Bishop Charge

Based on game build 722832 | Last updated: 2026-04-22

Overview

bishop_charge defines three related prefabs for the Chess Bishop enemy's charge attack mechanic. The file contains both deprecated legacy implementations (bishop_charge, bishop_charge_hit) and a newer improved version (bishop_charge2_fx) that handles area-of-effect damage, visual effects, and lighting. The new prefab uses the combat and updatelooper components to process hits over time while displaying animated electrical effects.

Usage example

-- Spawn the new bishop charge effect at a position
local charge = SpawnPrefab("bishop_charge2_fx")
charge.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)

-- Link the charge to its caster (the bishop entity)
charge.SetupCaster(charge, bishop_inst)

-- The charge will automatically process AOE hits and remove itself
-- after HIT_DURATION frames

Dependencies & tags

External dependencies:

• prefabs/clockwork_common -- provides FindAOETargetsAtXZ for area-of-effect target detection
• easing -- provides inQuad function for light intensity fade animation

Components used:

• projectile -- (deprecated) handles projectile movement and hit detection on bishop_charge
• combat -- processes damage output and target acquisition on bishop_charge2_fx
• updatelooper -- runs per-frame update logic for effects and hit processing on bishop_charge2_fx
• transform, animstate, soundemitter, light, network -- standard entity components

Tags:

• projectile -- added to bishop_charge (deprecated)
• FX -- added to bishop_charge_hit and bishop_charge2_fx
• NOCLICK -- added to bishop_charge2_fx to prevent player interaction
• notarget -- added to bishop_charge2_fx to prevent being targeted by AI

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
caster	entity	nil	Reference to the bishop entity that fired this charge.
targets	table	{}	Tracks entities already hit to prevent duplicate damage.
fadet	number	0	Timer for light intensity fade animation.
fadeflicker	number	0	Counter for light flicker effect (cycles 0-3).
_soundplayed	boolean	nil	Flag indicating if the explosion sound has been played.
persists	boolean	false	Prevents the entity from being saved in world state.

Main functions

fn()

• Description: Constructor for the deprecated bishop_charge prefab. Creates a projectile entity that moves forward and triggers a hit effect on impact.
• Parameters: None
• Returns: Entity instance configured as a homing projectile.
• Error states: None

hit_fn()

• Description: Constructor for the deprecated bishop_charge_hit prefab. Creates a non-networked FX entity that plays the hit sound effect at the impact location.
• Parameters: None
• Returns: Entity instance that plays sound and removes itself after 0.5 seconds.
• Error states: None

fx2fn()

• Description: Constructor for the new bishop_charge2_fx prefab. Creates an area-of-effect damage entity with animated electrical effects, dynamic lighting, and per-frame hit processing.
• Parameters: None
• Returns: Entity instance with combat, updatelooper, and light components configured.
• Error states: Errors if TUNING.BISHOP_DAMAGE is not defined when setting combat damage.

SetupCaster(inst, caster)

• Description: Links the charge effect to the bishop that fired it. Sets prefab name override for death announcements and triggers initial hit processing if targets table exists.
• Parameters:
  • inst -- the charge FX entity
  • caster -- the bishop entity that fired the charge
• Returns: None
• Error states: Errors if caster is invalid when calling caster.prefab or caster.components.combat.

OnUpdate(inst, dt)

• Description: Per-frame update function that processes area-of-effect damage, manages light intensity animation, and tracks hit targets. Plays explosion sound on first update.
• Parameters:
  • inst -- the charge FX entity
  • dt -- delta time since last frame
• Returns: None
• Error states: Errors if inst.caster is invalid and inst.components.combat is nil when accessing combat damage.

DisableHits(inst)

• Description: Stops hit processing by removing the update function and disabling the light component. Called when the charge effect duration expires.
• Parameters: inst -- the charge FX entity
• Returns: None
• Error states: Errors if inst.components.updatelooper is nil when calling RemoveOnUpdateFn.

ShowBase(inst)

• Description: Creates a child FX entity displaying the electrical crackle animation. Used for both server and client visual effects.
• Parameters: inst -- parent charge entity
• Returns: Child FX entity instance
• Error states: None

ShowBase_Client(inst)

• Description: Client-side variant of ShowBase that adds an updatelooper component to synchronize animation frames with the parent entity.
• Parameters: inst -- parent charge entity
• Returns: Child FX entity instance with post-update function
• Error states: None

Base_PostUpdate_Client(fx)

• Description: Post-update function that synchronizes the child FX animation frame with the parent entity's current frame, then removes itself after one execution.
• Parameters: fx -- child FX entity
• Returns: None
• Error states: Errors if fx.entity:GetParent() returns nil or invalid entity.

PlayHitSound(proxy)

• Description: Creates a temporary non-networked entity to play the hit explosion sound at the specified proxy location, then removes itself.
• Parameters: proxy -- entity with GUID to get transform position from
• Returns: None
• Error states: Errors if proxy.GUID is nil or invalid.

OnHit(inst, owner, target)

• Description: Deprecated hit callback for bishop_charge. Spawns a hit effect prefab at the impact location and removes the projectile.
• Parameters:
  • inst -- the projectile entity
  • owner -- the entity that fired the projectile
  • target -- the entity that was hit
• Returns: None
• Error states: None

OnAnimOver(inst)

• Description: Deprecated callback that removes the projectile entity 0.3 seconds after animation completes.
• Parameters: inst -- the projectile entity
• Returns: None
• Error states: None

OnThrown(inst)

• Description: Deprecated callback registered when projectile is thrown. Sets up animation over listener for cleanup.
• Parameters: inst -- the projectile entity
• Returns: None
• Error states: None

KeepTargetFn(inst)

• Description: Combat component callback that always returns false, preventing the charge FX from maintaining a combat target.
• Parameters: inst -- the charge FX entity
• Returns: false (boolean)
• Error states: None

Events & listeners

• Listens to: animover -- triggers entity removal when animation completes (deprecated prefabs and child FX entities)
• Pushes: electrocute -- fired on each hit target with attacker, stimuli type, and fork count data