Votedialog

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

Overview

VoteDialog is a UI widget component that renders and animates the vote dialog interface during active votes in Don't Starve Together multiplayer sessions. It displays vote options, counts, and a countdown timer, and manages user input (both keyboard/mouse and controller). It integrates with the playervoter component to submit votes and with playercontroller to show controller hints. The widget responds to world-level events (showvotedialog, hidevotedialog, worldvotertick, votecountschanged) and player-local events (playervotechanged) to stay synchronized with game state.

Usage example

-- Assuming `owner` is a valid player entity instance:
owner:AddComponent("votedialog")
owner.components.votedialog:ShowDialog({
    starterclient = { name = "Alice", colour = {1, 0, 0, 1} },
    targetclient = { name = "Bob" },
    votetitlefmt = "Vote to ban %s?",
    options = {
        { description = "Yes", vote_count = 2 },
        { description = "No", vote_count = 1 }
    }
})

Dependencies & tags

Components used:

• playervoter (self.owner.components.playervoter) — to submit votes and check vote eligibility
• playercontroller (self.owner.components.playercontroller) — for controller target and inspect action checks
  Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
owner	Entity	nil	The player entity that owns this vote dialog.
controller_mode	boolean	false	Whether a controller is currently attached.
controller_hint_delay	number	0	Delay before showing controller instructions (in seconds).
started	boolean	false	Whether the vote dialog is currently active and animating.
settled	boolean	false	Whether the dialog has finished its entrance animation and is at rest.
canvote	boolean	false	Whether the owner is currently allowed to submit a vote.
controllerselection	number?	nil	The index of the selection made in the controller vote screen.
num_options	number	0	Number of vote options displayed.
buttons	table	{}	Array of ImageButton widgets for vote options.
labels_desc	table	{}	Array of Text widgets displaying vote option descriptions.
dialogroot	Widget	nil	Root widget container for dialog elements (background, text, options).
root	Widget	nil	Top-level widget container for animated positioning.

Main functions

ShowDialog(option_data)

• Description: Displays and animates the vote dialog for a new vote. Parses vote options, sets title, timer, and starter name, then initiates a slide-down animation.
• Parameters:
  • option_data (table) — vote payload containing starterclient, targetclient, votetitlefmt, and options (array of vote option tables with description and optional vote_count).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Early return if option_data is nil.

RefreshLayout()

• Description: Recalculates positions of all UI elements (background, text, buttons) based on the number of vote options. Also handles controller-specific layout adjustments and updating controller hints.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: None identified.

RefreshController()

• Description: Controls visibility of the controller instruction text (e.g., "A to vote"). Shows/hides the instruction based on controller mode, input focus, playercontroller state, and controller screen status.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateOptions(option_data, norefresh)

• Description: Updates the vote options list (descriptions and vote counts) and adjusts UI element visibility.
• Parameters:
  • option_data (table) — vote payload with options array.
  • norefresh (boolean) — if true, skips calling RefreshLayout() to avoid duplicate refreshes during initialization.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Early return if self.started is false.

UpdateSelection(selected_index, canvote)

• Description: Updates button textures to indicate the currently selected vote option and enables/disables all buttons based on voting eligibility.
• Parameters:
  • selected_index (number?) — 1-based index of the currently selected option (nil if none).
  • canvote (boolean) — whether the owner may submit a vote.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnOpenControllerVoteScreen()

• Description: Opens the dedicated ControllerVoteScreen overlay when the owner presses the inspect control on a controller. Handles screen transitions, animations, and focus setup.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnCloseControllerVoteScreen(selection)

• Description: Closes the ControllerVoteScreen, restores UI state, and updates internal selection state. Must not be called directly; use CloseControllerVoteScreen() instead.
• Parameters:
  • selection (number?) — the selected option index from the controller screen.
• Returns: Nothing.

CheckControl(control, down)

• Description: Handles controller input (CONTROL_INSPECT) to open the controller vote screen if the instruction is visible.
• Parameters:
  • control (number) — the CONTROL_* constant being pressed.
  • down (boolean) — true if the control is pressed, not released.
• Returns: true if input was consumed, otherwise false.
• Error states: Returns false if dialog not visible, not enabled, or CONTROL_INSPECT not pressed.

IsOpen()

• Description: Returns whether the vote dialog is currently active (self.started == true).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: boolean.

HideDialog()

• Description: Hides the dialog and initiates a slide-up exit animation. Stops vote-related input handling.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

UpdateTimer(remaining)

• Description: Updates the vote timer display with the remaining time in seconds.
• Parameters:
  • remaining (number?) — remaining time in seconds (optional).
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • showvotedialog (world event) — triggers ShowDialog(data) to begin vote display.
  • hidevotedialog (world event) — triggers HideDialog().
  • worldvotertick (world event) — calls UpdateTimer(data.time) to update countdown.
  • votecountschanged (world event) — calls UpdateOptions(data) to refresh vote counts.
  • playervotechanged (player event) — calls UpdateSelection(data.selection, data.canvote) to update selection state.
  • continuefrompause (world event) — re-checks controller attachment and refreshes layout.
• Pushes: None (does not fire any custom events).