Shadowheart

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

Overview

The shadowheart prefab represents a collectible item used in DST's sanity-related mechanics. It is an inventory object that visually and audibly "beats" (animates and plays a heartbeat sound) when dropped on the ground, and stops this behavior when picked up. It integrates with the inventoryitem component to trigger state changes via callback functions and includes optional inspectable and tradable components for gameplay integration.

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst.entity:AddTransform()
inst.entity:AddAnimState()
inst.entity:AddSoundEmitter()
inst.entity:AddNetwork()
MakeInventoryPhysics(inst)
inst.AnimState:SetBank("shadowheart")
inst.AnimState:SetBuild("shadowheart")
inst.AnimState:PlayAnimation("idle")
MakeInventoryFloatable(inst, "small", 0.05, 0.8)
inst:AddTag("shadowheart")
inst.entity:SetPristine()
if not TheWorld.ismastersim then
    return inst
end
inst:AddComponent("inventoryitem")
inst.components.inventoryitem:SetOnDroppedFn(ondropped)
inst.components.inventoryitem:SetOnPutInInventoryFn(onpickup)
inst:AddComponent("inspectable")
inst:AddComponent("tradable")
MakeHauntableLaunch(inst)
inst.beattask = nil
ondropped(inst)
return inst

Dependencies & tags

Components used: inventoryitem, inspectable, tradable
Tags: Adds shadowheart.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
beattask	Task or nil	nil	Reference to the repeating task responsible for periodic heartbeat behavior. Cancelled on pickup.

Main functions

beat(inst)

• Description: Plays the idle animation and heartbeat sound, then schedules the next beat after a random interval (0.75–1.5 seconds). This function recursively schedules itself via DoTaskInTime.
• Parameters: inst (Entity instance) – the shadow heart entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

ondropped(inst)

• Description: Called when the item is dropped onto the world. Cancels any existing beat task (to reset timing), then starts a new beat task.
• Parameters: inst (Entity instance) – the shadow heart entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

onpickup(inst)

• Description: Called when the item is picked up by a player. Cancels the current beat task and nullifies it, stopping sound and animation updates.
• Parameters: inst (Entity instance) – the shadow heart entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: None (does not register event listeners).
• Pushes: None (does not fire custom events).