Vehicle Lockpick Tool Reference
The vehicle lockpick tool is a specialized item subclass in Unturned™ that allows a player to unlock and claim a locked vehicle without authorization. Unlike the standard vehicle key or the group-based ownership system, the lockpick tool bypasses the vehicle's lock state through a single-use-useable action that forcibly transfers ownership. The lockpick tool is the modder's mechanism for implementing hotwiring, theft, and emergency-access gameplay scenarios.
This article is the 57 Studios™ canonical reference for the vehicle lockpick tool asset type. It covers every .dat field that applies to lockpick tool assets, the lockpick mechanics chain, the failure-probability system that controls success and failure outcomes, the relationship between the Useable Carlockpick useable type and the Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool type enumerator, the salvage blueprint configuration, and the full inheritance hierarchy from ItemToolAsset through ItemAsset. Every field is documented with its type, default value, valid range, and behavioral semantics drawn from the shipped game files and the Smartly Dressed Games modding documentation.

Documentation source: This article references the official Smartly Dressed Games modding documentation for the
ItemVehicleLockpickToolAssetclass andToolAssetparent class fields. The shipped vanilla game file for the lockpick tool (ID 1353,Carlockpick) is the primary evidence for all field values and default conventions. Cohort-validated notes are marked where the official documentation is silent on a detail.
Who this article is for
This article is written for Unturned™ mod authors who are already familiar with the item asset system, the master bundle pipeline, and .dat authoring workflow. If you are new to Unturned™ modding, start with Project Folder Structure and GUIDs and How to Install Notepad++ before returning here. Readers who are unfamiliar with the ItemAsset base class should review Item Asset Anatomy for the shared fields that every item type inherits.
What you will learn
- The complete inheritance hierarchy for vehicle lockpick tool assets
- The
FailureProbabilityfield and how it controls lockpicking success and failure - The
FailureEffectAssetpointer and its role in failure-state feedback - Every field from the shipped
Carlockpickgame file and what each field does - How the
Useable Carlockpickuseable type connects the asset to the runtime lockpick mechanic - The lockpick success and failure animation system
- How to author a custom lockpick tool
.datfile with a worked example - How to configure the salvage blueprint for a lockpick tool
- How to test lockpick tool configuration in single-player
- The diagnostic table for the most common lockpick tool authoring mistakes
Background: how the vehicle lockpick system works
The vehicle lockpick tool is an instance of the ItemVehicleLockpickToolAsset class, which inherits from the ItemToolAsset class, which inherits from the ItemAsset class. The inheritance chain determines which fields are available at each level: ItemAsset provides the identity, inventory, rarity, quality, and audio fields; ItemToolAsset provides the tool-specific structure (no unique fields beyond the base class in the current game version); and ItemVehicleLockpickToolAsset provides the two lockpick-specific fields FailureProbability and FailureEffectAsset.
The inheritance chain shown above is the full hierarchy for any vehicle lockpick tool. Every field documented in the field reference section of this article belongs to one of the three levels.
When a player equips a vehicle lockpick tool and uses it on a locked vehicle, the runtime executes the following sequence. The Useable Carlockpick useable type is the bridge between the asset definition and the lockpick mechanic code.
As shown in the sequence diagram above, the lockpick tool is consumed on every use regardless of the outcome. Both the success path and the failure path destroy one lockpick tool item from the player's inventory. This single-use behavior is the cohort's most important note for lockpick tool design: a lockpick tool with FailureProbability 0.5 will be consumed 100 percent of the time but will succeed only 50 percent of the time, which means the player needs multiple lockpick tools to guarantee a successful unlock.
The failure-probability mechanic
The FailureProbability field accepts a normalized float in the 0.0-to-1.0 range. The value represents the probability that the lockpick attempt fails. A value of 0.0 means the lockpick always succeeds. A value of 0.5 means the lockpick fails 50 percent of the time. A value of 1.0 means the lockpick always fails (a configuration that is technically valid but practically useless).
| FailureProbability | Success rate | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 100% | Guaranteed unlock on first attempt |
| 0.25 | 75% | Three out of four attempts succeed |
| 0.5 | 50% | Average two attempts per unlock |
| 0.75 | 25% | Four attempts per unlock on average |
| 1.0 | 0% | Never succeeds; effectively broken |
The failure path and the success path play different animations. The success path plays the standard "Use" animation defined in the lockpick tool's Animations prefab. The failure path plays "Use_Failure" instead. Modders who want distinct failure and success visual feedback must author both animation states in the lockpick tool's Animations prefab.
