Solarus quests
1.6
Quest maker's reference
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Objects placed on the map are called map entities (or just entities).
There exists many types of entities. They can be either declared in the map data file, or created dynamically by using the map:create_*
methods of the map API.
All entities have a position on the map (X, Y and layer) and a size. Depending on their type, they can be visible or not. When they are visible, they are usually represented by one or several sprites. Some entities are fixed, others move according to a movement object.
Entities can also have a name that uniquely identifies them on the map. This is useful to access them from the map API. The name is optional, but if an entity has a name, it must be unique on the map.
Here are the existing types of entities.
These methods exist in all entity types.
Returns the type of entity.
"hero"
, "dynamic_tile"
, "teletransporter"
, "destination"
, "pickable"
, "destructible"
, "carried_object"
, "chest"
, "shop_treasure"
, "enemy"
, "npc"
, "block"
, "jumper"
, "switch"
, "sensor"
, "separator"
, "wall"
, "crystal"
, "crystal_block"
, "stream"
, "door"
, "stairs"
, "bomb"
, "explosion"
, "fire"
, "arrow"
, "hookshot"
, "boomerang"
or "custom_entity"
."tile"
is not is this list because tiles don't exist at runtime for optimization reasons.Returns the map this entity belongs to.
Returns the game that is running the map this entity belongs to.
Returns the name of this map entity.
The name uniquely identifies the entity on the map.
nil
if the entity has no name (because the name is optional).Returns whether this entity still exists on the map.
An entity gets destroyed when you call entity:remove() or when the engine removes it (for example an enemy that gets killed or a pickable treasure that gets picked up). If you refer from Lua to an entity that no longer exists in the C++ side, this method returns false
.
true
if the entity exists, false
if it was destroyed.Removes this entity from the map and destroys it.
After the entity is destroyed, entity:exists() returns false
and there is no reason to keep a reference to it in the Lua side (though it is harmless).
Returns whether this entity is enabled.
When an entity is disabled, it is not displayed on the map, it does not move and does not detect collisions. But it still exists, it still has a position and it can be enabled again later.
true
if this entity is enabled.Enables or disables this entity.
When an entity is disabled, it is not displayed on the map, it does not move and does not detect collisions. Its movement, its sprites and its timers if any are suspended and will be resumed when the entity gets enabled again. While the entity is disabled, it still exists, it still has a position and it can be enabled again later.
enabled
(boolean, optional): true
to enable the entity, false
to disable it. No value means true
.Returns the size of the bounding box of this entity.
The bounding box is a rectangle that determines the position of the entity on the map. The bounding box is used to detect whether the entity overlaps obstacles or other entities.
Sets the size of the bounding box of this entity.
This is the effective size used to detect obstacles when moving, but the sprite(s) of the entity may be larger.
The default value depends on the type of entity and is often 16x16
pixels.
width
(number): Width of the entity in pixels.height
(number): Height of the entity in pixels.Returns the origin point of this entity, relative to the upper left corner of its bounding box.
When an entity is located at some coordinates on the map, the origin points determines what exact point of the entity's bounding box is at those coordinates. It is not necessarily the upper left corner of the entity's bounding box.
The default origin point depends on the type of entity. By convention, it is usually be the central point of contact between the entity and the soil. For most entities, including the hero, enemies, non-playing characters and custom entities, the default origin point is 8, 13
as their default size is 16x16
. More generally, the convention is to have an origin point of width / 2, height - 3
.
This origin point property allows entities of different sizes to have comparable reference points. Indeed, when two entities to be drawn in Y order overlap, the engine needs to determine which one has to be displayed first (it is always the one with the lowest Y coordinate). Using the upper left corner Y coordinate for this would not work well with entities of different sizes.
Similarly, if you need to compute an angle between two entities to move an entity away from another one, the calculation uses the origin point of both entities. Using the upper left corner of their bounding box would not give the accurate angle with entities of different sizes.
The origin point is also the point of synchronization of an entity with its sprites (because again, an entity that has a given size may have sprites with different sizes).
Sets the origin point of this entity, relative to the upper left corner of its bounding box.
See entity:get_origin() for details about the origin point.
origin_x
(number): X coordinate of the origin point in pixels, relative to the upper left corner of the entity's bounding box.origin_y
(number): Y coordinate of the origin point in pixels, relative to the upper left corner of the entity's bounding box.Returns the position of this entity on the map (coordinates and layer).
Changes instantly the position of this entity on the map (coordinates and layer). The origin point of the entity gets placed at these coordinates, relative to the map's upper left corner. Any previous movement or other action performed by the entity continues normally.
x
(number): X coordinate to set.y
(number): Y coordinate to set.layer
(number, optional): Layer to set, between map:get_min_layer() and map:get_max_layer(). By default, the layer is unchanged.Returns the coordinates of the center point of this entity on the map.
