Molehill

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

Overview

molehill is a static environmental structure that serves as both a visual marker for moles and a spawner for the mole prefab. When interacted with via the DIG action, it yields loot and removes itself. The molehill monitors cave day/night cycles to control mole spawning behavior: spawning resumes when the cave is occupied and reactivates during the night phase. It integrates with the spawner, lootdropper, inventory, workable, and hauntable systems.

Usage example

local molehill = SpawnPrefab("molehill")
molehill.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)
if TheWorld.ismastersim then
    molehill.components.lootdropper:DropLoot(Vector3(x, y, z)) -- manually trigger loot drop
end

Dependencies & tags

Components used: lootdropper, inventory, spawner, workable, inspectable, hauntable
Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
AdoptChild	function or nil	nil	Callback assigned externally to claim and stop spawning for a specific mole.

Main functions

dig_up(inst)

• Description: Handles the completion of the DIG action on the molehill. Releases the contained mole, drops inventory and loot, and removes the entity.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Safe if inst.components.spawner.child is nil or invalid; no child is released but loot/inventory are still dropped.

startspawning(inst)

• Description: Resumes mole spawning by disabling queue mode and scheduling an immediate spawn if pending is false.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

stopspawning(inst)

• Description: Pauses mole spawning by enabling queue mode with a random delay.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnIsDay(inst, isday)

• Description: Callback triggered when the world's iscaveday state changes. If isday is false and a mole is currently occupying the hill, starts spawning again; otherwise, stops spawning.
• Parameters:
  • inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
  • isday (boolean) — whether the cave is currently in day phase.
• Returns: Nothing.

AdoptChild(inst, child)

• Description: External hook for a mole to claim the molehill. Cancels pending spawning, takes ownership, and stops further spawning.
• Parameters:
  • inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
  • child (entity) — the mole claiming the hill.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnHaunt(inst)

• Description: Haunt behavior that releases the mole when hauntable conditions are met (i.e., molehill is occupied).
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the molehill instance.
• Returns: The result of ReleaseChild() (boolean true on success), or nil if not occupied.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: WorldStateChange("iscaveday") — handled via inst:WatchWorldState("iscaveday", OnIsDay).
• Pushes: molehill_dug_up — pushed on the mole child when vacated (via onvacatedig_up_vacate).
• Pushes: entity_droploot — fired by lootdropper:DropLoot().