The FailureEffectAsset pointer
The FailureEffectAsset field is an asset pointer to an effect asset (a particle effect prefab) that spawns at the vehicle's position when the lockpick attempt fails. The effect provides visual feedback that the lockpick attempt did not succeed. Vanilla lockpick tools may not have a failure effect assigned; the modder can assign any effect asset to this field.
The relationship between the two failure-side variables is complementary. FailureProbability controls whether the failure path is taken. FailureEffectAsset controls what the player sees when the failure path is taken. Setting FailureProbability to a nonzero value without assigning a FailureEffectAsset is valid but produces a failure state with no visual feedback beyond the animation, which players may find confusing.
The single-use constraint
All vanilla vehicle lockpick tools are single-use items. The tool is consumed from the player's inventory after each use attempt, regardless of success or failure. This is enforced by the Useable Carlockpick useable type at the code level, not by a configurable field in the .dat file. The cohort recommendation is to treat the single-use behavior as invariant and to balance lockpick tool availability through craftability, rarity, and spawn table configuration rather than through attempts to change the consumption behavior.
The animation system for lockpick success and failure
The lockpick tool uses the same animation system as all equippable items in Unturned™. The Animations prefab contains animation states that the Useable Carlockpick runtime triggers based on the lockpick attempt outcome. The success path triggers the "Use" animation state. The failure path triggers the "Use_Failure" animation state. Both animation states must exist in the Animations prefab's Animator Controller for the corresponding visual feedback to play.
The "Use" animation typically shows the player inserting the lockpick tool into the vehicle's lock mechanism and turning it. The "Use_Failure" animation typically shows the tool slipping or breaking. The specific animation content is the modder's creative choice; the engine only requires that the state names match the trigger names exactly. The trigger names are emitted by the Useable Carlockpick code and are not configurable through the .dat file.
If the "Use" state is missing from the Animator Controller, the success path produces no animation feedback. If the "Use_Failure" state is missing, the failure path produces no animation feedback. In both cases, the lockpick tool is still consumed and the vehicle state is still changed. Players who see no animation feedback will likely assume the tool did nothing, which produces a poor user experience.
The shipped vanilla lockpick tool: Carlockpick (ID 1353)
The shipped vanilla lockpick tool file lives at Bundles/Items/Tools/Carlockpick/Carlockpick.dat in the Unturned™ installation. The complete file content is reproduced below as the evidence base for this article.
GUID 1f315672d98f4ebbb9f76255faa43721
Type Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool
Rarity Uncommon
Useable Carlockpick
ID 1353
Size_X 2
Size_Y 1
Size_Z 0.3
Blueprints
[
{
Name Salvage
CategoryTag "7ed29f9101ae4523a3b2e389414b7bd9" // Salvage
InputItems this
OutputItems "21ede8ebffb14c5580e8c7ad149e335e x 2" // Metal Scrap
Effect "84347b13028340b8976033c08675d458" // Wrench
}
]The companion English.dat file:
Name Stealy Wheely Automobiley
Description Tool for unlocking cars.The observation that the vanilla Carlockpick does not include FailureProbability or FailureEffectAsset fields is significant. Both fields default to their ItemVehicleLockpickToolAsset defaults when omitted. FailureProbability defaults to 0.0 (always succeeds). FailureEffectAsset defaults to no effect. The vanilla item is a guaranteed-use tool with no failure visual.
Complete .dat field reference
Identity and shared fields
The following fields are inherited from ItemAsset and are required or recommended on every vehicle lockpick tool asset.
