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Attributes Library

This page documents the functions for working with character attributes.

Overview

The attributes library loads attribute definitions from Lua files and provides helpers for initializing them on a character. Each attribute is defined on a global ATTRIBUTE table inside its own file. When lia.attribs.loadFromDir is called, each file is included in the shared realm, the attribute's name and desc fields are replaced with their translated versions (defaulting to L("unknown") and L("noDesc") when absent), and the definition is stored in lia.attribs.list using the file name without extension as the key. Files beginning with sh_ have the prefix removed and the remaining name lowercased; other filenames are used as-is. If an attribute was already registered, its existing table is reused, allowing definitions to be extended across multiple files or reloads. After each file is processed the temporary global ATTRIBUTE is cleared. The loader is invoked automatically when a module is initialized, so most schemas simply place their attribute files in schema/attributes/.

For details on each ATTRIBUTE field, see the Attribute Fields documentation.

lia.attribs.list

Table of all registered attribute definitions. Keys are attribute IDs derived from the filenames passed to lia.attribs.loadFromDir, and values are the attribute tables themselves. The table is populated when attributes are loaded and used by other functions such as lia.attribs.setup.

lia.attribs.loadFromDir

Purpose

Loads attribute definitions from each .lua file in the given directory, includes them in the shared realm, localizes their name and desc fields, and registers them in lia.attribs.list. Filenames supply the list key—if a file begins with sh_, the prefix is stripped and the remaining name lowercased; otherwise the filename without extension is used as-is. If the attribute was previously registered, the existing table is reused. Missing name or desc fields default to L("unknown") and L("noDesc").

Parameters

  • directory (string): Path to the folder containing attribute Lua files.

Realm

Shared

Returns

  • nil: This function does not return a value.

Example Usage

-- schema/attributes/strength.lua
ATTRIBUTE.name = "Strength"
ATTRIBUTE.desc = "Determines melee damage."
ATTRIBUTE.startingMax = 20
ATTRIBUTE.maxValue = 50

function ATTRIBUTE:OnSetup(client, value)
    client:SetMaxHealth(100 + value)
end

-- Load all attribute files once at startup
lia.attribs.loadFromDir("schema/attributes")

lia.attribs.setup

Purpose

Initializes or refreshes attribute data for a player's character by looping through lia.attribs.list. For each attribute it retrieves the character's value (defaulting to 0) and, if the attribute defines OnSetup, calls it as attribute:OnSetup(client, value). If the client has no character, the function returns without doing anything.

Parameters

  • client (Player): The player whose character attributes should be set up.

Realm

Server

Returns

  • nil: This function does not return a value.

Example Usage

-- After modifying a character attribute, run setup again so any
-- OnSetup hooks update the player's stats.
local char = client:getChar()
char:updateAttrib("strength", 5)
lia.attribs.setup(client)