Recipes System

Version History

Build Version	Change Date	Change Type	Description
676042	2025-06-21	stable	Current version - comprehensive recipe system

Overview

The Recipes system in Don't Starve Together defines how items can be crafted in the game. It provides a framework for specifying ingredients, tech requirements, builder restrictions, and other properties that determine how and when players can craft items.

Overview

The recipe system consists of several key components:

1. Recipe Class: Defines the properties of a craftable item
2. Ingredient Class: Defines the components needed to craft an item
3. Tech Tree: Determines what technology level is required to craft an item
4. Builder Tags: Restricts recipes to specific characters or skill sets

The main files that define the recipe system are:

• recipe.lua: Contains the Recipe and Ingredient classes
• recipes.lua: Contains all the base game recipes
• techtree.lua: Defines the technology tree structure

Recipe Class

The Recipe class is the core of the crafting system. Each craftable item in the game is defined by a Recipe instance.

Creating a Recipe

Recipes are created using the Recipe2 function:

Recipe2(
    name,               -- String: The name of the recipe/item
    ingredients,        -- Table: List of Ingredient objects
    tech_level,         -- Table/Number: Tech level required
    recipe_options      -- Table: Additional recipe options
)

Example:

Recipe2(
    "axe",              -- Recipe name
    {                   -- Ingredients
        Ingredient("twigs", 1),
        Ingredient("flint", 1)
    },
    TECH.NONE,          -- Tech level
    {                   -- Additional options
        numtogive = 1,
        builder_tag = "woodcutter"
    }
)

Recipe Properties

Property	Description
name	Internal name of the recipe
product	Prefab name of the resulting item (defaults to name)
ingredients	Regular ingredients required
character_ingredients	Character-specific ingredients (health, sanity, etc.)
tech_ingredients	Tech-specific ingredients
level	Tech level required to craft the item
builder_tag	Character tag required to craft the item
builder_skill	Skill required to craft the item (for skill trees)
numtogive	Number of items produced per craft
nounlock	If true, recipe won't be unlocked in crafting menu
placer	Placer prefab for buildable structures
min_spacing	Minimum spacing between placed structures
atlas	Atlas containing the recipe's image
image	Image to show in the crafting menu
testfn	Function to test if placement is valid
canbuild	Function to test if recipe can be built
sg_state	State graph state to use when crafting
no_deconstruction	If true, item cannot be deconstructed

Ingredient Class

The Ingredient class defines what is required to craft an item.

Creating an Ingredient

Ingredient(
    type,       -- String: The ingredient type (prefab name or CHARACTER_INGREDIENT)
    amount,     -- Number: Amount required
    atlas,      -- String: Optional atlas path
    deconstruct,-- Boolean: Whether this ingredient is returned on deconstruction
    image       -- String: Optional image override
)

Example:

Ingredient("twigs", 2)                      -- Regular ingredient
Ingredient(CHARACTER_INGREDIENT.HEALTH, 30) -- Character health cost
Ingredient(TECH_INGREDIENT.SCIENCE, 1)      -- Tech ingredient

Ingredient Types

There are three main types of ingredients:

1. Regular Ingredients: Items from the player's inventory (e.g., "twigs", "rocks")
2. Character Ingredients: Resources from the character (defined in constants.lua)

   CHARACTER_INGREDIENT = {
       HEALTH = "health",
       MAX_HEALTH = "max_health",
       SANITY = "sanity",
       MAX_SANITY = "max_sanity",
   }

3. Tech Ingredients: Special tech resources (defined in constants.lua)

   TECH_INGREDIENT = {
       SCIENCE = "science",
       MAGIC = "magic",
       ANCIENT = "ancient",
       SHADOW = "shadow",
       -- etc.
   }

Tech Tree

The tech tree system defines the technology levels required to craft items. Tech levels are defined in techtree.lua.

Available Tech Trees

AVAILABLE_TECH = {
    "SCIENCE",
    "MAGIC",
    "ANCIENT",
    "CELESTIAL",
    "SHADOW",
    "CARTOGRAPHY",
    "SEAFARING",
    "SCULPTING",
    "ORPHANAGE",
    -- and many more
}

Tech Levels

Tech levels are defined in constants.lua as:

TECH = {
    NONE = {},
    SCIENCE_ONE = { SCIENCE = 1 },
    SCIENCE_TWO = { SCIENCE = 2 },
    MAGIC_TWO = { MAGIC = 2 },
    MAGIC_THREE = { MAGIC = 3 },
    ANCIENT_TWO = { ANCIENT = 2 },
    ANCIENT_FOUR = { ANCIENT = 4 },
    CELESTIAL_ONE = { CELESTIAL = 1 },
    CELESTIAL_THREE = { CELESTIAL = 3 },
    -- and many more
}

Tech Bonuses

Some tech trees can have bonuses applied to them, allowing characters to craft higher-tier items without the corresponding prototyper:

BONUS_TECH = {
    "SCIENCE",
    "MAGIC",
    "SEAFARING",
    "ANCIENT",
    "MASHTURFCRAFTING",
}

Prototypers

Prototypers are structures that provide access to specific tech levels. They are defined in recipes.lua as PROTOTYPER_DEFS:

PROTOTYPER_DEFS = {
    none = {
        icon_atlas = CRAFTING_ICONS_ATLAS,
        icon_image = "station_none.tex",
        is_crafting_station = false
    },
    researchlab = {
        icon_atlas = CRAFTING_ICONS_ATLAS,
        icon_image = "station_science.tex",
        is_crafting_station = false
    },
    -- and many more
}

Each prototyper provides a specific tech level, defined in the Builder component.

