Berniebigbrain

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-02-27

Overview

The BernieBigBrain component implements the behavior tree logic for Bernie entities (big bernie followers), determining how they track, follow, and fight alongside a designated leader. It dynamically selects between aggressive combat behavior and passive following (walk/run), adapts based on the leader's sanity and "hotheaded" state, and manages leader assignment via a priority-based decision process. It integrates closely with the Combat component for target tracking and the Sanity component to evaluate leader suitability. The component uses behavior tree nodes (ChaseAndAttack, Follow, FaceEntity, Wander) defined in external behavior files.

Dependencies & Tags

• Components used:
  • combat: Accessed via inst.components.combat for GetLastAttackedTime(), lastdoattacktime, and target.
  • sanity: Accessed via inst.components.sanity:GetPercent() to check leader sanity levels.
• **Tags:**None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
_leader	Entity or nil	nil	Reference to the currently assigned leader entity. Used for following and context-aware behavior switching.
_isincombat	boolean	false	Tracks whether the Bernie is currently engaged in combat, influencing follow behavior thresholds.

Main Functions

ShouldDeactivate(self)

• Description: Evaluates whether the Bernie should deactivate (shrink). It first attempts to retain or reassign a valid leader based on tags, sanity, visibility, and "hotheaded"/crazy conditions. Deactivation is prevented if the entity is in a "busy" state, recently attacked, recently attacked, or if a leader is flagged as "crazy"/"hotheaded". Returns true when deactivation conditions are met.
• Parameters:
  • self: The BernieBigBrain component instance.
• Returns: boolean — true if the Bernie should shrink/deactivate.

SetLeader(self, leader)

• Description: Assigns a new leader, updating internal _leader and registering/deregistering this Bernie in the leader's bigbernies table. Fires onLeaderChanged event on the entity if the leader changes.
• Parameters:
  • self: The BernieBigBrain component instance.
  • leader: Entity or nil — The new leader to assign.
• Returns: nil.

GetLeader(self)

• Description: Returns the current _leader if still valid according to KeepLeaderFn; otherwise clears it via SetLeader and returns nil.
• Parameters:
  • self: The BernieBigBrain component instance.
• Returns: Entity or nil.

ShouldWalkToLeader(self)

• Description: Determines if the Bernie should walk toward its leader (instead of running). Returns true if the Bernie is not currently running, a leader exists, and is within walking distance threshold (WALK_FOLLOW_THRESHOLD = 11).
• Parameters:
  • self: The BernieBigBrain component instance.
• Returns: boolean.

ShouldRunToLeader(self)

• Description: Determines if the Bernie should run toward its leader. