Skeleton

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

Overview

The skeleton prefab defines behavior for skeletal remains in the world, handling both generic creature skeletons and player skeletons (including those of players killed in PK situations). It integrates with multiple components: inspectable for UI description display, lootdropper for loot generation, and workable for the hammering interaction. Player skeletons support avatar data persistence, time-based decay, and save/load serialization via custom callbacks. The prefab implements two distinct spawns: skeleton (generic), skeleton_player (player-specific), and associated creature variants.

Usage example

-- Spawn a generic skeleton
local skel = SpawnPrefab("skeleton")
skel.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)

-- Spawn a player skeleton and populate its data
local player_skel = SpawnPrefab("skeleton_player")
player_skel.SetSkeletonDescription(player_skel, "winston", "Winston", "died", nil, "12345")
player_skel.SetSkeletonAvatarData(player_skel, {
    name = "Winston",
    equip = { body = "winston_body" },
})

Dependencies & tags

Components used: inspectable, lootdropper, playeravatardata, workable, transform, animstate, network, soundemitter, smallobstaclephysics
Tags added: skeleton, playerskeleton (only for skeleton_player)

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
animnum	number	math.random(1, 6) for regular, 7–8 for creature	Selected idle animation index (e.g., 1→"idle1").
scrapbook_anim	string	"idle<animnum>"	Animation name used in scrapbook UI.
char, playername, userid, pkname, cause	string / nil	nil	Player identity and death metadata for player skeletons.
skeletonspawntime	number	GetTime() (on creation)	Timestamp when the skeleton spawned; used for decay.
scrapbook_proxy	string	"skeleton" or "skeleton_notplayer"	Prefab name used for scrapbook grouping.

Main functions

Player_Decay(inst)

• Description: Removes the skeleton and spawns ash and a small collapse effect at its location. Used for player skeleton expiration.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the skeleton entity.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: None; always performs cleanup.

Player_SetSkeletonDescription(inst, char, playername, cause, pkname, userid)

• Description: Stores player death metadata and sets a special description function for inspection.
• Parameters:
  char (string) — character name (e.g., "wilton").
  playername (string) — display name of the player.
  cause (string) — cause of death (e.g., "killed by a spider").
  pkname (string or nil) — if non-nil, indicates a PK death and suppresses cause storage.
  userid (string) — unique player ID.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: cause is set to nil if pkname is present.

Player_SetSkeletonAvatarData(inst, client_obj)

• Description: Delegates to playeravatardata:SetData() to populate UI display strings for the skeleton (e.g., name, skin, equipment).
• Parameters: inst (entity), client_obj (table) — client-side avatar data.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnHammered(inst)

• Description: Triggered when a player finishes hammering the skeleton. Drops loot, spawns a collapse FX, and removes the entity.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSave(inst, data)

• Description: Stores the selected animation number (animnum) into the save table.
• Parameters: inst (entity), data (table).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnLoad(inst, data)

• Description: Restores the animation if present; if player skeletons are disabled world-wide, immediately removes the skeleton and spawns a shallow grave.
• Parameters: inst (entity), data (table or nil).
• Returns: Nothing.

Player_OnSave(inst, data)

• Description: Extends OnSave to persist player-specific metadata and skeleton age.
• Parameters: inst (entity), data (table).
• Returns: Nothing.

Player_OnLoad(inst, data)

• Description: Restores player skeleton metadata and avatar data; sets decay start time from data.age if provided.
• Parameters: inst (entity), data (table or nil).
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: None directly via inst:ListenForEvent.
• Pushes:
  "ms_skeletonspawn" — fired once during skeleton_player creation on the master (server) simulation to notify the world of a new player skeleton.