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Cookiecutter Spawner

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

Overview​

The cookiecutter_spawner prefab is a non-networked, classified entity responsible for autonomously spawning cookiecutter minions underwater. It relies on the childspawner component to handle periodic spawning and regen logic. The spawner responds to entity sleep/wake events and respects world settings via WorldSettings_ChildSpawner_* helper functions from worldsettingsutil.lua. It is typically used in oceanic or deep environments to populate underwater areas with swarming enemies.

Usage example​

-- Spawner creation is handled internally by the prefab system.
-- Example of interacting with it post-spawn:
local spawner = SpawnPrefab("cookiecutter_spawner")
spawner.components.childspawner:SetMaxChildren(10)
spawner.components.childspawner:StartSpawning()

Dependencies & tags​

Components used: childspawner Tags: Adds CLASSIFIED; no network replication (SetPristine()).

Properties​

PropertyTypeDefault ValueDescription
childnamestring"cookiecutter"Prefab name of the child entities to spawn.
childreninsideinteger0 (when disabled)Number of children currently spawned (influences regen/spawn rate).
spawnradiustable{min = 2, max = TUNING.COOKIECUTTER.WANDER_DIST}Range of spawn distances from the spawner.
wateronlybooleantrueIf true, children will only spawn in water tiles.

Main functions​

DoReleaseAllChildren(inst)​

  • Description: Triggers immediate release of all queued children by calling childspawner:ReleaseAllChildren() without arguments (defaults used by component). Called automatically on wake with a short delay.
  • Parameters: inst (Entity) — the spawner instance.
  • Returns: Table of newly spawned child entities (or empty if none spawned).
  • Error states: May return fewer children than requested if spawning fails (e.g., no valid tiles, physics conflicts).

OnEntitySleep(inst)​

  • Description: Cancels pending wake-triggered release tasks when the entity goes to sleep.
  • Parameters: inst (Entity) — the spawner instance.
  • Returns: Nothing.

OnEntityWake(inst)​

  • Description: Schedules a DoReleaseAllChildren call after 0.1 seconds when the entity wakes. Cancel any prior task first.
  • Parameters: inst (Entity) — the spawner instance.
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: May reschedule unnecessarily if already scheduled; avoids duplication via prior Cancel().

OnPreLoad(inst, data)​

  • Description: Invoked during save/load to restore spawner state using saved data and apply world settings.
  • Parameters:
    inst (Entity) — spawner instance.
    data (table) — save data (e.g., child count, timers).
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: Uses WorldSettings_ChildSpawner_PreLoad, which handles missing or invalid data gracefully.

WorldSettings_ChildSpawner_SpawnPeriod(inst, period, enabled)​

  • Description: Applies world-settings-based override to the spawn period (from worldsettingsutil.lua). Called during initialization with values from TUNING.
  • Parameters:
    inst (Entity) — spawner instance.
    period (number) — base spawn period in seconds.
    enabled (boolean) — whether spawning is enabled globally (via world settings).
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: If enabled is false, childreninside is set to 0, effectively halting further spawns.

WorldSettings_ChildSpawner_RegenPeriod(inst, period, enabled)​

  • Description: Applies world-settings-based override to the regen period (from worldsettingsutil.lua).
  • Parameters:
    inst (Entity) — spawner instance.
    period (number) — base regen period in seconds.
    enabled (boolean) — whether regen is enabled globally.
  • Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to: entity sleep — handled via inst.OnEntitySleep; entity wake — via inst.OnEntityWake.
  • Pushes: None directly (relies on childspawner component for internal events).

Special Notes​

  • This spawner is non-networked (SetPristine(), CLASSIFIED tag), meaning it exists only on the master sim and is not replicated to clients.
  • Sleep/wake behavior ensures spawning continues after world reactivates, especially useful for caves or suspended regions.
  • Overrides via TUNING.* constants (e.g., COOKIECUTTER_SPAWNER_ENABLED) are standard DST tuning hooks for level designers.