Shadowwatcher

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

Overview

shadowwatcher is a prefab function that creates a lightweight, non-networked visual entity representing a shadow creature footprint or effect. It is designed to appear only in darkness and vanish when the player gains night vision or the entity is exposed to light. It uses animation states to play a looping animation and integrates with the LightWatcher component to detect lighting conditions.

Usage example

-- Not intended for direct use by modders; spawned internally for atmospheric effects
-- Example of how the entity behaves when instantiated:
local inst = SpawnPrefab("shadowwatcher")
-- The entity automatically:
--   - Hides itself initially
--   - Checks lighting conditions
--   - Removes itself if light is detected or after a delay

Dependencies & tags

Components used: transform, animstate, lightwatcher Tags: Adds NOCLICK, FX; checks NOCLICK, FX, lightsource

Properties

No public properties

Main functions

Disappear(inst)

• Description: Cancels pending tasks and triggers the death animation sequence before removing the entity. Called when the entity enters light or the timeout expires.
• Parameters: inst (EntityInstance) - the entity instance to act upon.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Safely handles nil lighttask and deathtask references.

OnInit(inst)

• Description: Initial lighting check performed after a 0-tick delay. Removes the entity if it is in light; otherwise, makes it visible.
• Parameters: inst (EntityInstance) - the entity instance to initialize.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • enterlight — triggers Disappear when the entity enters a lit area.
  • animqueueover — triggers inst.Remove after the death animation completes.
  • nightvision (on ThePlayer) — removes the entity if the player gains night vision.
• Pushes: None