Returns the coordinates of the point this entity is looking at. This point depends on the direction of the main sprite if any. If the entity has no sprite, or if the main sprite has not 4 directions, then the movement is considered. If there is no movement either, the entity is assumed to look to the North.
Returns the entity this entity is looking at, if any.
This is an entity overlapping the facing position of this entity. If several entities are overlapping the facing position, the first one in Z order is returned.
nil
if there is no entity in front of this entity.Returns the coordinates of the point used for ground detection for this entity on the map.
The ground position is the point tested by all features related to the ground, like all effects of various grounds on the hero, the result of entity:get_ground_below() and the event custom_entity:on_ground_below_changed().
Returns the map's ground below this entity.
The ground is defined by the topmost tile below this entity, plus potential dynamic entities that may affect the ground, like dynamic tiles, destructibles and custom entities.
The exact point tested is the one returned by entity:get_ground_position(), and it is slightly different from entity:get_position().
Returns the rectangle representing the coordinates and size of this entity on the map.
The bounding box is a rectangle that determines the position of the entity on the map. The bounding box is used to detect whether the entity overlaps obstacles or other entities.
Returns the rectangle surrounding the bounding box of this entity plus the bounding boxes of its sprites in all their possible animations and directions.
This is usually larger than entity:get_bounding_box(), because the sprite of an entity often exceeds its bounding box.
Returns the layer of this entity on the map.
Changes the layer of this entity on the map. The X and Y coordinates of the entity are unchanged. Any previous movement or action performed by the entity continues normally.
layer
(number, optional): Layer to set, between map:get_min_layer() and map:get_max_layer().Returns whether the bounding box of this entity overlaps the specified rectangle or point.
To test if this entity overlaps a rectangle or a point (a point is a rectangle of size 1x1):
x
(number): X coordinate of the upper left corner of the rectangle to check.y
(number): Y coordinate of the upper left corner of the rectangle to check.width
(number, optional): Width of the rectangle (default 1
).height
(number, optional): Height of the rectangle (default 1
).true
if the bounding box of this entity overlaps the rectangle.Returns whether another entity collides with this entity according to the specified collision test.
entity
(entity): Another entity.collision_mode
(string, optional): Specifies what kind of collision you want to test. This may be one of:"overlapping"
: Collision if the bounding box of both entities overlap. This is the default value."containing"
: Collision if the bounding box of the other entity is fully inside the bounding box of this entity."origin"
: Collision if the origin point or the other entity is inside the bounding box of this entity."center"
: Collision if the center point of the other entity is inside the bounding box of this entity."facing"
: Collision if the facing position of the other entity's bounding box is touching this entity's bounding box. Bounding boxes don't necessarily overlap, but they are in contact: there is no space between them. When you consider the bounding box of an entity, which is a rectangle with four sides, the facing point is the middle point of the side the entity is oriented to. This "facing"
collision test is useful when the other entity cannot traverse your custom entity. For instance, if the other entity has direction "east", there is a collision if the middle of the east side of its bounding box touches (but does not necessarily overlap) this entity's bounding box. This is typically what you need to let the hero interact with this entity when he is looking at it."touching"
: Like "facing"
, but accepts all four sides of the other entity's bounding box, no matter its direction."sprite"
: Collision if a sprite of the other entity overlaps a sprite of this entity. The collision test is pixel precise. The last two optional sprite parameters can then indicate which sprite of both entities you want to test. If you don't set them, all sprites of both entities will be tested.entity_sprite
(sprite or nil, optional): Sprite of this entity you want to test (only with collision mode "sprite"
). nil
or no value means to test all sprites of this entity.other_entity_sprite
(sprite or nil, optional): Sprite of the other entity you want to test (only with collision mode "sprite"
). nil
or no value means to test all sprites of the other entity.true
if a collision is detected with this collision test.Returns the distance in pixels between this map entity and a point or another map entity.
To compute the distance to a specified point:
x
(number): X coordinate of the point.y
(number): Y coordinate of the point.To compute the distance to another map entity:
other_entity
(entity): The entity to compute the distance to.Returns the angle between the X axis and the vector that joins this entity to a point.
To compute the angle to a specified point:
x
(number): X coordinate of the point.y
(number): Y coordinate of the point.0
and 2 * math.pi
.To compute the angle to another map entity:
other_entity
(entity): The entity to compute the angle to.0
and 2 * math.pi
.Like entity:get_angle(), but instead of an angle in radians, returns the closest direction among the 4 main directions.
This is a utility function that essentially rounds the result of entity:get_angle().
