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Moon Altar Pieces

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

Overview​

moon_altar_pieces.lua defines three types of prefabs used in the moon altar gameplay loop:

  1. Decorative altar pieces (makepiece) — equipped items that can be placed on a moon altar and repair it.
  2. Mineable rocks (makerockpiece) — boulders that yield altar pieces upon being mined.
  3. Markers (makemarker) — invisible entities used for tracking altar-related events.

The file is not a component itself but a prefab factory—it returns prefab definitions via Prefab(...). It uses many core components (equippable, workable, repairer, lootdropper, heavyobstaclephysics, etc.) to define how these entities behave in-world.

Usage example​

-- Example: Spawn a moon altar rock piece and mine it
local rock = SpawnPrefab("moon_altar_rock_idol")
rock.Transform:SetPosition(10, 0, 10)

-- After mining completes, it spawns "moon_altar_idol" and collapses
-- Example: Equip a moon altar piece
local piece = SpawnPrefab("moon_altar_idol")
player.components.inventory:GiveItem(piece)
player.components.equippable:Equip(piece, EQUIPSLOTS.BODY)

Dependencies & tags​

Components used:
heavyobstaclephysics, inspectable, inventoryitem, equippable, repairer, submersible, symbolswapdata, hauntable, lootdropper, workable, transform, animstate, soundemitter, minimapentity, network

Tags added:

  • irreplaceable, nonpotatable, heavy (altar pieces)
  • boulder (altar rocks)
  • moon_altar_marker (markers)

Properties​

No public properties are defined directly in this file’s scope, as it defines prefabs, not components. Each prefab instance may hold private properties (e.g., inst._socket_product, inst._altar_piece) for internal logic.

Main functions​

makepiece(name, socket_product)​

  • Description: Factory function that returns a prefab definition for an equipable, repair-capable altar piece (e.g., "idol", "glass"). When equipped, it overrides the player’s body animation; when used on a moon altar, it repairs the altar.
  • Parameters:
    name (string) – Base name used in asset paths and prefabs (e.g., "idol").
    socket_product (string or nil) – Optional product name used during altar interaction.
  • Returns: Prefab – The constructed prefab.
  • Error states: None. Works as long as assets exist.

makerockpiece(name, socket_product)​

  • Description: Factory function that returns a prefab definition for a mineable boulder rock. Mining it yields an altar piece. Contains logic for speech announcements at mine thresholds and animation switching based on remaining work.
  • Parameters:
    name (string) – Base name (e.g., "idol").
    socket_product – Not used (passed but ignored internally).
  • Returns: Prefab – The constructed rock prefab.

OnWork(inst, worker, workleft, numworks)​

  • Description: Callback triggered during or after mining the rock. Handles voice lines, spawning the altar piece upon full completion, and switching animations.
  • Parameters:
    inst (Entity) – The rock entity.
    worker (Entity or nil) – The entity performing the work.
    workleft (number) – Remaining work units.
    numworks (number) – Work units applied this tick.
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states:
    • No voice line if worker is nil or lacks talker component.
    • Spawning may fail if inst._altar_piece is missing.

makemarker(name, socket_product)​

  • Description: Factory function that returns a minimal, invisible marker prefab used for event registration (e.g., with calling_moon_relics).
  • Parameters: Ignored (name, socket_product).
  • Returns: Prefab – The marker entity definition.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to: calling_moon_relics – All altar pieces and rocks register themselves via data.caller:RegisterDevice(inst) when this event is fired in the world.
  • Pushes: None directly. The OnWork callback does not push events; it triggers side effects (spawn, sound, talk).

Notes​

  • Altar pieces are not reusable once placed; they are removed on successful altar repair.
  • Altar rocks are tagged boulder and mineable via ACTIONS.MINE; their total work (TUNING.MOONALTAR_ROCKS_MINE) is split across three stages with voice/animation triggers.
  • The prefabs returned match naming patterns like "moon_altar_idol" and "moon_altar_rock_idol" and are exposed in the global scope via a variadic return.