| Field | Type | Example | Required | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ID | uint16 | 1353 | Yes | Unique item ID. Use IDs in the 50000+ range for custom mods. |
GUID | uint128 hex | 1f315672d98f4ebbb9f76255faa43721 | Yes | 128-bit globally unique identifier. Generate a new GUID for every new item. |
Type | enum | Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool | Yes | Must be Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool for lockpick tool assets. |
Name | string | Carlockpick | Yes | Internal name used for console commands and cross-references. |
Rarity | enum | Uncommon | No | Inventory highlight color. Values: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary. Defaults to Common. |
Useable | enum | Carlockpick | Yes | Must be Carlockpick to activate the vehicle lockpick mechanic. |
Size_X | uint8 | 2 | Yes | Width in inventory grid cells. |
Size_Y | uint8 | 1 | Yes | Height in inventory grid cells. |
Size_Z | float | 0.3 | No | Orthographic camera size for the item icon. |
Quality_Min | uint8 | 10 | No | Minimum quality generated on item spawn. |
Quality_Max | uint8 | 90 | No | Maximum quality generated on item spawn. |
Lockpick-specific fields
The following fields are unique to the ItemVehicleLockpickToolAsset class. They are documented in the Smartly Dressed Games modding documentation chapter 70.
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Valid values | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FailureProbability | float | No | 0.0 | 0.0 to 1.0 | Normalized percentage chance of lockpicking failing. At 0.0 the tool always succeeds. At 1.0 the tool always fails. |
FailureEffectAsset | asset pointer | No | none | Any valid effect asset GUID | Effect asset to play when lockpicking fails. Spawns at the vehicle's position on failure. |
Tool fields (inherited from ItemToolAsset)
According to the Smartly Dressed Games documentation chapter 68, tools have no unique asset properties beyond the ItemAsset base class. All tool-specific behavior is driven by the Useable field value. The lockpick tool uses Useable Carlockpick, which is the useable type that implements the vehicle unlock mechanic.
The tool asset class ItemToolAsset inherits every field documented in the Item Asset Anatomy article. The most relevant inherited fields for lockpick tool authoring are the identity block (ID, GUID, Type, Name, Rarity), the inventory block (Slot, Size_X, Size_Y, Size_Z), the quality block (Quality_Min, Quality_Max), and the blueprint block (Blueprints).
Blueprint configuration
The shipped Carlockpick includes a single salvage blueprint. The salvage blueprint allows the player to break down the lockpick tool into two Metal Scrap items using the Wrench effect. The blueprint structure uses SDG's standard JSON-like blueprint format.
Blueprints
[
{
Name Salvage
CategoryTag "7ed29f9101ae4523a3b2e389414b7bd9" // Salvage
InputItems this
OutputItems "21ede8ebffb14c5580e8c7ad149e335e x 2" // Metal Scrap
Effect "84347b13028340b8976033c08675d458" // Wrench
}
]| Blueprint field | Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Name | Salvage | The blueprint type. Salvage blueprints disassemble an item into components. |
CategoryTag | 7ed29f9101ae4523a3b2e389414b7bd9 | GUID for the Salvage category. Required for the blueprint to appear in the correct crafting category. |
InputItems | this | The input is the lockpick tool itself. this is a shorthand for "this item." |
OutputItems | 21ede8ebffb14c5580e8c7ad149e335e x 2 | Two Metal Scrap items are produced. The format is <GUID> x <count>. |
Effect | 84347b13028340b8976033c08675d458 | The Wrench effect plays during the salvage operation. |
The salvage blueprint is optional in custom lockpick tools. If the mod design calls for a lockpick tool that cannot be disassembled, omit the Blueprints block entirely.
Worked example: custom lockpick tool with failure probability
The worked example below is a custom vehicle lockpick tool called PrecisionLockpick. The tool has a 30 percent failure probability, a failure effect assigned, and a custom salvage blueprint.
Asset.dat
GUID a1b2c3d4e5f64a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d
Type Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool
Rarity Rare
Useable Carlockpick
ID 50100
Name PrecisionLockpick
Size_X 1
Size_Y 1
Size_Z 0.2
Quality_Min 75
Quality_Max 100
FailureProbability 0.3
FailureEffectAsset c4d5e6f7081a4b9c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9
Blueprints
[
{
Name Salvage
CategoryTag "7ed29f9101ae4523a3b2e389414b7bd9" // Salvage
InputItems this
OutputItems "21ede8ebffb14c5580e8c7ad149e335e x 1" // Metal Scrap
Effect "84347b13028340b8976033c08675d458" // Wrench
}
]English.dat
Name Precision Lockpick
Description A finely crafted lockpick tool with a high success rate. Salvageable for one Metal Scrap.Key design decisions in the worked example
The FailureProbability 0.3 produces a 70 percent success rate per attempt. The player needs approximately 1.4 lockpick tools on average to guarantee one successful unlock. The Rarity Rare signals that the tool is not a common find, which matches the improved success rate relative to the vanilla Carlockpick. The Quality_Min 75 and Quality_Max 100 ensure that the tool spawns at high quality, which is a cosmetic indicator of its premium nature. The salvage blueprint returns only one Metal Scrap instead of two, reflecting the tool's specialized construction that is harder to break down.
