LuaSurface

A "domain" of the world. Surfaces can only be created through the API and can not be deleted. However, it is planned to allow deletion of a surface in the future. Surfaces are uniquely identified by their name. Every game contains at least the surface "nauvis".

get_pollution(position) → double

Get the pollution for a given position.

Parameters

position :: Position

Example

game.surfaces[1].get_pollution({1,2})

can_place_entity{name=…, position=…, direction=…, force=…} → boolean

Check for collisions with terrain or other entities.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

name :: string: Name of the entity to check
position :: Position: Where the entity would be placed
direction :: defines.direction (optional): Direction the entity would be placed
force :: string or LuaForce (optional): The force that would place the entity. If not specified, the enemy force is assumed.

find_entity(entity, position) → LuaEntity

Find a specific entity at a specific position.

Parameters

entity :: string: Entity to look for

position :: Position: Coordinates to look at

Return value

Will be nil if no such entity is found.

Example

game.player.selected.surface.find_entity('filter-inserter',{0,0})

find_entities(area) → array of LuaEntity

Find entities in a given area.

Parameters

area :: BoundingBox: Where to search. If not given all entities on the surface are returned.

Example

Will evaluate to a list of all entities within given area.

game.surfaces["nauvis"].find_entities({{-10, -10}, {10, 10}})

find_entities_filtered{area=…, position=…, name=…, type=…, force=…, limit=…} → array of LuaEntity

Find entities of given type or name in a given area.

If no filters (name, type, or force) are given, returns all entities in the search area. If multiple filters are specified, returns only entities matching all given filters.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

area :: BoundingBox (optional): Search area if not defined and position is not defined the entire surface is searched
position :: Position (optional): Search position if not defined and area is not defined the entire surface is searched
name :: string (optional)
type :: string (optional)
force :: string or LuaForce (optional)
limit :: uint (optional)

Example

   game.surfaces[1].find_entities_filtered{area = {{-10, -10}, {10, 10}}, type= "resource"} -- gets all resources in the rectangle

   game.surfaces[1].find_entities_filtered{area = {{-10, -10}, {10, 10}}, name= "iron-ore"} -- gets all iron ores in the rectangle

   game.surfaces[1].find_entities_filtered{area = {{-10, -10}, {10, 10}}, force= "player"}  -- gets player owned entities in the rectangle

   game.surfaces[1].find_entities_filtered{area = {{-10, -10}, {10, 10}}, limit= 5}  -- gets the first 5 entities in the rectangle

count_entities_filtered{area=…, position=…, name=…, type=…, force=…, limit=…} → uint

Count entities of given type or name in a given area. Works just like LuaSurface::find_entities_filtered, except this only returns the count. As it doesn't construct all the wrapper objects, this is more efficient if one is only interested in the number of entities.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

area :: BoundingBox (optional): Search area if not defined and position is not defined the entire surface is searched
position :: Position (optional): Search position if not defined and area is not defined the entire surface is searched
name :: string (optional)
type :: string (optional)
force :: string or LuaForce (optional)
limit :: uint (optional)

find_non_colliding_position(name, center, radius, precision) → Position

Find a non-colliding possition within a given rectangle.

Parameters

name :: string: Prototype name of the entity to find a position for. (The bounding box for the collision checking is taken from this prototype.)

center :: Position: Center of the search area.

radius :: double: Max distance from center to search in. 0 for infinitely-large search area.

precision :: double: The step length from the given position as it searches, in tiles.

Return value

The non-colliding position. May be nil if no suitable position was found.

spill_item_stack(position, items, enable_looted)

Spill items on the ground centered at a given location.

Parameters

position :: Position: Center of the spillage

items :: LuaItemStack or SimpleItemStack: Items to spill

enable_looted :: boolean (optional): When true, each created item will be flagged with the LuaEntity::to_be_looted flag.

find_enemy_units(center, radius, force) → array of LuaEntity

Find units enemy of a given force within an area.

Parameters

center :: Position: Center of the search area

radius :: double: Radius of the circular search area

force :: LuaForce or string (optional): Force to find enemies of. If not given, uses the player force.

Note: This is more efficient than LuaSurface::find_entities.

