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Houndwhistle

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

Overview​

The houndwhistle prefab is an inventory item that acts as a tool to command nearby hounds and wargs. When used (via ACTIONS.PLAY), it emits a whistle sound audible within a defined radius, prompting eligible enemies to cease combat and follow the user. It utilizes the instrument, tool, and finiteuses components to manage sound propagation, tool behavior, and durability.

The core logic resides in two local functions: HearHoundWhistle (triggered when a hound/warg hears the whistle) and TryAddFollower (handles the actual addition of the follower to the user’s leader component, with loyalty tracking and target clearing).

Usage example​

local whistle = CreateEntity()
whistle:AddTag("whistle")
whistle:AddTag("tool")

whistle:AddComponent("instrument")
whistle.components.instrument:SetRange(15)
whistle.components.instrument:SetOnHeardFn(HearHoundWhistle)

whistle:AddComponent("tool")
whistle.components.tool:SetAction(ACTIONS.PLAY)

whistle:AddComponent("finiteuses")
whistle.components.finiteuses:SetMaxUses(5)
whistle.components.finiteuses:SetUses(5)
whistle.components.finiteuses:SetOnFinished(function(inst) inst:Remove() end)
whistle.components.finiteuses:SetConsumption(ACTIONS.PLAY, 1)

Dependencies & tags​

Components used: instrument, tool, finiteuses, inspectable, inventoryitem
Tags added: whistle, tool
Tags checked (at runtime): hound, warg, moonbeast, statue, player

Properties​

No public properties.

Main functions​

TryAddFollower(leader, follower)​

  • Description: Attempts to add a hound or warg as a follower to the leader if conditions are met (e.g., within follower count limit, not already following another leader, not statues). Also grants loyalty time and clears the follower's current combat target if applicable.
  • Parameters:
    • leader (Entity) – The entity attempting to command followers.
    • follower (Entity) – The hound or warg to be added as a follower.
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: No-op if follower is not a hound/warg, is a moonbeast, is statues, or exceeds the follower limit (TUNING.HOUNDWHISTLE_MAX_FOLLOWERS). Also skips if the follower already follows the leader.

HearHoundWhistle(inst, musician, instrument)​

  • Description: Called when an eligible entity (a non-lunar-aligned hound or warg) hears the whistle. Ends its current combat and triggers TryAddFollower.
  • Parameters:
    • inst (Entity) – The entity hearing the whistle (the potential follower).
    • musician (Entity) – The entity that played the whistle (the leader).
    • instrument (Entity) – The instrument instance (unused in this implementation).
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: No-op if inst is not a hound/warg, is lunar-aligned, or is in a statue state.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to:
    • floater_startfloating – Triggers AnimState:PlayAnimation("float").
    • floater_stopfloating – Triggers AnimState:PlayAnimation("idle").
  • Pushes: None directly. (Delegates event emission to follower:PushEvent("heardwhistle", ...) via DoTaskInTime.)