Carnivalgame Herding

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-07

Overview

This component implements the herding minigame station for DST's summer event. It handles the lifecycle of the minigame—activation, gameplay (spawning and managing chicks), and deactivation (reward spawning and cleanup). It works in conjunction with the minigame, lootdropper, placer, knownlocations, and locomotor components. Two prefabs are defined: carnivalgame_herding_station (the interactive game station) and carnivalgame_herding_chick (the controllable chick entities). Floor and station decorations are generated procedurally using CreateFloorPart and linked via the placer component.

Usage example

-- Deploy the herding minigame kit
local kit = SpawnPrefab("carnivalgame_herding_kit")
kit.Transform:SetPosition(Vector3(x, y, z))

-- Game is activated and played via the Minigame component automatically
-- Rewards are spawned automatically on game stop via `SpawnRewards`

-- Access the minigame score
local score = inst.components.minigame.score

Dependencies & tags

Components used: minigame, lootdropper, placer, knownlocations, locomotor, inspectable, soundemitter, animstate, dynamicshadow, transform, network, hauntable, physics (via MakeProjectilePhysics)
Tags: Adds CLASSIFIED, NOCLICK, DECOR, carnivalgame_part, carnivalgame_herding_station (to the station prefab)
Children: Spawns carnivalgame_herding_chick (adds locomotor, knownlocations, hauntable, inspectable, soundemitter, animstate, dynamicshadow, transform, network)

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
_minigame_score	number	0	Total score points accumulated during the game round.
_round_delay	Task or nil	nil	Delay task reference used during cleanup.
chicks	table	{}	Map of active chick entities spawned this round ({[chick]=true}).
lightdelay_turnon	number	5 * FRAMES	Delay (in frames) before lighting activates during game start.
lightdelay_turnoff	number	6 * FRAMES	Delay (in frames) before lighting deactivates after game end.
spawn_rewards_delay	number	1	Delay (in seconds) used to queue reward spawning.

Main functions

CreateFloorPart(parent, bank, anim, deploy_anim, offset, rot)

• Description: Creates a non-networked, static decoration entity for the minigame floor (e.g., rings or base). Links it to the parent via placer:LinkEntity, sets orientation/position, and schedules animation transitions on build.
• Parameters: parent (entity) – owner entity to link to; bank (string) – animation bank name; anim (string) – default animation; deploy_anim (string) – animation played on build event; offset (Vector3 or nil) – local offset from parent; rot (number or nil) – rotation in degrees.
• Returns: inst (entity) – the created decoration entity.
• Error states: None documented; fails silently if offset or rot are malformed.

SpawnNewChick(inst, launch_angle)

• Description: Spawns and launches a new chick into the game arena. Registers event handlers for chick arrival and removal. Prevents spawning during the outro game state.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance; launch_angle (number) – initial launch angle in degrees.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Exits early if minigame:GetIsOutro() is true; if SpawnPrefab fails, chick is nil and no further logic runs.

OnActivateGame(inst)

• Description: Activates the game station visually and audibly (play turn-on animation, start LP sound).
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnStartPlaying(inst)

• Description: Starts spawning chicks in a staggered loop at the start of gameplay. Uses NUM_CHICKS (12) and distributes spawns over ~1 second.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnStopPlaying(inst)

• Description: Handles transition out of active gameplay. Plays reward animation, starts reward loop sound, and schedules turning off chicks.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: 2 (seconds) – duration before next game phase begins.

SpawnRewards(inst)

• Description: Spawns reward tickets (one per point in _minigame_score) using lootdropper:SpawnLootPrefab. Activates a random cannon after each ticket spawn.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: 0.25 * inst._minigame_score (number) – total time (in seconds) taken to spawn all rewards.

OnDeactivateGame(inst)

• Description: Cleans up the game after rewards are spawned. Turns off chicks, stops sounds, plays end-bell, and clears the chick table.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

RemoveGameItems(inst)

• Description: Cancels any pending _round_delay task to prevent leftover timers after removal.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the station instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

update_chick(inst)

• Description: Periodic task for chick entities; triggers the carnivalgame_herding_arivedhome event when the chick is within 2 units of its remembered home location.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the chick instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnLaunchLanded(inst)

• Description: Callback executed when a chick projectile lands. Updates physics (swaps projectile physics for character physics), sets position, adds/initializes locomotor component with tuned speeds, and sinks the chick if ground is invalid.
• Parameters: inst (entity) – the chick instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • "onbuilt" (station) → OnBuilt
  • "carnivalgame_herding_gothome" (chick) → chick_ongothome (scorepoints, respawn timer)
  • "onremove" (chick) → chick_onremoved (clean up chick reference from chicks table)
• Pushes:
  • "carnivalgame_herding_arivedhome" (chick) – indicates chick reached home.
  • "carnivalgame_turnoff" (chick) – signals chick to shut down animation/sound.
  • "loot_prefab_spawned" (via lootdropper) – fired after spawning each reward ticket.