Testing a lockpick tool in single-player
The cohort-validated single-player testing workflow for a vehicle lockpick tool is documented below.
- Build the master bundle containing the lockpick tool prefab and animation assets. See Master Bundle Export.
- Copy the master bundle and the
.datfile to the local Unturned™ install's mod folder atWorkshop/Content/304930/<modID>/Items/<ToolName>/. - Launch Unturned™ in single-player.
- Open the in-game console with
~(tilde). - Type
@give <toolID>to spawn the lockpick tool into the player's inventory. - Find a locked vehicle in the world. The vanilla Washington map has locked vehicles at the military base and the town garages.
- Equip the lockpick tool in the player's hotbar.
- Approach the locked vehicle and press the use key (default
F) while the lockpick tool is equipped. - Observe the outcome:
- If the vehicle unlocks: the success animation plays, the vehicle becomes drivable, and the tool is consumed.
- If the attempt fails: the failure animation plays, the
FailureEffectAssetparticle effect spawns (if configured), and the tool is consumed.
- Repeat the test at least twenty times to empirically verify that the
FailureProbabilityvalue produces the expected success rate.
Diagnostic table
| Symptom | Most likely cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Lockpick tool appears in inventory but cannot be used on a vehicle | Useable field is not set to Carlockpick | Set Useable Carlockpick in the .dat file |
Lockpick tool does not appear in inventory after @give | ID conflict or incorrect Type field | Confirm Type Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool and a unique ID |
| Lockpick always succeeds regardless of configured FailureProbability | FailureProbability is 0.0 or the field is omitted | Set FailureProbability to a value greater than 0.0 |
| Lockpick always fails regardless of configured FailureProbability | FailureProbability is 1.0 | Set FailureProbability to a value less than 1.0 |
| FailureEffectAsset does not play on failure | The GUID in FailureEffectAsset does not match a valid effect asset | Verify the effect asset GUID; confirm the effect asset is loaded |
| FailureEffectAsset plays on success | The GUID in FailureEffectAsset is incorrectly pointing to a success effect | Use a distinct failure-specific effect asset |
| No failure animation plays on failure | The Animations prefab does not have a "Use_Failure" state | Add a "Use_Failure" animation state to the Animations prefab |
| No success animation plays on success | The Animations prefab does not have a "Use" state | Add a "Use" animation state to the Animations prefab |
| Lockpick tool is not consumed on use | This is not configurable; the Carlockpick useable type always consumes | Re-verify by using the tool; if not consumed, confirm Useable Carlockpick is set |
| Salvage blueprint does not appear in crafting menu | CategoryTag GUID is incorrect | Use the vanilla Salvage category GUID 7ed29f9101ae4523a3b2e389414b7bd9 |
| Tool appears at wrong size in inventory | Size_X or Size_Y is set incorrectly | Match the grid footprint to the tool's visual size |
| Icon camera shows the tool at the wrong zoom | Size_Z is not set or is incorrect | Set Size_Z to a float that centers the tool in the icon frame |
| Lockpick tool can be used on non-vehicle objects | This is not configurable; the Carlockpick useable type only works on vehicles | The engine enforces the vehicle-only target at the Useable code level |
| Lockpick tool is invisible when dropped | Prefab not found in the master bundle | Confirm the prefab name in the bundle matches the Name field |
Frequently asked questions
Can a lockpick tool have a FailureProbability of exactly 0.5?
Yes. FailureProbability accepts any float in the 0.0-to-1.0 range, including 0.5. A value of 0.5 means the tool fails exactly 50 percent of the time. The random roll is calculated per-use, so the actual outcome across a small sample may deviate from the expected 50 percent rate; across hundreds of uses the rate converges to the configured value.
Is the lockpick tool always consumed on use?
Yes. The Useable Carlockpick useable type consumes the tool on every use attempt, regardless of whether the attempt succeeds or fails. There is no field in the .dat file that controls this behavior. The single-use constraint is a property of the useable type implementation, not the asset configuration.
