Wagboss Beam

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

Overview

wagboss_beam is a non-persistent FX prefab that represents the Wagboss's beam attack. It serves as a central controller for both visual effects (including ring marker and light behavior) and gameplay logic (AoE damage, lunar burn application, and environmental interaction). It uses the combat, planardamage, and updatelooper components to manage damage application, area-of-effect targeting, and frame-accurate animation synchronization.

Usage example

-- The prefab is instantiated internally by the Wagboss AI/brain.
-- Example of adding tracking support manually (not typical for end-user mods):
local beam = Prefab("wagboss_beam_fx")
beam.components.combat:SetDefaultDamage(0)
beam.components.planardamage:SetBaseDamage(TUNING.WAGBOSS_BEAM_PLANAR_DAMAGE)
beam:DoTaskInTime(6, function(b) b:Remove() end)

Dependencies & tags

Components used: updatelooper, combat, planardamage, colouradder (added dynamically), health (used via DoDelta, RegisterLunarBurnSource, UnregisterLunarBurnSource, IsDead, lastlunarburnpulsetick), grogginess (used via MaximizeGrogginess), workable, pickable, rider, inventoryitem, mine, spawner, childspawner, commander.
Tags: Adds FX, NOCLICK to itself and ring; dynamically adds colouradder to affected entities.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
targets	table	nil	Map of affected entities (key: entity, value: tick when last hit). Initialized on beam activation.
coloured1, coloured2	table	{}	Double-buffered maps tracking current colour intensity applied per entity (for fade-out). Initialized on beam activation.
firsthit	boolean	true	Used to distinguish initial vs. repeated hits. Reset each frame in UpdateBeamAOE.
trackingt, trackinglen	number	0 / 0	Tracking progress (current time and animation length) for smooth transition to the target.
target	entity	nil	The entity the beam is currently tracking toward.
caster	entity	nil	Optional reference to the entity casting the beam (for commander check).
ring	entity	nil	Local-only ring marker entity (created only on non-dedicated clients).
fadet	number	0	Time counter for the post-beam colour fade-out phase.

Main functions

StartPreSound(inst)

• Description: Starts the initial rising swoosh sound ("rifts5/wagstaff_boss/beam_up").
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the beam entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

TrackTarget(inst, target, x0, z0)

• Description: Initiates beam tracking toward a specific target entity during the pre-animation phase. Adjusts position to slightly overshoot the target before locking on.
• Parameters:
  • inst (entity) — the beam entity.
  • target (entity) — the target entity to track.
  • x0 (number) — initial X position.
  • z0 (number) — initial Z position.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Only activates if the beam is in "beam_pre" animation and inst.target is not already set.

UpdateTracking(inst, dt)

• Description: Smoothly moves the beam toward the tracked target using an outQuad easing curve over the duration of the pre-animation.
• Parameters: inst (entity), dt (number) — delta time (scaled).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Cancels itself and clears inst.target if the target becomes invalid or tracking time exceeds animation length.

StartBeamAOE(inst)

• Description: Enables area-of-effect targeting logic and begins the loop sound. Called after the pre-animation completes.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the beam entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateBeamAOE(inst, dt)

• Description: Main loop logic for applying beam effects (damage, harvesting, tossing items, lunar burns). Runs every frame while the beam is active (during loop and post).
• Parameters: inst (entity), dt (number) — unused (actual time tracked internally via ticks).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states:
  • Skips entities with FX, DECOR, INLIMBO, flight, or invisible tags.
  • Respects commander membership (soldiers are immune).
  • Removes lunar burn source when target leaves beam or dies.

KillFx(inst)

• Description: Transitions to the post-animation ("beam_pst"), stops the loop sound, schedules entity removal, and cleans up colour and lunar burn effects on affected entities.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the beam entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateColouredFade(inst, dt)

• Description: Applies fade-out easing to the colour overlay applied to affected entities during the post-animation.
• Parameters: inst (entity), dt (number) — delta time.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateBeamLightPre(inst)

• Description: Animates the beam light radius during the pre-animation (ramps up after frame 28).
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the beam entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateBeamLightPst(inst)

• Description: Animates the beam light radius and final state during the post-animation.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the beam entity.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • animsyncdirty (client-side only) — triggers OnAnimSync_Client for animation synchronization.
  • animover (client-side only) — triggers inst.Remove to destroy the entity after the post-animation.
  • onremove (for ring entity) — used by colouradder logic to clean up colour sources when entities are removed.
• Pushes:
  • None directly (relies on attached components to push events such as healthdelta, picked, etc.).