Switch

Turns things on and off with no code: levers, pressure plates, buttons, locks. While it’s on, its Targets are on (a mover moves, a spawner spawns, a door unlocks, anything else appears) and its Hides are hidden (a barrier, a wall of spikes). While it’s off, it’s the other way round, from the start of the game. Needs a collider, usually a trigger.

Names are looked for inside the switch first, so a locked block can hide itself; otherwise every entity in the scene with that name is switched. If several switches name the same entity, it’s on only while all of them are, so a gate can need two plates held down.

Requires: Collider (usually a trigger)

Properties

Each is listed as its key in the scene file and the MCP tools, then its kind of value, its default and what it does.

• mode: one of Lever, Plate, Button = “Lever”. How it’s switched: a lever flipped with Interact, a plate held down by standing on it, or a button pressed once. (Field: one of its values.)
• isOn: true or false = false. True while it’s on. Tick it to start switched on; scripts can set it too. (Field: on or off.)
• targets: text = null. What it turns on, by name, separated by commas: a Mover moves (a MoverMode.Once one slides back when it’s switched off again), a Spawner or Shooter runs, particles emit, an animation plays, a Door unlocks; anything else appears. (Names entities: their names, separated by commas.) (Field: an entity’s name.)
• hides: text = null. What it hides while it’s on, by name, separated by commas: a barrier, a locked block (even itself). (Names entities: their names, separated by commas.) (Field: an entity’s name.)

Working It

• layers: text = “Player”. The collision layers that work it, e.g. “Player” or “Player, Crate”. Empty lets anything with a Body. (Names collision layers: their names, separated by commas.) (Field: a name.)
• key: text = null. An item it needs to turn on, e.g. “Key”: whoever works it must have one in their Inventory, and it’s used up. It only takes it once; after that this is cleared and it works like any other switch. (Names an item.) (Field: a name.)
• needsFlag: text = null. A flag that has to be set before it can be worked, e.g. “PowerOn” (set by a trigger’s Set Flag, a dialogue’s “[set PowerOn]” or a script’s Game.SetFlag), or “not PowerOn” for while it isn’t. Until then levers, plates and buttons do nothing and its prompt stays hidden; a trigger’s or script’s On still turns it on. (Names a flag: “Name” holds while it’s set, “not Name” while it isn’t.) (Field: a name.)
• onTime: a number = 0. Seconds it stays on before turning itself off again: a timed button. 0 stays on. (Field: a number.)
• prompt: text = null. The name of an entity to show only while it can be worked with Interact, e.g. a “Press E” hint above a lever. It’s hidden the rest of the time. (Names an entity.) (Field: an entity’s name.)

Sound and Messages

• sound: text = null. A sound played when it turns on or off, e.g. “Sounds/click.wav”. (A sound in Assets, e.g. “Sounds/hit.wav”.) (Field: a sound.)
• onMessage: text = null. A message sent with Game.Send when it turns on, with this entity as its data. (Names a message.) (Field: a name.)
• offMessage: text = null. A message sent with Game.Send when it turns off, with this entity as its data. (Names a message.) (Field: a name.)

Look

• onTint: a color, “#RRGGBB” or “#RRGGBBAA” = “#57AB5AFF”. The color its sprite turns while it’s on. Transparent leaves it alone. (Field: a color.)
• onFrame: a whole number = -1. The sprite-sheet frame its sprite shows while it’s on (a lever pulled the other way). -1 leaves it alone. (Field: a number.)

Beat

• beats: a whole number = 0. Steps to the music of a BeatClock: flips itself on or off on every this many beats, as well as however it’s worked (though a plate stays as it’s held): spikes that come and go, a gate that opens on the bar. 0 doesn’t. (Field: a number.)
• beatOffset: a whole number = 0. Steps this many beats later: with two on every 2 beats, one 1 beat later, they take turns. (Only used when beats is set.) (Field: a number.)
• clock: text = null. The entity whose BeatClock it steps to. Empty follows the first in the scene. (Only used when beats is set.) (Names an entity.) (Field: an entity’s name.)

Actions

What anything can make it do with no code: a Trigger’s do when its message arrives, a Contraptions Wire’s input as its signal comes on, a script’s Game.Do(entity, “Name”).

• On. Turns it on, as working it does (sounding, sending its On Message and switching its targets).
• Off. Turns it off.
• Toggle. Turns it on if it’s off, and off if it’s on.

Outputs

What anything can read with no code: a Counter’s, Bar’s or Text’s output, a Contraptions Wire’s output as its signal; Text shows names too, the rest read numbers, true as 1.

• On (true or false). True while it’s on. Tick it to start switched on; scripts can set it too.

Scripts use it as Switch: its methods, events and values that aren’t saved with the scene.