Chaseandattack

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-03

Overview

ChaseAndAttack is a behavior node that implements AI logic for entities to pursue and engage a target. It manages movement, targeting validation, attack initiation, and termination conditions such as time limits, distance thresholds, or attack counts. It integrates closely with the combat component to handle target selection and engagement, the health component to detect target death, and the locomotor component to control movement (chasing, stopping, facing).

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddComponent("combat")
inst:AddComponent("health")
inst:AddComponent("locomotor")

local function findTargetFn(inst)
    -- Example: find nearest enemy
    return inst.components.combat:GetNearestEnemy()
end

inst:AddBehaviourNode("chaseandattack", ChaseAndAttack(inst, 10, 100, 3, findTargetFn, false, 2))

Dependencies & tags

Components used: combat, health, locomotor Tags: Checks attack, canrotate, jumping, longattack, hiding (via target); no tags are added or removed directly by this component.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
inst	Entity	—	The entity this behavior node is attached to.
findnewtargetfn	function?	nil	Optional callback to find a new target; called when no target is set.
max_chase_time	number?	nil	Maximum duration (in seconds) to continue chasing before giving up.
give_up_dist	number?	nil	Distance threshold (squared) beyond which the target is considered unreachable.
max_attacks	number?	nil	Maximum number of successful attacks before success condition is met.
numattacks	number	0	Counter for number of attacks made.
walk	boolean	false	Whether movement should be walking (true) or running (false).
distance_from_ocean_target	function?	nil	Optional callback to compute offset distance from ocean target (used for water-based enemies).
onattackfn	function	—	Internal event callback for onattackother and onmissother.
startruntime	number?	nil	Timestamp marking when chase started; reset on each attack.

Main functions

Visit()

• Description: Main behavior logic; handles target validation, chase initiation, movement, attack attempts, and termination conditions (success, failure).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing (calls self:Sleep(.125) when still running).
• Error states: Returns early if combat.target is invalid or dead; may set status to SUCCESS or FAILED based on runtime conditions.

OnAttackOther()

• Description: Callback invoked on onattackother or onmissother events; increments numattacks and resets the chase timer.
• Parameters: None (called via event).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: None.

OnStop()

• Description: Cleans up event listeners when the behavior node is stopped.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

__tostring()

• Description: String representation used for debugging; shows current target.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: String: "target <prefab_name>" or "target nil".

Events & listeners

• Listens to: onattackother (via self.onattackfn), onmissother (via self.onattackfn)
• Pushes: None directly (uses combat:GiveUp() and combat:SetTarget(nil) internally).