Panicandavoid

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

Overview

PanicAndAvoid is a behaviour node used in DST's AI state machines to implement panic-based evasive movement. It extends BehaviourNode, and when visited, causes the entity to move in a randomized direction. If a valid avoidance target (e.g., a threat) is within proximity, it adjusts the movement direction to avoid that target using angular offset calculations. This behaviour integrates with the locomotor component to drive actual movement.

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddComponent("behaviourtree")
inst:AddComponent("locomotor")

local find_threat_fn = function(ent) return ent.components.combat ~= nil and ent.components.combat:GetEnemy() end

inst.components.behaviourtree:AddNode("panicandavoid", PanicAndAvoid, find_threat_fn, 6)

-- In a stategraph:
-- bt:PushNode("panicandavoid")

Dependencies & tags

Components used: locomotor Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
inst	Entity	—	The entity instance the behaviour operates on.
waittime	number	0	Timestamp used to determine when to re-evaluate direction.
findavoidanceobjectfn	function or nil	—	Optional callback that returns the current threat/target to avoid.
avoid_dist	number	—	Distance threshold used to determine if avoidance response should be triggered.
avoidtarget	Entity or nil	nil	Computed target to avoid during movement (set at runtime).

Main functions

Visit()

• Description: Executes the behaviour logic. If the status is READY, initializes the avoidtarget and picks a new movement direction. If RUNNING, either picks a new direction after the wait time expires, or continues moving with optional avoidance adjustment.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Does not return errors, but no movement occurs if locomotor:RunInDirection() is blocked (e.g., by state tags or missing component).

PickNewDirection()

• Description: Initiates immediate movement in a randomly chosen direction (0°–360°) and sets waittime to ~0.25–0.5 seconds in the future, after which the next random direction is chosen.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No explicit failure conditions; relies on locomotor:RunInDirection() for movement execution.

ResolveDirection(rot)

• Description: Adjusts the given rotation (rot) to steer away from avoidtarget if the target is within avoid_dist * 2 distance and the current heading is within ±45° of the target. Otherwise, returns rot unchanged.
• Parameters: rot (number) — current rotation angle in degrees.
• Returns: number — adjusted rotation (in degrees), or original rot if avoidance not needed.
• Error states: Returns rot unchanged if avoidtarget is nil, invalid, or too far away. Misalignment handling assumes 2D plane (Y-axis ignored in point comparison).

Events & listeners

• Listens to: None.
• Pushes: None.