Electrocute Fx

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-05

Overview

electrocute_fx is a prefab used to render temporary visual and audio effects when a target is electrocuted. It handles animations, sound playback, screen flash effects (via the colouradder component), and the propagation of electricity to nearby valid targets (forking). The effect is attached as a child entity to the electrocuted target and is designed for use in both single-player and multiplayer (client-server) environments.

Usage example

local fx = SpawnPrefab("electrocute_fx")
fx:SetFxTarget(target, 1.5, {
    attackdata = {
        attacker = player,
        damage = 20
    }
})

Dependencies & tags

Components used: transform, animstate, soundemitter, network, colouradder (added dynamically on target), updatelooper Tags: Adds FX, NOCLICK to the fx instance. Does not modify tags on target.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
target	Entity or nil	nil	Reference to the entity being electrocuted. Set via SetFxTarget.
duration	number	TUNING.ELECTROCUTE_DEFAULT_DURATION	How long the main electrocution effect runs (seconds).
size	string	"small"	One of "tiny", "small", "med", "large" — determines animation variant and sound.
height	number	0	Vertical offset used for animation positioning.
flash	number	0	Remaining duration of the colour flash (used for colouradder).
blink	number	math.random(4)	Blink phase counter (1–4) for flicker effect.

Main functions

SetFxTarget(target, duration, data)

• Description: Attaches the effect to a target entity, starts animation and sound, initiates the flash effect, and triggers target forking if attack data is provided.
• Parameters:
  • target (Entity) — The entity to electrocute and attach to.
  • duration (number, optional) — Override the default electrocution duration.
  • data (table, optional) — Attack metadata; if present with attackdata, triggers fork logic.
• Returns: Nothing.

CancelFlash()

• Description: Immediately ends the screen flash effect by clearing the flash timer and removing the OnUpdate callback.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

StartFork(inst, target, x, y, z, r, data)

• Description: Schedules the forking process to spawn arc FX and propagate electrocution to nearby valid targets. Called internally by SetFxTarget.
• Parameters:
  • inst — The electrocute_fx instance.
  • target — Original target entity.
  • x, y, z — Position for fork origin.
  • r — Radius offset.
  • data — Attack data table.
• Returns: Nothing.

DoFork(inst, target, x, y, z, r, data)

• Description: Performs the actual fork logic: scans nearby entities, filters via tags and conditionals (e.g., immunity, limbo, pvp rules), spawns shock_arc_fx between target and each valid forked target, and pushes the "electrocute" event.
• Parameters:
  • Same as StartFork.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnUpdate(inst, dt)

• Description: Called each frame during the flash period to update colouradder with a flickering alpha value; terminates when flash expires.
• Parameters:
  • inst — The electrocute_fx instance.
  • dt — Delta time in seconds.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnAnimOver(inst)

• Description: Handles the post-animation (_pst) after the main effect completes; removes the fx entity if animation is done or unconditionally plays _pst if target was unset.
• Parameters:
  • inst — The electrocute_fx instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

PlayPst(inst)

• Description: Plays the post-animation (_pst) for the effect.
• Parameters:
  • inst — The electrocute_fx instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: "animover" — Triggers OnAnimOver.
• Pushes: "electrocute" — Pushed on each forked target via v:PushEventImmediate("electrocute", data).

Note: The function StartElectrocuteForkOnTarget(target, data) is exported as a global for backward compatibility, allowing legacy systems to manually trigger fork logic on a target. It calls StartFork internally.