Houndstooth Blowpipe

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

Overview

The houndstooth_blowpipe prefab implements a ranged weapon with built-in ammo storage (via a container component) and dynamic projectile creation (houndstooth_proj). It coordinates equipping/unequipping animations, weapon range/damage setup on ammo load/unload, and projectile-specific behaviors such as tail effects and impact FX. It relies heavily on the weapon, equippable, container, projectile, and planardamage components to function.

Usage example

-- In a prefab definition:
local function fn()
    local inst = CreateEntity()
    -- ... setup ...
    inst:AddComponent("equippable")
    inst:AddComponent("weapon")
    -- Attach the blowpipe's weapon logic to this entity (e.g., for a modded variant)
    -- The blowpipe itself is a Prefab; typically referenced as "houndstooth_blowpipe"
    return inst
end

-- Usage of the blowpipe components:
inst.components.weapon:SetDamage(TUNING.HOUNDSTOOTH_BLOWPIPE_DAMAGE)
inst.components.container:WidgetSetup("houndstooth_blowpipe")

Dependencies & tags

Components used: equippable, weapon, container, planardamage, damagetypebonus, projectile, inspectable, inventoryitem, light, soundemitter, animstate, transform, network, physics Tags: Adds weapon, NOCLICK, NOBLOCK, blowpipe (when loaded), rangedweapon (when loaded)

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
OnAmmoLoaded	function	OnAmmoLoaded	Callback fired when an item is added to the container; sets projectile prefab and range.
OnAmmoUnloaded	function	OnAmmoUnloaded	Callback fired when ammo is removed from container; clears projectile and range.
scrapbook_anim	string	"idle_houndstooth"	Animation used in the scrapbook UI.
scrapbook_weaponrange	number	TUNING.HOUNDSTOOTH_BLOWPIPE_ATTACK_DIST_MAX	Range displayed in scrapbook.
scrapbook_weapondamage	number	TUNING.HOUNDSTOOTH_BLOWPIPE_DAMAGE	Damage displayed in scrapbook.
scrapbook_planardamage	number	TUNING.HOUNDSTOOTH_BLOWPIPE_PLANAR_DAMAGE	Planar damage displayed in scrapbook.

Main functions

OnEquip(inst, owner)

• Description: Handles equipping animations and opens the container. Sets skin override if applicable, shows the carry animation, and opens the blowpipe's container for the owner.
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — the blowpipe instance; owner (Entity) — the player equipping it.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: None identified; safe for use during equip flow.

OnUnequip(inst, owner)

• Description: Reverses equip changes. Hides carry animation, shows normal arms, closes the container, and fires the unequipskinneditem event if skinned.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); owner (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnEquipToModel(inst, owner)

• Description: Closes the container when the item is placed in a model view (e.g., inventory slot preview).
• Parameters: inst (Entity); owner (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnProjectileLaunched(inst, attacker, target)

• Description: Consumes one dart from the blowpipe's container upon firing. Removes the ammo stack from the container and destroys the item.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); attacker (Entity); target (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnAmmoLoaded(inst, data)

• Description: Triggered when an item is loaded into the blowpipe. Sets the projectile to "houndstooth_proj", configures weapon range, and adds blowpipe/rangedweapon tags.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); data (table) — must contain item (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Returns early if inst.components.weapon is missing or data.item is nil.

OnAmmoUnloaded(inst, data)

• Description: Triggered when ammo is removed. Clears projectile and range, removes blowpipe/rangedweapon tags.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); data (table) — may be nil.
• Returns: Nothing.

Projectile_CreateTailFx(inst)

• Description: Creates a non-networked FX entity (lavaarena_blowdart_attacks) for the projectile's tail. Uses weighted_random_choice to select animation (tail_5_8 or tail_5_9).
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — ignored; local instance created internally.
• Returns: Entity — the FX entity with animation and bloom.
• Error states: None identified.

Projectile_UpdateTail(inst)

• Description: Spawns and positions a tail FX entity ahead of the projectile, skipping if close to target (prevents visual glitch).
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — the projectile.
• Returns: Entity or nil — the tail FX if spawned; nil otherwise.
• Error states: Skips spawning if projectile is near target (inst:IsNear(target, 1.5)), or if projectile is not visible.

Projectile_OnThrown(inst, owner, target, attacker)

• Description: Records the target of the projectile using a net_entity sync for remote clients.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); owner (Entity); target (Entity or nil); attacker (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

Projectile_OnPreHit(inst, attacker, target)

• Description: Spawns impact FX (hitsparks_piercing_fx) just before projectile impact, but only if the target is valid and not already dead.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); attacker (Entity); target (Entity).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Skips impact FX if target is nil, invalid, attacker invalid, or target health:IsDead() returns true.

Projectile_SpawnImpactFx(inst, attacker, target)

• Description: Creates and positions the impact FX at launch offset height.
• Parameters: inst (Entity); attacker (Entity); target (Entity).
• Returns: Entity — the spawned impact FX.
• Error states: Returns nil if any entity is invalid.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: itemget — triggers OnAmmoLoaded.
• Listens to: itemlose — triggers OnAmmoUnloaded.
• Pushes: equipskinneditem — when a skinned item is equipped.
• Pushes: unequipskinneditem — when a skinned item is unequipped.