Example

Find all entities who would be interested to attack the player, within 100-tile area.

local enemies = game.player.surface.find_enemy_units(game.player.character.position, 100)

find_nearest_enemy{position=…, max_distance=…, force=…} → LuaEntity

Find the enemy closest to the given position.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

position :: Position: Center of the search area.
max_distance :: double: Radius of the circular search area.
force :: string or LuaForce (optional): The force the result will be an enemy of. Uses the player force if not specified.

Return value

The nearest enemy unit or nil if no enemy could be found within the given area.

set_multi_command{command=…, unit_count=…, force=…, unit_search_distance=…} → uint

Give a command to multiple units. This will automatically select suitable units for the task.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

command :: Command
unit_count :: uint: Number of units to give the command to.
force :: string or LuaForce (optional): Force of the units this command is to be given to. If not specified, uses the enemy force.
unit_search_distance :: uint (optional): Radius to search for units. The search area is centered on the destination of the command.

Return value

Number of units actually sent. May be less than count if not enough units were available.

create_entity{name=…, position=…, direction=…, force=…, target=…, source=…, fast_replace=…, player=…, spill=…} → LuaEntity

Create an entity on this surface.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

name :: string: The entity prototype name to create.
position :: Position: Where to create the entity.
direction :: defines.direction (optional): Desired orientation of the entity after creation.
force :: string or LuaForce (optional): Force of the entity, default is enemy.
target :: LuaEntity (optional): Entity with health for the new entity to target.
source :: LuaEntity (optional): Source entity. Used for beams.
fast_replace :: boolean (optional): If true, building will attempt to simulate fast-replace building.
player :: string or LuaPlayer or uint (optional): If given along with fast_replace being true, fast-replace will simulate using this player.
spill :: boolean (optional): If false while fast_replace is true any excess items from fast-replacing will be deleted instead of dropped on the ground.
Additional entity-specific parameters
- assembling-machine
  - recipe :: string (optional)
- container
  - bar :: uint (optional): Inventory index where the red limiting bar should be set.
- flying-text
  - text :: string: The string to show.
  - color :: Color: Color of the displayed text.
- entity-ghost
  - inner_name :: string: The prototype name of the entity contained in the ghost.
- inserter
  - conditions: Table with the following fields:
    - circuit :: CircuitCondition (optional)
    - logistics :: CircuitCondition (optional)
  - filters :: array of Filter
- item-entity
  - stack :: SimpleItemStack: The stack of items to create. This must be a table, i.e. a single string is not allowed here.
- logistic-container
  - request_filters :: array of Filter (optional)
- particle
  - movement :: Vector
  - height :: float
  - vertical_speed :: float
  - frame_speed :: float
- projectile
  - speed :: double
- resource
  - amount :: uint
- underground-belt
  - type :: string (optional): "output" or "input"; default is "input".

Return value

The created entity or nil if the creation failed.

Example

asm = game.surfaces[1].create_entity{name = "assembling-machine-1", position = {15, 3}, force=game.forces.player, recipe = "iron-stick"}

Example

Creates a smart inserter with circuit conditions and a filter

   game.surfaces[1].create_entity{

     name = "filter-inserter", position = {20, 15}, force=game.player.force,

     conditions={red={name="wood", count=3, operator=">"},

                 green={name="iron-ore", count=1, operator="<"},

     logistics={name="wood", count=3, operator="="}},

     filters={ {index=1, name="iron-ore"} }

   }

Example

Creates a requester chest already set to request 128 iron plates.

   game.surfaces[1].create_entity{

     name = "logistic-chest-requester", position = {game.player.position.x+3, game.player.position.y},

     force=game.player.force, request_filters={ {index=1, name="iron-plate", count=128} }

   }

Example

   game.surfaces[1].create_entity{name = "big-biter", position= {15, 3}, force = game.forces.player} -- Friendly biter

   game.surfaces[1].create_entity{name = "medium-biter", position= {15, 3}, force = game.forces.enemy} -- Enemy biter

Example

Creates a basic inserter at the player's location facing north

   game.surfaces[1].create_entity{name = "inserter", position = game.player.position, direction = defines.direction.north}

create_unit_group{position=…, force=…} → LuaUnitGroup

Create a new unit group at a given position.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

position :: Position: Initial position of the new unit group.
force :: string or LuaForce (optional): Force of the new unit group. Defaults to "enemy".

build_enemy_base(position, unit_count, force)

Send a group to build a new base.

