Antlion Spawner

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-04

Overview

antlion_spawner is a non-networked entity that spawns an antlion instance when a sandstorm starts and stops spawning when the sandstorm ends. It uses the timer and entitytracker components to manage delayed spawning and track the spawned antlion. The spawner responds to sandstorm state changes via ms_stormchanged events and adjusts behavior based on the current season (issummer). It also persists state across saves and restores it on load.

Usage example

-- Automatically instantiated by the game as `antlion_spawner` prefab.
-- Typical interaction is indirect (via the spawner entity itself), e.g.:
local spawner = SpawnPrefab("antlion_spawner")
spawner.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)
-- The spawner listens to world state changes and handles spawning on its own.

Dependencies & tags

Components used: timer, entitytracker Tags: Adds CLASSIFIED.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
spawned	boolean or nil	nil	Set to true when a sandstorm is active and the spawner has registered intent to spawn.
killed	boolean or nil	nil	Set to true if the spawned antlion dies (tracked via death event).

Main functions

OnInit(inst)

• Description: Initializes the spawner by registering world state listeners and setting up event handlers for sandstorm changes and seasonal transitions. Called automatically via DoTaskInTime(0, ...) on spawn.
• Parameters: inst (The instance of this entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSandstormChanged(inst, active)

• Description: Handles sandstorm state changes. When a sandstorm starts and no antlion has been spawned yet, it schedules a random delayed spawn (10–20 seconds). When the sandstorm ends, it cancels any pending spawn and marks spawned as nil.
• Parameters:
  • inst (The instance of this entity).
  • active (boolean) — Whether a sandstorm is currently active.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnStopSummer(inst)

• Description: Resets killed to nil when summer ends, allowing a future antlion to be considered viable for spawning again.
• Parameters: inst (The instance of this entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnTimerDone(inst, data)

• Description: Triggered when the "spawndelay" timer expires. Spawns the antlion prefab, places it at the spawner's world position, tracks it via entitytracker, and transitions it to "enterworld" state.
• Parameters:
  • inst (The instance of this entity).
  • data (table) — Timer callback payload containing { name = "spawndelay" }.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSave(inst, data)

• Description: Serializes the spawner’s persistent state (spawned, killed) for saving to disk.
• Parameters:
  • inst (The instance of this entity).
  • data (table) — The save data table to populate.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnLoad(inst, data)

• Description: Restores the spawner’s state from saved data. If a spawn was previously recorded (data.spawned == true), it reinitializes listeners or timers as needed.
• Parameters:
  • inst (The instance of this entity).
  • data (table or nil) — Saved state (may be nil if no prior save).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnLoadPostPass(inst)

• Description: After world entities are loaded, re-establishes the death event listener for the tracked antlion (if present).
• Parameters: inst (The instance of this entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:

  • "timerdone" — From timer component, used to trigger antlion spawn.
  • "death" — On the spawned antlion entity, used to detect its demise.
  • "ms_stormchanged" (on TheWorld) — To detect sandstorm start/end.
  • "stopsummer" (on TheWorld) — To reset killed when summer ends.

• Pushes:
  None.