Miasma Cloud Fx

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-06

Overview

miasma_cloud_fx is a client-side prefab component responsible for rendering the visual particle effects of miasma clouds — specifically, the smoke and ember emissions. It does not govern gameplay logic but handles all rendering behavior for the miasma fog effect, including dynamic camera-based particle attachment/detachment, orientation-sensitive semicircle emission, and diminishing effects when near fire. It works in coordination with miasmamanager and miasmawatcher (via the master entity) but is purely visual.

Usage example

-- This component is not added manually; it is instantiated via the Prefab system.
-- Example of triggering particle attachment on a miasma cloud entity:
inst.AttachParticles(true) -- Attach front/back cloud FX and fast-forward initial particles
-- Later, to detach:
inst.DetachParticles()

Dependencies & tags

Components used: None directly (this is a client-only FX prefab).
Tags added: FX, miasma (on the main miasma_cloud entity).
Tags added (FX prefabs): FX on miasma_cloud_fx and miasma_ember_fx.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
smoke_max_scale	number	0.8	Max scale for smoke particle textures.
ember_max_scale	number	0.7	Max scale for ember particle textures.
SMOKE_MAX_LIFETIME	number	5.0	Base lifetime (seconds) of smoke particles.
EMBER_MAX_LIFETIME	number	1.5	Lifetime (seconds) of ember particles.
FIRE_DECAY_MULTIPLIER	number	0.25	Multiplier applied to smoke lifetime when near fire.
MIASMA_RADIUS	number	Calculated from TUNING.MIASMA_SPACING	Effective radius (in world units) for miasma influence detection.

Main functions

AttachParticles(do_fast_forward)

• Description: Spawns and attaches two particle-emitting child FX entities (_front_cloud_fx and _back_cloud_fx) to display the miasma cloud. If do_fast_forward is true, it immediately emits particles and fast-forwards the effect to avoid pop-in.
• Parameters: do_fast_forward (boolean) — whether to spawn initial particles and fast-forward the effect.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No-op if particles are already attached (inst._front_cloud_fx exists).

DetachParticles()

• Description: Removes the front and back smoke FX entities and their embers.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

SpawnInstantParticles()

• Description: Emits 10 initial particles immediately (used for fast-forwarding or immediate visual response).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

FastForwardParticles(fast_forward)

• Description: Advances the VFX effect timeline by fast_forward seconds to skip the fade-in.
• Parameters: fast_forward (number) — seconds to fast-forward.
• Returns: Nothing.

ClearParticles()

• Description: Clears all currently emitted particles from the VFX effect.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

StartAllWatchers()

• Description: Begins the periodic task (OnUpdate) that checks which entities enter/exit the miasma radius and updates miasmawatcher components accordingly. Only called on the master simulation.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

StopAllWatchers()

• Description: Cancels the periodic task and removes all entities from watcher lists, invoking RemoveMiasmaSource on each. Only called on the master simulation.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

ClearWatcherTable(tbl)

• Description: Clears all entries in a watcher table and invokes RemoveMiasmaSource for each valid entity.
• Parameters: tbl (table) — map of { [entity] = true }.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • "onremove" — triggers OnRemove_Client to remove the FX from _MiasmaCloudEntities.
  • "diminishingdirty" — triggers OnDiminishingDirty to attach/detach ember effects based on fire proximity.
• Pushes (via TheWorld):
  • "miasmacloudexists" — fired with true when first miasma cloud spawns and false when the last one is removed.