To compute the direction to a specified point:
x
(number): X coordinate of the point.y
(number): Y coordinate of the point.To compute the direction to another map entity:
other_entity
(entity): An entity to target.Like entity:get_angle(), but instead of an angle in radians, returns the closest direction among the 8 main directions.
This is a utility function that essentially rounds the result of entity:get_angle().
To compute the direction to a specified point:
x
(number): X coordinate of the point.y
(number): Y coordinate of the point.To compute the direction to another map entity:
other_entity
(entity): An entity to target.Makes sure this entity's upper left corner is aligned with the 8*8 grid of the map.
Places this entity in front of all other entities on the same layer.
Since entities that are on the same layer can overlap, you can use this function to change their Z order.
Places this entity behind all other entities on the same layer.
Since entities that are on the same layer can overlap, you can use this function to change their Z order.
Returns whether this entity should be drawn in Y order or in Z order.
The map is drawn layer by layer, and each layer is drawn in two passes: first, entities displayed in Z order, and then, entities displayed in Y order.
The Z order is the creation order of entities unless you call entity:bring_to_front() or entity:bring_to_back().
The Y order compares the Y coordinate of entities on the map. Entities drawn in Y order are displayed from the one the most to the north to the one the most to the south.
Usually, entities representing a character or something that is standing should be drawn in Y order, so that it looks correct when some of them overlap with each other, and flat entities should be drawn in Z order.
The default setting depends on the type of entities.
true
if this entity is displayed in Y order, false
if it is displayed in Z order.Sets whether this entity should be drawn in Y order or in Z order.
See entity:is_drawn_in_y_order() for details about the Y order and the Z order.
y_order
(boolean, optional): true
to display this entity in Y order, false
to display it in Z order. No value means true
.Returns the optimization threshold hint of this map entity.
Above this distance from the camera, the engine may decide to skip updates or drawings. This is only a hint: the engine is responsible of the final decision. A value of 0
means an infinite distance (the entity is never optimized away).
Sets the optimization threshold hint of this map entity.
Above this distance from the camera, the engine may decide to skip updates or drawings. This is only a hint: the engine is responsible of the final decision.
A value of 0
means an infinite distance (the entity is never optimized away). The default value is 0
.
optimization_distance
(number): The optimization distance hint to set in pixels.Returns whether this entity is in the same region as another one.
Regions of the map are defined by the position of separators and map limits. The region of an entity is the one of its center point.
Regions should be rectangular. Non-convex regions, for example with an "L" shape, are not supported by this function.
You can use this function to make sure that an enemy close to the hero but in the other side of a separator won't attack him.
other_entity
(entity): Another entity.true
if both entities are in the same region.Returns whether there would be a collision with obstacles if this map entity was placed at a given offset from its current position.
dx
(number, optional): X offset in pixels (0
means the current X position). No value means 0
.dy
(number, optional): Y offset in pixels (0
means the current Y position). No value means 0
.layer
(number, optional): Layer to test. No value means the current layer.true
if there would be a collision in this position.Returns a sprite representing this entity.
To manage entities with multiple sprites, you can set names when you create sprites with entity:create_sprite(). However, it is easier to just leave the names blank and simply store the result of these sprite creation methods. The name is more useful for built-in entities that have multiple sprites automatically created by the engine. Such entities are the hero, pickable treasures, carried objects and crystals. See the documentation pages of these entities to know their exact sprites, the name of these sprites and which one is their main sprite. For enemies and custom entities, the main sprite is the first one in Z order, which is the sprite creation order unless you call entity:bring_sprite_to_front() or entity:bring_sprite_to_back().
name
(string, optional): Name of the sprite to get. Only useful for entities that have multiple sprites. No value means the main sprite.nil
if the entity has no such sprite.Returns an iterator to all sprites of this entity.
At each step, the iterator provides two values: the name of a sprite (which is an empty string if the sprite has no name) and the sprite itself. See entity:get_sprite() for more details about named sprites.
Sprites are returned in their displaying order. Note that this order can be changed with entity:bring_sprite_to_front() and entity:bring_sprite_to_back().
The typical usage of this function is:
for sprite_name, sprite in entity:get_sprites() do -- some code related to the sprite end
Creates a sprite for this entity.
animation_set_id
(string): Animation set to use for the sprite.sprite_name
(string, optional): An optional name to identify the created sprite. Only useful for entities with multiple sprites (see entity:get_sprite()).Removes and destroys a sprite of this entity.
sprite
(sprite, optional): The sprite to remove. The default value is the first sprite that was created.Reorders a sprite of this entity to be displayed after other sprites (displayed to the front).
This function is only useful for entities that have multiple sprites.
sprite
(sprite): The sprite to reorder. It must belong to this entity.Reorders a sprite of this entity to be displayed before other sprites (displayed to the back).
