Farm Plants

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

Overview

farm_plants.lua defines the core logic for all farmable crops in DST. It implements a flexible system for plant growth, stress management, and dynamic loot generation based on plant health and conditions. Plants are created dynamically from plant definitions (PLANT_DEFS) via MakePlant, and each plant entity uses multiple components to handle growth, stress, soil interaction, and research tracking. Key dependencies include growable for progression, farmplantstress for health monitoring, farmsoildrinker for moisture tracking, and lootdropper for harvest rewards.

Usage example

local plant_def = require("prefabs/farm_plant_defs").PLANT_DEFS["turnip"]
local plant = SpawnPrefab(plant_def.prefab)
plant.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)
-- Growth is managed automatically by components; no further setup required.

Dependencies & tags

Components used:
burnable, farmplantstress, farmplanttendable, farmsoildrinker, growable, hauntable, herdmember, inspectable, lootdropper, plantresearchable, workable, knownlocations

Tags added: plantedsoil, farm_plant, lunarplant_target, plant, plantresearchable, farmplantstress, tendable_farmplant
Optional per definition: israndomseed, plant_type_tag (from plant_def), farm_plant_killjoy (added dynamically if rotten)

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
plant_def	table	(provided by definition)	Reference to the plant definition containing properties like growth time, loot, and season compatibility.
is_oversized	boolean	false	Flag indicating if the plant is oversized (max-quality yield).
no_oversized	boolean	false	Flag to prevent future oversized growth (set after rotting or failed conditions).
long_life	boolean	false	Increases spoil time when true (set by plantkin tag during planting).
scale	number	nil	Visual scale modifier based on stress checkpoint points.
_identified_plant_type	string	nil	For random seeds, stores the resolved plant type after identification.
_research_stage	net_tinybyte	(network variable)	Tracks research stage for the seed/vegetable.
plantregistrykey	string	(from plant_def.product)	Key used for seed/plant registry lookup.

Main functions

MakeStressCheckpoint(inst, is_final_stage)

• Description: Evaluates all stress conditions (nutrients, moisture, killjoys, family, overcrowding, season, happiness) for the plant at its current stage, updates stress points, calculates final stress state (if final stage), and adjusts the plant’s visual scale accordingly.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity) - The plant instance.
  is_final_stage (boolean) - If true, finalizes stress state (affects oversized check and scaling).
• Returns: Nothing. Modifies inst.components.farmplantstress.checkpoint_stress_points and inst.scale.

ReplaceWithPlant(inst)

• Description: Replaces a "planted seed" entity with the actual plant prefab (determined by pickfarmplant or _identified_plant_type), copying soil moisture and stress state from the seed.
• Parameters: inst (entity) - The seed entity to replace.
• Returns: Nothing. Sets inst.grew_into to the new plant and removes the original.

SetupLoot(lootdropper)

• Description: Dynamically sets loot for the plant based on stress level and rot status. Oversized plants and stress states yield different combinations of product, seed, or rotten food.
• Parameters:
  lootdropper (LootDropper component) - The component to configure.
• Returns: Nothing. Calls lootdropper:SetLoot(...) with an appropriate loot table.

domagicgrowthfn(inst, doer)

• Description: Handles instant growth via magic (e.g., by the Magic Flower). Advances growth stage, updates soil moisture, and may trigger tending.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity) - The plant instance.
  doer (entity) - The actor triggering magic growth.
• Returns: boolean - true if growth progressed, false otherwise.

GetResearchStage(inst)

• Description: Returns the 1-based research stage index (e.g., seed = 1, sprout = 2, full = 5, oversized = 6–8).
• Parameters: inst (entity) - The plant instance.
• Returns: number - 1-based stage index. Uses inst._research_stage internally.

GetPlantRegistryKey(inst)

• Description: Returns the registry key for the plant, typically the product name (e.g., "turnip").
• Parameters: inst (entity) - The plant instance.
• Returns: string - The registry key.

UpdateResearchStage(inst, stage)

• Description: Maps the internal growth stage index (1-based) to the research stage index, accounting for oversized variants (stages 6, 7, 8).
• Parameters:
  inst (entity) - The plant instance.
  stage (number) - Current growth stage index.
• Returns: Nothing. Updates inst._research_stage to a 0-based value.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  loot_prefab_spawned - Sets from_plant = true on spawned loot.
  on_planted - Sets inst.long_life = true if the planter has the plantkin tag.
  isnight (world state) - Triggers OnIsDark, which manages growth pausing/resuming and night-time tasks.
  defend_farm_plant - (Implied via event push; handled by defenders)

• Pushes:
  ms_fruitflyspawneractive - Notifies world when a fruit fly spawner plant becomes active (at full stage).
  ms_oncroprotted - Notifies world when a plant rots.
  idplantseed - Pushed to the identifier player when a random seed is identified.
  entity_droploot - (via lootdropper:DropLoot)