Spawnlight Multiplayer

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

Overview

spawnlight_multiplayer is a short-lived FX entity designed for multiplayer-safe light effects. It creates a light with sinusoidally modulated radius, intensity, and falloff over time, while synchronizing the internal "time alive" counter between server and clients using a replicated float (_pulsetime). The light pulses for a fixed duration and then fades out, after which the entity is automatically removed. It is primarily used for visual feedback during entity spawning in multiplayer contexts.

Usage example

-- Typically spawned via PrefabFiles or worldgen, not directly added as a component.
-- Example manual instantiation:
local inst = SpawnPrefab("spawnlight_multiplayer")
inst.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)
-- The light will auto-start pulsing and self-remove after fading

Dependencies & tags

Components used: transform, light, network Tags: Adds NOCLICK, FX, and spawnlight.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
_ismastersim	boolean	nil (set at construction)	true if the entity is on the master (server) side; controls authoritative sync logic.
_pulseoffs	number	0	Offset used to phase the sine wave for smooth client-side animation sync.
_fadek	number	1	Current fade factor, ranging from 1 (fully bright) down to 0 (fully faded), updated via periodic subtraction of FRAMES.
_pulsetime	net_float	net_float(GUID, ...)	Replicated float storing the "time alive" counter, used to synchronize pulse phase across clients.
_lastpulsesync	number	nil (set on master)	Timestamp of the last full sync to clients (every PULSE_SYNC_PERIOD = 30 seconds).
_task	task	nil	Reference to the periodic task driving pulse_light; set only on creation.

Main functions

pulse_light(inst)

• Description: Updates the light's visual parameters using a sine-based pulsation and handles fading decay. Runs periodically on both server and clients. On master sim, also manages network synchronization of _pulsetime and enables the light. On clients, only modulates light appearance.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the spawnlight instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: The periodic task (inst._task) is cancelled and set to nil when _fadek <= 0, and the entity is scheduled for removal on master sim after a 1-second delay.

kill_light(inst)

• Description: Initiates fading when the world enters a new "cycles" state (e.g., end of world session). If _fadek >= 1, it triggers fading by scheduling pulse_light to run periodically.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the spawnlight instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No-op if _pulsetime is already negative.

onpulsetimedirty(inst)

• Description: Client-side event handler triggered when the replicated _pulsetime value changes. Updates _pulseoffs to maintain smooth animation synchronization and kicks off fading if a negative _pulsetime indicates the light should fade.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the spawnlight instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Only schedules fading on client if _fadek >= 1; otherwise, only updates _pulseoffs.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: pulsetimedirty — fires on clients when _pulsetime is updated by the server.
• Pushes: None — this entity does not fire custom events.