Stalker Ferns

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

Overview

stalker_ferns defines the stalker_fern prefab, a decorative and harvestable environmental entity found in the world. It cycles through three states: wilted (initial), blooming (transitional), and bloomed (harvestable). Once bloomed, it becomes temporarily harvestable (caninteractwith = true), and if left unharvested, it automatically wilts and removes itself after TUNING.STALKER_BLOOM_DECAY + random() seconds. It is closely tied to the pickable and burnable components and supports replication, tagging, and inspection.

Usage example

This prefab is not typically instantiated directly in mod code. Instead, modders reference it via the prefab name "stalker_fern" or extend it. Example usage in a mod (e.g., to detect when it blooms):

local function OnStalkerBloom(inst)
    print("Stalker fern bloomed!")
    -- Add custom behavior
end

inst:ListenForEvent("bloom", function(data)
    if data.ent and data.ent.prefab == "stalker_fern" then
        OnStalkerBloom(data.ent)
    end
end)

Dependencies & tags

Components used: pickable, burnable, inspectable, lootdropper
Tags added: stalkerbloom
Tags checked: None (only adds tags)
External functions called: MakeSmallBurnable, MakeSmallPropagator, MakeHauntableIgnite

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
variation	string or number	"" or "2", "3", or "4"	Stores the random bloom variant; determines animation suffix and loot count.
_killtask	task	nil	Task reference for delayed self-destruction after blooming.
persists	boolean	false	If false, entity does not save/restore across world reloads.

Main functions

KillPlant(inst)

• Description: Called after a delay following the bloom state to wilt and remove the entity. Sets caninteractwith = false, cancels the bloom timer, and triggers the "wilt" animation, scheduling removal on animation end.
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — the stalker fern entity instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Safe to call multiple times (Idempotent: _killtask is nulled after first execution).

OnBloomed(inst)

• Description: Callback for when the "bloom" animation completes. Switches the entity to harvestable state: plays the appropriate "idle" animation, enables interaction, and schedules KillPlant.
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — the stalker fern entity instance.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Removes its own callback to avoid duplicate calls; safe only during bloom phase.

OnPicked(inst)

• Description: Callback invoked when the plant is harvested. Cancels the scheduled decay, removes the bloom callback, plays the "picked" animation, and schedules removal on animation end.
• Parameters: inst (Entity) — the stalker fern entity instance.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • animover — triggers either OnBloomed (initial bloom animation) or inst.Remove (after picking or wilting).
    (Note: The onpickedfn for pickable is assigned to OnPicked, but the event listeners above are registered via inst:ListenForEvent explicitly.)
• Pushes: None — this entity does not push custom events; interaction is handled via component callbacks.