Character-Specific Recipes

Recipes can be restricted to specific characters using the builder_tag property:

Recipe2("lighter", 
    {
        Ingredient("rope", 1),
        Ingredient("goldnugget", 1),
        Ingredient("petals", 3)
    },
    TECH.NONE,
    {builder_tag = "pyromaniac"} -- Only Willow can craft this
)

Common builder tags include:

• pyromaniac (Willow)
• masterchef (Warly)
• merm_builder (Wurt)
• ghostlyfriend (Wendy)
• werehuman (Woodie)
• valkyrie (Wigfrid)
• pebblemaker (Walter)
• shadowmagic (Maxwell)

Skill Tree Recipes

With the addition of character skill trees, recipes can now be restricted to specific skills:

Recipe2("wereitem_goose",
    {
        Ingredient("monstermeat", 3),
        Ingredient("seeds", 3)
    },
    TECH.NONE,
    {builder_skill = "woodie_were_form_goose"}
)

Recipe Placement

For recipes that create structures or placeable objects, additional properties control placement:

Recipe2("treasurechest",
    {
        Ingredient("boards", 3),
        Ingredient("goldnugget", 1)
    },
    TECH.SCIENCE_ONE,
    {
        placer = "treasurechest_placer", -- Placer prefab
        min_spacing = 2,                 -- Minimum spacing between chests
        testfn = function(pt) return true end -- Custom placement test
    }
)

Custom Recipe Testing

The testfn property allows for custom placement logic:

-- Only allow placement on marsh turf
local function IsMarshLand(pt, rot)
    local ground_tile = TheWorld.Map:GetTileAtPoint(pt.x, pt.y, pt.z)
    return ground_tile and ground_tile == WORLD_TILES.MARSH
end

Recipe2("mermhouse_crafted",
    {
        Ingredient("boards", 4),
        Ingredient("cutreeds", 3),
        Ingredient("pondfish", 2)
    },
    TECH.SCIENCE_ONE,
    {
        builder_tag = "merm_builder",
        placer = "mermhouse_crafted_placer",
        testfn = IsMarshLand -- Custom test function
    }
)

Recipe Overrides

Recipes can be overridden or modified using the AddRecipePostInit function:

-- In a mod's modmain.lua
AddRecipePostInit("axe", function(recipe)
    -- Modify the recipe
    table.insert(recipe.ingredients, Ingredient("rocks", 1))
    recipe.level = TECH.SCIENCE_ONE -- Require science machine
    return recipe
end)

Adding Custom Recipes in Mods

Mods can add new recipes using the Recipe2 function in their modmain.lua:

-- In a mod's modmain.lua
Recipe2("mymod_customitem",
    {
        Ingredient("twigs", 2),
        Ingredient("cutgrass", 3)
    },
    TECH.NONE,
    {
        atlas = "images/inventoryimages/mymod_customitem.xml",
        image = "mymod_customitem.tex",
        numtogive = 1
    }
)

Special Recipe Properties

Limited Amount Recipes

Some recipes can only be crafted a limited number of times:

Recipe2("moonrockidol",
    {
        Ingredient("moonrocknugget", 3),
        Ingredient("purplegem", 1)
    },
    TECH.CELESTIAL_ONE,
    {
        limitedamount = true -- Can only be crafted once
    }
)

Custom Action String

Recipes can specify a custom action string for crafting stations:

Recipe2("carnival_prizebooth",
    {
        Ingredient("boards", 4),
        Ingredient("goldnugget", 1)
    },
    TECH.SCIENCE_ONE,
    {
        is_crafting_station = true,
        action_str = "TRADE" -- Shows "TRADE" instead of "CRAFT"
    }
)

Manufacturing

Some recipes delegate the actual item creation to the crafting station:

Recipe2("winter_food1",
    {
        Ingredient("wintersfeastfuel", 1),
        Ingredient("cookedsmallmeat", 1)
    },
    TECH.WINTERSFEASTCOOKING_ONE,
    {
        manufactured = true, -- Station handles item creation
        station_tag = "wintersfeastcooker"
    }
)

Recipe Filters

Recipes can be filtered in the crafting menu using the filter property:

Recipe2("turf_carpetfloor",
    {
        Ingredient("boards", 1),
        Ingredient("beefalowool", 1)
    },
    TECH.TURFCRAFTING_ONE,
    {
        filter = "CRAFTING_STATION",
        station_tag = "turfcrafting"
    }
)

Implementation Notes

Performance Considerations

• Recipe lookup uses hash-based indexing for fast access
• Builder tag recipes are cached separately for character filtering
• Image atlases are resolved lazily to reduce memory usage

Mod Compatibility

• Recipe post-initialization hooks ensure mod compatibility
• RPC ID system prevents hash collisions in multiplayer
• Character-specific recipes integrate with skill tree system

Build Version Compatibility

• Recipe definitions are validated against current game build (676042)
• Tech tree integration ensures compatibility with prototype system
• Event recipes are properly gated by seasonal availability

Related Modules

• Recipe System Core: Core Recipe and Ingredient classes
• Recipe Filters: Crafting menu categorization
• Tech Tree: Technology requirements and progression
• Builder Component: Recipe crafting implementation
• Constants: Tech levels and ingredient types
• Crafting Menu Profile: User preferences and favorites