
  onattackother (on minions) — Triggers self.onminionattack if set.
  death (on minions) — Calls OnLostMinion after pushing "attacked" on the minion.
  onremove (on minions) — Calls OnLostMinion.
• Pushes:
  minionchange — Fired whenever minion ownership changes (added or removed).