Panic

Overview

The Panic component is a behaviour node used in the AI behaviour tree system to simulate panicked movement. When active, it repeatedly selects a new random movement direction and instructs the entity's locomotor to run in that direction for a short duration (between 0.25s and 0.5s). This creates a jittery, unpredictable escape pattern characteristic of fleeing or startled creatures. It relies on the locomotor component to execute directional movement via RunInDirection.

Dependencies & Tags

• Components used: locomotor
• Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
waittime	number	0	Timestamp indicating when the next direction change should occur.

Main Functions

Panic:Visit()

• Description: Executes the panic logic. On the first visit (status == READY), it picks a new random direction and transitions to RUNNING. On subsequent visits, it checks if the current waittime has elapsed; if so, it picks a new direction, otherwise it sleeps until waittime.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

Panic:PickNewDirection()

• Description: Sets a new random movement direction (0–360 degrees) for the entity's locomotor and schedules the next direction change 0.25–0.5 seconds in the future.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & Listeners

None.