This function is only useful for entities that have multiple sprites.
sprite
(sprite): The sprite to reorder. It must belong to this entity.Returns whether this entity is visible.
When the entity is hidden, its sprites (if any) are not displayed, but everything else continues normally, including collisions.
true
if the entity is visible.Hides or shows the entity.
When the entity is hidden, its sprites (if any) are not displayed, but everything else continues normally, including collisions.
visible
(boolean, optional): true
to show the entity, false
to hide it. No value means true
.Returns the draw function of this entity.
See entity:set_draw_override() for more details.
nil
if the draw function was not overridden.Changes how this entity is drawn.
You can use this to replace the built-in draw implementation of the engine by your own function, if the default behavior does not fit your needs. To do so, your function can either call map:draw_visual() or draw on camera:get_surface().
draw_override
(function or nil): The draw function, or nil
to restore the built-in drawing. Your function will receive the following parameters:entity
(entity): The entity to draw.camera
(camera): Camera where this entity is drawn.Returns the weight of this entity, if any.
If the entity has a weight, then the hero is allowed to lift it if his lift ability is greater than or equal to that weight. You can use entity:on_lifting() to know when an entity starts being lifted.
The default weight depends on the type of entity. Most entities cannot be lifted by default.
"lift"
ability required to lift this entity. 0
allows the hero to lift the entity unconditionally. The special value -1
means that the entity can never be lifted.Sets the weight of this entity.
See entity:get_weight() for more details.
weight
(number): The level of "lift"
ability required to lift this entity. 0
allows the hero to lift the entity unconditionally. The special value -1
means that the entity can never be lifted.Returns the stream that is currently controlling this entity, if any.
nil
if this entity is not being controlled by a stream.Returns the current movement of this map entity.
nil
if the entity has currently no movement.0
.Stops the current movement of this map entity if any.
Returns the value of a user-defined property of this entity.
User-defined properties are arbitrary key-value pairs that you can set to any entity. The engine does nothing special with them, but you can use them in your scripts to store extra information.
key
(string): Name of the property to get.nil
if there is no such property.Sets a user-defined property for this entity.
If the property does not exist yet, it will be created.
User-defined properties are arbitrary key-value pairs that you can set to any entity. The engine does nothing special with them, but you can use them in your scripts to store extra information.
key
(string): Name of the property to set. It must be a valid identifier (only alphanumeric ASCII characters or '_'
).value
(string or nil): The value to set, or nil
to remove the property.Returns the user-defined properties of this entity.
key
(string): Name of the property.value
(string): Value of the property.Sets the user-defined properties of this entity.
Existing properties if any are removed.
properties
(table): An array of properties. Each property is a table with two fields:key
(string): Name of the property. It must be a valid identifier (only alphanumeric ASCII characters or '_'
).value
(string): Value of the property.Events are callback methods automatically called by the engine if you define them.
Called when this entity has just been created on the map.
Called when this entity is about to be removed from the map (and therefore destroyed).
called when this entity has just been enabled.
called when this entity has just been disabled.
Called when the entity has just been suspended or resumed.
The entity is suspended by the engine in a few cases, like when the game is paused or when a dialog is active. When this happens, all map entities stop moving and most sprites stop their animation.
suspended
(boolean): true
if the entity was just suspended, false
if it was resumed.Called when the coordinates of this entity have just changed.
x
(number): The new X coordinate of the entity.y
(number): The new Y coordinate of the entity.layer
(number): The new layer of the entity.Called when the movement of this entity was stopped because of an obstacle.
When an obstacle is reached, this event is called instead of entity:on_position_changed().
movement
(movement): The movement of the entity.Called when a movement is started on this entity.
movement
(movement): The movement that was just started on this entity.Called when some characteristics of this entity's movement (like the speed or the angle) have just changed.
movement
(movement): The movement of the entity.Called when the movement of the entity is finished (if there is an end).
Called when this entity starts being lifted.
At this point, the hero is in state "lifting"
. The animation "lifting"
of his sprites is playing and the player cannot control the hero.
This entity no longer exists (unless it is a destructible object that can regenerate). It is replaced by a carried object with the same sprite.
carrier
(entity): Entity that is lifting this destructible object (can only be the hero for now).carried_object
(carried object): The carried object that was created.Called just before the entity is drawn on the map.
You may display additional things below the entity. To do so, you can either call map:draw_visual() or draw on camera:get_surface().
camera
(camera): The camera where this entity is being drawn.Called just after the entity is drawn on the map.
You may display additional things above the entity. To do so, you can either call map:draw_visual() or draw on camera:get_surface().
camera
(camera): The camera where this entity is being drawn.