What happens if FailureProbability is set to a value above 1.0?
The engine clamps the value to the 0.0-to-1.0 range. Values above 1.0 are treated as 1.0, which means the tool always fails. Values below 0.0 are treated as 0.0, which means the tool always succeeds. The cohort recommendation is to use values strictly within the 0.0-to-1.0 range and to avoid relying on clamping behavior.
Can a lockpick tool be used on a vehicle the player already owns?
Yes, but the outcome is undefined and may produce unexpected behavior. The lockpick tool is designed to unlock locked vehicles that the player does not own. Using it on an already-owned vehicle may consume the tool without producing any meaningful state change. The cohort recommendation is to design lockpick tools that are only useful on vehicles the player does not own and to rely on the player's judgment to avoid wasting the tool.
Does the lockpick tool work on all vehicle types?
The Useable Carlockpick useable type works on any vehicle that has a lock state. This includes cars, trucks, APCs, helicopters, planes, and boats. The lock state is a boolean property on the vehicle prefab; if the vehicle is locked, the lockpick tool can be used on it. If the vehicle is unlocked, the tool has no effect but is still consumed.
Can I make a lockpick tool that has multiple uses before consumption?
No. The single-use behavior is an invariant of the Useable Carlockpick useable type. There is no Uses or Durability field on the lockpick tool that controls consumption behavior. If the mod design requires a multi-use lockpick tool, the only workaround is to create a stackable lockpick tool with Count_Max set to the desired number of uses and a spawn recipe that the player consumes to replenish the stack.
How do I author a failure effect that looks like sparks?
Author an effect asset in the Unity Editor that produces a spark particle system at a point in world space. The particle system should be short-lived (0.5 to 1.5 seconds) and should emit from a single point. Assign the effect asset's GUID to the FailureEffectAsset field in the lockpick tool's .dat. The effect will spawn at the vehicle's position when the lockpick attempt fails.
What is the difference between FailureProbability and the random roll of loot tables?
FailureProbability controls the lockpick tool's own success-failure mechanic at the moment of use. Loot table randomization controls whether the lockpick tool spawns in a container at all. The two systems are independent. A lockpick tool with FailureProbability 0.0 always succeeds when used but may never appear in loot if the spawn table weights are low.
Can I set FailureProbability to a value that depends on the vehicle's lock difficulty?
No. The FailureProbability field is a single float applied uniformly to all lockpick attempts regardless of the target vehicle. There is no per-vehicle lock difficulty system in the vanilla asset configuration. If the mod design requires vehicle-specific lock difficulty, that logic must be implemented at the plugin level through the Unturned Dedicated Server API.
Does the lockpick tool work in multiplayer?
Yes. The lockpick tool works in both single-player and multiplayer. In multiplayer, the lockpick tool's unlock action transfers vehicle ownership to the player who used the tool, overriding the previous owner's claim. This has implications for server balance, roleplay rules, and anti-griefing measures. The cohort recommendation for multiplayer servers is to configure lockpick tool availability through spawn tables and craftability rather than through the asset fields, and to supplement with plugin-level anti-theft mechanics if the server policy disallows vehicle theft.
How do I make the lockpick tool craftable?
Add a crafting blueprint (not a salvage blueprint) to the Blueprints block. The blueprint specifies input items and output items. The output is the lockpick tool. The crafting blueprint appears in the crafting menu when the player has the required input items. See Blueprint Asset Reference for the blueprint format documentation.
What happens if the vehicle has no driver seat?
The lockpick tool works on any vehicle with a lock state, including vehicles that have no driver seat. The tool unlocks the vehicle but the player cannot drive it until they enter a seat. Vehicles without a driver seat are uncommon in standard modding but exist in custom map content.
Does the lockpick tool work on barricades or structures?
No. The Useable Carlockpick useable type is hard-coded to operate only on vehicles. The tool has no effect on barricades, structures, storage boxes, or any other non-vehicle entity. Attempting to use the lockpick tool on a non-vehicle target consumes the tool without producing any effect.
Can I create a lockpick tool that is not salvageable?
Yes. Omit the Blueprints block from the .dat file entirely. A lockpick tool with no blueprints cannot be salvaged or crafted. This is the simplest way to create a lockpick tool that exists only as a loot item with no crafting interaction.
What is the practical difference between omitting FailureProbability and setting it to 0.0?
