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Inspectacleswidget

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-08

Overview​

InspectaclesWidget is a UI component responsible for rendering and managing interactive puzzle minigames (specifically WIRES, GEARS, and TAPE variants) within the Inspectacles interface. It inherits from Widget and constructs a grid of animated buttons that represent puzzle elements. The widget handles user input (mouse/touch/keyboard/controller), updates visual states (e.g., wire extension, gear toggle, tape click), synchronizes puzzle state with parentscreen.solution, and provides animations for solving the puzzle. It communicates with game logic via inspectaclesparticipant to retrieve puzzle data and update the solution state.

Usage example​

-- Typically instantiated by the parent UI screen when Inspectacles is opened
local inspectacleswidget = InspectaclesWidget(owner, parentscreen, inspectaclesparticipant)
-- The widget is added to the screen hierarchy automatically during construction
-- Solution updates are written back to `parentscreen.solution`
-- The widget automatically checks for puzzle completion and animates the win state

Dependencies & tags​

Components used: None directly; relies on inspectaclesparticipant:GetCLIENTDetails() to fetch puzzle data and parentscreen.solution for solution tracking. Tags: None identified.

Properties​

PropertyTypeDefault ValueDescription
rootWidgetnilRoot container widget for the entire UI tree.
ownerEntitynilEntity that owns the widget (unused in this implementation but stored).
parentscreenScreennilReference to the parent UI screen; solution updates are written here.
WIDTH, HEIGHTnumber300Width and height of the widget's main grid area in pixels.
PADDINGnumber5Spacing between adjacent grid elements.
GRIDSIZEnumbernilDimensions of the puzzle grid (inherited from inspectaclesparticipant).
VALIDVALUEMAXnumbernilMax value for perimeter indexing (inherited from inspectaclesparticipant).
BUTTONSCALEnumbernilCalculated scale factor for grid buttons to fit the UI.
FRAMESCALEnumbernilScale factor for the frame widgets.
ORIGINXnumber0Horizontal offset for split-screen positioning.
gamerootWidgetnilRoot widget for the puzzle grid and associated elements.
solvedbooleanfalseFlag indicating whether the puzzle has been solved.
solvedtnumber-0.4Timer tracking elapsed time since solving started.
solvedrevbooleannilFlag indicating whether the "power up reverse" sound has played.
wireexitstable{}Stores map of exit node indices for the Wires minigame.

Main functions​

GetIndex(x, y)​

  • Description: Generates a unique string key for a grid position (x, y) to use as a dictionary key (e.g., "2_3"). Used for consistent indexing of buttons, exits, and solution state.
  • Parameters: x (number), y (number) – grid coordinates.
  • Returns: string – formatted index key.

CheckSolvedState()​

  • Description: Checks if the puzzle is solved by verifying parentscreen.solution is empty. If so, triggers win sound and starts the solve animation.
  • Parameters: None.
  • Returns: Nothing.
  • Error states: Only triggers if solved is false and parentscreen.solution has no keys (next(...) == nil).

CloseWithAnimations()​

  • Description: Initiates the closing sequence after solving. Hides all UI elements, plays the "close" animation, and pops the screen once animation completes.
  • Parameters: None.
  • Returns: Nothing.

OnUpdate(dt)​

  • Description: Handles the post-solve animation: gradually increases background brightness, plays reverse power-up sound, and pops the screen when the animation completes.
  • Parameters: dt (number) – time elapsed since last frame.
  • Returns: Nothing.

ConstructGame(game, puzzledata)​

  • Description: Main factory method that builds the UI for a given game type. Creates the grid of buttons, initializes rotation/toggle/click hooks, sets up focus navigation, and calls the appropriate AddGameUI_* helper.
  • Parameters: game (string) – one of "WIRES", "GEARS", or "TAPE"; puzzledata (data provider) – source of puzzle randomness and configuration.
  • Returns: gameroot (Widget), addedui (boolean) – whether the game type was recognized and UI was added.

MakeProjectionEffects(widget)​

  • Description: Attaches holo-projection erosion parameters and start a periodic task that updates them over time, giving the widget a shimmering animated effect.
  • Parameters: widget (Widget or UIAnim) – the widget to apply projection effects to.
  • Returns: Nothing.

