Gelblob

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

Overview

The gelblob prefab implements the Gelblob boss enemy. It manages its health-based size progression (small/medium/big), proximity tracking of nearby entities, suspension and digestion of players, item absorption for growth, and dynamic chunk generation when shrinking. It also handles networked state for client-side FX and persistence synchronization.

This component integrates closely with the health, combat, inventory, lootdropper, planardamage, and sanityaura components. It defines multiple related prefabs (gelblob, gelblob_back_fx, gelblob_small_fx, gelblob_item_fx, and gelblobspawningground) to handle different aspects of the entity.

Usage example

-- Create the main Gelblob instance
local inst = SpawnPrefab("gelblob")

-- Manually trigger growth/absorption if needed
if inst and inst.components and inst.Absorb then
    inst:Absorb()
end

-- Spawn a gelblob chunk manually (e.g., after shrinking)
local chunk = SpawnPrefab("gelblob_small_fx")
chunk.components.entitytracker:TrackEntity("mainblob", inst)
chunk:Toss(dist, angle)

Dependencies & tags

Components used: health, combat, planarentity, planardamage, inspectable, inventory, lootdropper, sanityaura, entitytracker, timer.

Tags added by main entity: blocker, shadow_aligned, stronggrip, equipmentmodel.

Tags added by small chunks (gelblob_small_fx): canbebottled.

Tags added by back FX (gelblob_back_fx) and item FX (gelblob_item_fx): FX.

Tags added by spawner (gelblobspawningground): gelblobspawningground, NOBLOCK, NOCLICK.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
inst.size	string	"_big"	Current size tag ("_small", "_med", "_big"), affects animation and behavior.
inst.level	number	NUM_LEVELS (12)	Health level index (0 to 12) representing growth stage.
inst.leftvars	number	0	Bitmask representing which left-side visual props are active.
inst.rightvars	number	0	Bitmask representing which right-side visual props are active.
inst._contact_radius	number	1.2 (main) / 0.4 (chunk)	Distance required to attach to a target.
inst._uncontact_radius	number	1.35 (main) / 1 (chunk)	Distance at which an attachment breaks.
inst._suspend_radius	number	0.5	Max distance to trigger suspension on players.
inst._suspendedplayer	EntityRef	nil	Reference to the currently suspended (eaten) player.
inst._digestcount	number	0	Number of digest hits dealt while suspending.
inst._targets	table	{}	Map of nearby entities currently attached (entity → FX).
inst._untargets	table	{}	Temporary table used during proximity updates.
inst._suspendtask	TaskHandle	nil	Periodic task handling digestion and equipment theft.
inst.despawning	boolean	false	Set when the blob is being removed via DoDespawn.
inst.persists	boolean	true (main), false (FX)	Determines persistence in world save/load.

Main functions

Absorb()

• Description: Increases the blob's health and level, triggering size-up state transitions (e.g., grow_med, grow_big). Does nothing if the blob is dead.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Early return if inst.components.health:IsDead() is true.

OnContactChanged(contacted, uncontacted)

• Description: Handles state changes when contact state with nearby entities changes. Triggers the "jiggle" event on the stategraph if contact changed.
• Parameters: contacted (boolean) – whether new entities were attached; uncontacted (boolean) – whether existing attachments were lost.
• Returns: Nothing.

DoDespawn()

• Description: Kills the blob (via health:Kill()) and clears its loot table so it drops nothing. Sets inst.despawning to true.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

SuspendItem(item)

• Description: Drops all inventory items, then equips the given item. Releases any suspended player first.
• Parameters: item (Entity) – the item to equip.
• Returns: Nothing.

ReleaseSuspended(explode)

• Description: Ends suspension of the current player, triggers "spitout" and "exit_gelblob" events, optionally dealing self-damage and playing sound if explode is true.
• Parameters: explode (boolean) – whether to detonate the blob upon release.
• Returns: Nothing.

SetLifespan(lifespan)

• Description (Small chunks only): Starts a "lifespan" timer. When the timer expires, the chunk will vanish.
• Parameters: lifespan (number) – duration in seconds.
• Returns: Nothing.

Toss(dist, angle)

• Description (Small chunks only): Launches the chunk with physics velocity, plays animation, and cancels all timers/tasks. Called when spawning from shrinking.
• Parameters: dist (number) – distance magnitude to toss; angle (number) – direction in radians.
• Returns: Nothing.

ReleaseFromBottle()

• Description (Small chunks only): Simulates extraction from a bottle (e.g., by Biofuel Ammo Affliction) — plays animation and wakes up proximity logic.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

ReleaseFromAmmoAfflicted()

• Description (Small chunks only): Special release logic when exiting the ammo-affliction state; marks the chunk as un-bottleable and makes it non-persistent.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

KillFX(quick)

• Description (Small chunks only): Destroys the FX blob. If quick is true, plays a "splash" animation before removal; otherwise calls ErodeAway.
• Parameters: quick (boolean) – whether to use instant removal FX.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:

  • healthdelta – handled by OnHealthDelta to trigger size reduction/shrink effects.
  • equip – handled by OnEquip to manage visual symbols (e.g., "swap_object", "backpack").
  • unequip – handled by OnUnequip to clear visual symbols.
  • dropitem – handled by OnDropItem to spawn item splash FX.
  • playersuspended – handled by OnPlayerSuspended to begin eating a player.
  • suspendedplayerdied – handled by OnSuspendedPlayerDied to clean up after a suspended player dies.
  • death – handled by OnDeath to drop loot, cleanup, and remove/destroy entity.
  • "startlongaction" (on small chunks) – handled by OnStartLongAction to track collectors during AI actions.
  • "timerdone" (on small chunks) – handled by Small_OnTimerDone to remove chunks after lifespan expires.
  • "onremove" (on entities and FX) – used to clean up tracking tables andFX.

• Pushes:

  • "spitout" – on the suspended player (see ReleaseSuspended).
  • "exit_gelblob" – on the suspended player to signal successful release.
  • "suspended" – on players when they enter the suspend radius.
  • "abouttospit" – on the suspended player before spitting.
  • "jiggle" – stategraph event during digest or absorption.
  • "ms_registergelblobspawningground" – sent by the spawner entity.
  • "entity_droploot" – fired by DropLoot.