Saltstack

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-07

Overview

saltstack is an environmental prefab representing a growable salt pillar in the ocean. It functions as a renewable resource node with four growth stages, interacting with physics (acting as a water obstacle and floating object), work systems (mining), and a growth timer. It supports dynamic state transitions triggered by mining (decreasing work left) and automated regrowth. Its behavior is tightly coupled with the floater, workable, lootdropper, and worldsettingstimer components.

Usage example

local inst = SpawnPrefab("saltstack")
inst.Transform:SetPosition(0, 0, 0)
-- Growth and mining occur automatically via components
-- To simulate mining:
inst.components.workable:WorkedBy(some_worker, 5)
-- To force regrowth (if below full size):
inst.components.worldsettingstimer:StartTimer("growth", 1)

Dependencies & tags

Components used: floater, workable, lootdropper, worldsettingstimer, inspectable
Tags: ignorewalkableplatforms

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
stackid	number	1–3	Determines visual variant (1, 2, or 3), affecting animation bank/build and floater scale.
workstage	number	4	Current growth stage: 1 = mined out (no colliders), 2 = low, 3 = medium, 4 = full.
workstageprevious	number	4	Tracks previous stage for transition logic (e.g., anim direction and loot dropping).
boat_collided	boolean?	nil	Temporary flag used during boat collision handling to defer physics collider removal.

Main functions

UpdateState(inst, workleft, loading_in)

• Description: Updates the saltstack’s visual and physical state based on workleft. Handles stage transitions, animation changes, physics colliders (added/removed), layer changes (water vs. world), and floater events.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  workleft (number) — Current remaining work to fully mine.
  loading_in (boolean) — If true, suppresses loot dropping during load (prevents re-dropping on world restore).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No explicit error handling; relies on valid workleft ranges.

StartGrowthTimer(inst)

• Description: Configures and starts the growth timer using tunable frequency and variance, adjusted by REGROWTH_TIME_MULTIPLIER.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: None; always replaces the "growth" timer.

Grow(inst)

• Description: Attempts to increment the saltstack’s growth stage if no platform is intersecting it. Increases workleft to the next stage’s threshold.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: If a platform is intersecting, no growth occurs.

OnCollide(inst, data)

• Description: Handles collisions with boats: computes impact damage and performs mining via the workable component.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  data (table) — Collision event data containing other (the boat) and hit velocity info.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Skips damage if no boatphysics component is present on data.other.

SetupStack(inst, stackid)

• Description: Applies the visual identity (bank, build, scale, size) based on stackid.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  stackid (number?) — Optional override for visual variant (1, 2, or 3). Defaults to random if nil.
• Returns: Nothing.

getstatusfn(inst, viewer)

• Description: Returns a status string for inspection UI based on current workstage.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  viewer (entity) — The inspecting entity (unused).
• Returns: "MINED_OUT", "GROWING", or "GENERIC" (string).

DropLoots(inst, lower, upper)

• Description: Drops loot for all stages in the given range using associated loot tables.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  lower (number?) — Starting index into loottables; defaults to 1.
  upper (number?) — Ending index; defaults to #loottables.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnWork(inst, worker, workleft, numworks)

• Description: Callback invoked by the workable component after mining. Restarts the growth timer and updates state.
• Parameters:
  inst (entity instance) — The saltstack instance.
  worker (entity) — The mining entity.
  workleft (number) — Remaining work after the mine action.
  numworks (number) — Number of work units applied.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  timerdone — Triggers Grow via ontimerdonefn when the growth timer completes.
  on_collide — Triggers OnCollide when the saltstack is hit by a moving boat.
• Pushes: None directly, but events like floater_startfloating and floater_stopfloating are pushed via the floater component on state changes.