AddWireVisual(button, direction)​

  • Description: Creates and positions a wire animation child on a button, aligned to the specified direction (DIR_UP, DIR_LEFT, etc.).
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton) – parent button; direction (string) – direction constant (DIR_*).
  • Returns: Nothing.

SetWireType(button, wiretype)​

  • Description: Configures a button's visual type (plug, pipe, bend, tee, cross) and creates the appropriate number and arrangement of wire visuals.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton); wiretype (string) – one of TYPE_* constants.
  • Returns: Nothing.

GetWireDirection(button, direction)​

  • Description: Determines the effective direction (in world space) that a wire emanates from a button, accounting for its current rotation and wire type. Returns nil if no connection exists in that direction.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton); direction (string) – world-space direction to check (e.g., DIR_UP).
  • Returns: string or nil – effective world-space direction or nil.

TurnWireOn(button, direction, loading)​

  • Description: Activates a wire segment visually (animation and sound), records state in button.offwires, and updates the solution state. Triggers solved check if all wires are powered.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton); direction (string); loading (boolean) – if true, uses idle anim and no sound.
  • Returns: Nothing.

TurnWireOff(button, direction, loading)​

  • Description: Deactivates a wire segment visually and updates solution state.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton); direction (string); loading (boolean).
  • Returns: Nothing.

UpdateButton_WIRES(button, secondary, immediately)​

  • Description: Recalculates wire activation states for a single button and its neighbors based on adjacency and rotation (Wires minigame only). Implements a flood-fill to propagate state changes.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton); secondary (boolean) – prevents re-entry recursion; immediately (boolean) – disables sounds/animations.
  • Returns: Nothing.

CreateExitNode_WIRES(x, y, maze)​

  • Description: Spawns a static exit node UI element at the specified grid perimeter location and configures the adjacent wire direction.
  • Parameters: x, y (numbers) – grid coordinates; maze (table) – internal maze state.
  • Returns: Nothing.

OnRotatedWire(button)​

  • Description: Callback invoked when a wire tile is rotated. Deactivates all wires on the button and adjacent connected tiles; then triggers state recalculation.
  • Parameters: button (UIAnimButton).
  • Returns: Nothing.

UpdateWireDirections(spot, direction)​

  • Description: Updates the wiretype (plug/pipe/bend/tee/cross) of a maze spot based on its accumulated connection directions.
  • Parameters: spot (table) – maze node; direction (string) – direction of a new connection.
  • Returns: Nothing.

CalculatePerimeterSpot(numindex)​

  • Description: Maps a linear index into (x, y) world-grid coordinates on the puzzle perimeter for exit node placement (Wires minigame).
  • Parameters: numindex (number) – linear index into perimeter positions.
  • Returns: x, y (numbers).

AddGameUI_WIRES(puzzledata)​

  • Description: Sets up the Wires minigame: generates a maze using "hunt and kill", places exit nodes on the perimeter, configures buttons with wire types and behaviors, and initializes wire states.
  • Parameters: puzzledata – random/data source.
  • Returns: Nothing.

AddGameUI_GEARS(puzzledata)​

  • Description: Sets up the Gears minigame: configures each button as a toggle tile with spinning animation, sets initial toggled state based on puzzledata.
  • Parameters: puzzledata.
  • Returns: Nothing.

AddGameUI_TAPE(puzzledata)​

  • Description: Sets up the Tape minigame: configures each button as a click/tap tile, sets initial clicked/unclicked states.
  • Parameters: puzzledata.
  • Returns: Nothing.

OnControl(control, down)​

  • Description: Handles player input (keyboard/controller) to trigger primary/secondary actions on the focused tile. Supports scroll wheel for rotation in Wires mode.
  • Parameters: control (number) – control identifier (CONTROL_*); down (boolean) – true if key/button pressed.
  • Returns: boolean – true if input was handled.

GetHelpText()​

  • Description: Returns localized help text describing controls for the active minigame (currently only rotation instructions for Wires).
  • Parameters: None.
  • Returns: string – formatted help text.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to: animover – on the frame background/foreground widgets to detect when animations complete and pop the screen.
  • Pushes: None. The widget does not fire custom events.