There is no practical difference. Omitting FailureProbability defaults the value to 0.0, which means the tool always succeeds. Setting FailureProbability 0.0 explicitly produces the same behavior. The cohort recommendation is to include FailureProbability explicitly in every lockpick tool .dat file so that the authoring intent is clear to other modders who read the file.
How do I create a lockpick tool that makes a unique sound on success?
Package a custom audio clip in the master bundle and reference it in the "Use" animation state's animation event. The animation event system allows the modder to attach an AudioClip play event at any frame of the animation. The success animation state fires the audio event when the animation reaches the configured frame.
Advanced considerations
Lockpick tool in roleplay server contexts
On roleplay servers such as Horizon Life RP - a 57 Studios™ development context - the lockpick tool is a restricted item that is often gated behind a specific profession (mechanic, thief) or a skill progression system. The .dat file does not support profession or skill restrictions natively; these restrictions are enforced through server-side plugins that check the player's role before allowing the Useable Carlockpick activation. The lockpick tool .dat should be authored with the base values documented in this article; the server plugin layer handles access control.
Multiple lockpick tool variants for different vehicle tiers
A common mod design pattern is to author multiple lockpick tool variants with different FailureProbability values for different vehicle tiers. A low-tier lockpick (wooden handle, basic construction) might have FailureProbability 0.7 (30 percent success rate). A mid-tier lockpick (reinforced handle, precision tips) might have FailureProbability 0.4 (60 percent success rate). A high-tier lockpick (electronic bypass, military-grade) might have FailureProbability 0.1 (90 percent success rate). Each variant is a separate item with its own ID, GUID, Name, Rarity, and FailureProbability.
Lockpick tool with a visual quality indicator
The lockpick tool's Quality_Min and Quality_Max fields can be used as a visual quality indicator even though quality does not affect lockpick success rate. A high-tier lockpick with Quality_Min 80 and Quality_Max 100 shows high quality in the inventory UI, signaling to the player that it is a premium item. The quality values are purely cosmetic for lockpick tools; the success rate is controlled exclusively by FailureProbability.
Lockpick tool audio configuration
The lockpick tool can use custom audio clips for the equip sound, the use sound, and the failure sound. The equip sound is configured through the EquipAudioClip field (inherited from ItemAsset). The use sounds are driven by the animation events in the "Use" and "Use_Failure" animation states. For custom audio, package the audio clips in the master bundle and reference them through the animation events. See Audio Packaging for Unturned for the audio clip workflow.
Salvage balance considerations
The salvage blueprint on the vanilla Carlockpick returns two Metal Scrap items, which is more than the raw material cost of many craftable items. This creates a salvage economy in which lockpick tools are a net source of Metal Scrap. If the mod design intends lockpick tools to be a resource sink rather than a resource source, reduce the salvage output to one Metal Scrap or remove the salvage blueprint entirely.
Best practices
- Set
FailureProbabilityto a value that matches the lockpick tool's intended role in the loot economy. A common lockpick tool should fail more often; a rare lockpick tool should succeed more often. - Assign a
FailureEffectAssetto every lockpick tool with a nonzeroFailureProbability. Players need visual feedback to understand why the tool was consumed without unlocking the vehicle. - Author both "Use" and "Use_Failure" animation states in the Animations prefab. A missing animation state produces silent feedback that players may interpret as a bug.
- Keep the salvage blueprint output at or below the material cost of the lockpick tool's crafting recipe to avoid creating unbalanced salvage economies.
- Use IDs in the 50000+ range for custom lockpick tools. The vanilla Carlockpick uses ID 1353.
- Test the empirical failure rate across at least twenty uses before publishing. The random roll may produce streaks that deviate from the configured
FailureProbabilityin small samples. - Do not rely on quality values to affect lockpick success rate. Quality is cosmetic for lockpick tools; only
FailureProbabilitycontrols the outcome. - Document the lockpick tool's success rate in the Workshop description so players understand the expected performance before acquiring the item.
