ImprovedWeatherEffect

ImprovedWeatherEffect is a ScriptableObject that defines the visual and behavioral aspects of a weather in Lethal Company. It serves as the core component for both vanilla and custom weather effects. ImprovedWeatherEffect manages the GameObject references and properties that make up a weather effect’s appearance and behavior.

Properties

GameObjects

EffectObject

public GameObject EffectObject

The GameObject that is visible only to the player. This typically includes:

• Rain particles
• Sound effects
• Screen effects
• Other client-side visual elements

WorldObject

public GameObject WorldObject

The GameObject that is placed in the world and visible to all players. This typically includes:

• Floodwater
• Lightning bolts
• Fog volumes
• Other world-space elements

Configuration

SunAnimatorBool

public string SunAnimatorBool { get; set; }

The name of the sun animator’s bool parameter that gets toggled when the weather effect is enabled.

Vanilla values:

• "" (empty) - Clear weather
• "overcast" - Stormy/Flooded weather
• "eclipse" - Eclipsed weather

DefaultVariable1 & DefaultVariable2

public int DefaultVariable1 { get; set; } = 0;
public int DefaultVariable2 { get; set; } = 0;

Default weather variables used by the game’s weather system. These correspond to the weatherVariable and weatherVariable2 fields in vanilla’s RandomWeatherWithVariables.

State Properties

EffectEnabled

public virtual bool EffectEnabled { get; set; }

Controls whether the weather effect is currently active. Setting this property will:

• Enable/disable the EffectObject (if player is not inside)
• Enable/disable the WorldObject
• Update the TimeOfDay weather effect state

EffectActive

public bool EffectActive { get; }

Read-only property that returns whether the EffectObject is currently active.

LevelWeatherType

public LevelWeatherType LevelWeatherType { get; internal set; }

The vanilla weather type enum value associated with this effect.

VanillaWeatherEffect

public WeatherEffect VanillaWeatherEffect { get; internal set; }

Reference to the vanilla WeatherEffect object. Use TimeOfDay.Instance.effects[LevelWeatherType] wherever possible instead of accessing this directly.

Methods

DisableEffect

public virtual void DisableEffect(bool permanent = false)

Disables the weather effect.

Parameters:

• permanent - If true, sets EffectEnabled to false. If false, only deactivates the EffectObject.

Creating an ImprovedWeatherEffect

In Unity Editor

1. Right-click in the Project window
2. Select Create > WeatherRegistry > ImprovedWeatherEffect
3. Configure the properties:
   • Assign your effect GameObject to EffectObject
   • Assign your world GameObject to WorldObject (optional)
   • Set the SunAnimatorBool if needed
   • Configure default variables if required

In Code

// Create from GameObjects
GameObject effectObject = /* your effect GameObject */;
GameObject worldObject = /* your world GameObject */;

ImprovedWeatherEffect effect = new(effectObject, worldObject)
{
    SunAnimatorBool = "overcast",
    DefaultVariable1 = 0,
    DefaultVariable2 = 0
};

// Create from vanilla WeatherEffect
WeatherEffect vanillaEffect = TimeOfDay.Instance.effects[(int)LevelWeatherType.Rainy];

ImprovedWeatherEffect improvedEffect = new(vanillaEffect);

Usage Examples

Basic Weather Effect

// Create effect objects
GameObject rainParticles = /* your rain particle system */;
GameObject puddles = /* your puddle objects */;

// Create the improved weather effect
ImprovedWeatherEffect rainEffect = new(rainParticles, puddles)
{
    SunAnimatorBool = "overcast"
};

// Use in a Weather object
Weather customRain = new Weather("Custom Rain", rainEffect)
{
    Type = WeatherType.Modded,
    ColorGradient = ColorConverter.ToTMPColorGradient(Color.blue)
};

Effect with Custom Variables

ImprovedWeatherEffect stormEffect = new(effectObj, worldObj)
{
    SunAnimatorBool = "overcast",
    DefaultVariable1 = 2,  // Storm intensity
    DefaultVariable2 = 5   // Lightning frequency
};

Enabling/Disabling Effects

// Enable the weather effect
myEffect.EffectEnabled = true;

// Disable temporarily (keeps EffectEnabled = true)
myEffect.DisableEffect(permanent: false);

// Disable permanently
myEffect.DisableEffect(permanent: true);

// Check if effect is active
if (myEffect.EffectActive)
{
    // Effect is currently visible
}

Best Practices

1. GameObject Management: Always instantiate your effect and world objects before passing them to ImprovedWeatherEffect, and set them to DontDestroyOnLoad:

   GameObject effectObject = GameObject.Instantiate(prefab);
   effectObject.hideFlags = HideFlags.HideAndDontSave;
   GameObject.DontDestroyOnLoad(effectObject);

2. Effect Objects vs World Objects:

   • Use EffectObject for client-side effects (particles, sounds)
   • Use WorldObject for persistent world changes (water, fog volumes)

3. Null Checks: Both EffectObject and WorldObject can be null. The system handles this gracefully:

   ImprovedWeatherEffect clearWeather = new(null, null);