Parameters

position :: Position: Location of the new base.

unit_count :: uint: Number of biters to send for the base-building task.

force :: string or LuaForce (optional): Force the new base will belong to. Defaults to enemy.

Note: The specified force must be AI-controlled; i.e. force.ai_controllable must be true.

get_tile(x, y) → LuaTile

Get the tile at a given position.

Parameters

x :: int

y :: int

Note: The input position params can also be a single tile position.

get_tileproperties(x, y) → TileProperties

Get tile properties.

Parameters

x :: int

y :: int

set_tiles(tiles, correct_tiles)

Set tiles at specified locations. Automatically corrects the edges around modified tiles.

Parameters

tiles :: array of Tile: Each Tile is a table:

name :: string
position :: Position

correct_tiles :: boolean (optional): If false, the correction logic is not done on the changed tiles. Defaults to true.

Note: It is recommended to call this method once for all the tiles you want to change rather than calling it individually for every tile. As the tile correction is used after every step, calling it one by one could cause the tile correction logic to redo some of the changes, and it is also much performance heavy.

pollute(source, amount)

Spawn pollution at the given position.

Parameters

source :: Position: Where to spawn the pollution.

amount :: double: How much pollution to add.

get_chunks() → LuaChunkIterator

Get an iterator going over every chunk on this surface.

is_chunk_generated(position) → boolean

Is a given chunk generated?

Parameters

position :: ChunkPosition: The chunk's position.

request_to_generate_chunks(position, radius)

Request that the game's map generator generate chunks at the given position for the given radius on this surface.

Parameters

position :: Position: Where to generate the new chunks.

radius :: uint: Radius from position to generate new chunks in.

set_chunk_generated_status(position, status)

Set generated status of a chunk. Useful when copying chunks.

Parameters

position :: Position: The chunk's position.

status :: defines.chunk_generated_status: The chunk's new status.

find_logistic_network_by_position(position, force) → LuaLogisticNetwork

Find the logistic network that covers a given position.

Parameters

position :: Position

force :: string or LuaForce: Force the logistic network should belong to.

Return value

The found network or nil if no such network was found.

freeze_daytime(freeze)

Freeze or unfreeze time of day at the current value.

Parameters

freeze :: boolean

deconstruct_area{area=…, force=…}

Place a deconstruction request.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

area :: BoundingBox: The area to mark for deconstruction
force :: string or LuaForce: The force whose bots should perform the deconstruction.

cancel_deconstruct_area{area=…, force=…}

Cancel a deconstruction order.

Parameters

Table with the following fields:

area :: BoundingBox: The are to cancel deconstruction orders in.
force :: string or LuaForce: The force whose deconstruction orders to cancel.

get_hidden_tile(position)

The hidden tile name or nil if there isn't one for the given position.

Parameters

position :: Position: The tile position.

get_connected_tiles(position, tiles) → array of Position

Gets all tiles of the given types that are connected horizontally or vertically to the given tile position including the given tile position.

Parameters

position :: Position: The tile position to start at.

tiles :: array of string: The tiles to search for.

Return value

The resulting set of tiles.

Note: This won't find tiles in non-generated chunks.

regenerate_entity(entitites)

Regenerate autoplacement of some entities on this surface. This can be used to autoplace newly-added entities.

Parameters

entitites :: string or array of string: Prototype names of entity or entities to autoplace.

Note: All specified entity prototypes must be autoplacable.

print(message)

Print text to the chat console of all players on this surface.

Parameters

message :: LocalisedString

name :: string [Read-only]

The name of this surface. Names are unique among surfaces.

index :: uint [Read-only]

Unique ID associated with this surface.

map_gen_settings :: MapGenSettings [Read-only]

Gets the generation settings for the surface.

always_day :: boolean [Read-Write]

When set to true, the sun will always shine.

daytime :: float [Read-Write]

Current time of day, as a number in range [0, 1).

darkness :: float [Read-only]

Amount of darkness at the current time.

wind_speed :: float [Read-Write]

Current wind speed.

wind_orientation :: float [Read-Write]

Current wind direction.

wind_orientation_change :: float [Read-Write]

Change in wind orientation per tick.

peaceful_mode :: boolean [Read-Write]

Is peaceful mode enabled on this surface?