Appendix A: Vehicle lockpick tool .dat field quick reference
| Field | Type | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
ID | uint16 | Yes | , |
GUID | uint128 | Yes | , |
Type | enum (Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool) | Yes | , |
Name | string | Yes | , |
Rarity | enum | No | Common |
Useable | enum (Carlockpick) | Yes | , |
Slot | enum | No | None |
Size_X | uint8 | Yes | , |
Size_Y | uint8 | Yes | , |
Size_Z | float | No | , |
Quality_Min | uint8 | No | 10 |
Quality_Max | uint8 | No | 90 |
FailureProbability | float | No | 0.0 |
FailureEffectAsset | asset pointer | No | none |
Pro | flag | No | not set |
Appendix B: Lockpick tool balance comparison table
| Lockpick tier | FailureProbability | Success rate | Suggested Rarity | Suggested uses per spawned stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improvised (scrap) | 0.8 | 20% | Common | 1 |
| Basic (standard) | 0.5 | 50% | Common | 1 |
| Precision (improved) | 0.3 | 70% | Uncommon | 1 |
| Professional (high-grade) | 0.15 | 85% | Rare | 1 |
| Master (military) | 0.05 | 95% | Epic | 1 |
| Electronic bypass | 0.0 | 100% | Legendary | 1 |
Appendix C: External references
- Smartly Dressed Games official modding documentation - Item assets - the authoritative field reference for all item types including vehicle lockpick tools.
- Unturned on Steam - the Unturned™ store page and community hub.
- Item Asset Anatomy - the shared field reference for all item types.
- Blueprint Asset Reference - the blueprint format used in the salvage recipe.
- Project Folder Structure and GUIDs - GUID generation and folder layout for all item mods.
- Master Bundle Export - the Unity bundling workflow for prefabs.
- Vehicle Mod Basics - the vehicle authoring reference; lockpicking affects vehicle ownership and is tested against vehicle prefabs.
- Steam Workshop Submission - the publishing workflow for finished mods.
Appendix D: ToolAsset inheritance and the vehicle tool family
The vehicle lockpick tool is one of several tool types that inherit from ItemToolAsset. The full tool family documented in the Smartly Dressed Games modding documentation includes:
| Tool type | Useable | Asset type | Unique fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle lockpick | Carlockpick | Vehicle_Lockpick_Tool | FailureProbability, FailureEffectAsset |
| Vehicle paint | Vehicle_Paint | Vehicle_Paint_Tool | PaintColor |
| Vehicle repair | Battery_Vehicle | Vehicle_Repair_Tool | None (inherits all from ToolAsset) |
| General tool | Carjack | Tool | None |
| Tire tool | Tire | Tire | Mode |
Each tool type uses the same inheritance structure and the same ItemAsset shared fields. The unique fields and the Useable value differentiate the tool's runtime behavior.
Appendix E: Diagnostic flowchart for lockpick tool authoring
Document history
| Version | Date | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2025-05-18 | 57 Studios | Initial publication. Complete vehicle lockpick tool .dat field reference, failure-probability system, failure effects, worked example, diagnostic tables, appendices. |
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Useable | The runtime behavior class that an item activates when used. Lockpick tools use Carlockpick. |
| FailureProbability | A normalized float (0.0 to 1.0) controlling the chance that a lockpick attempt fails. |
| FailureEffectAsset | An asset pointer to a particle effect that plays on lockpick failure. |
| Single-use | The property that the tool is consumed from the player's inventory after one use attempt. |
| Salvage blueprint | A crafting recipe that disassembles an item into its components. |
| Lock state | A boolean property on a vehicle that determines whether the vehicle is locked or unlocked. |
| Ownership transfer | The process by which a lockpick tool reassigns a vehicle's owner to the player who used the tool. |
Cross-references
- Fisher Asset Reference - the previous article in the items section.
- Vehicle Paint Tool Reference - the next article; covers the paint tool asset type that applies colors to vehicle materials.
- Vehicle Mod Basics - the vehicle authoring reference that covers the vehicle prefab structure and Vehicle.dat fields that lockpick tools interact with.
- Item Asset Anatomy - the shared field reference for all item types, including the identity block and inventory fields that every lockpick tool uses.
- Project Folder Structure and GUIDs - the folder layout and GUID generation workflow for all item mods.
- Master Bundle Export - the Unity bundling workflow for packaging lockpick tool prefabs.
- Blueprint Asset Reference - the blueprint format used in the salvage recipe example.
- Steam Workshop Submission - the publishing workflow for finished mods on Steam Workshop.
- Smartly Dressed Games modding documentation - the official field reference for the ItemVehicleLockpickToolAsset class.
- Unturned on Steam - the game store page and community hub.
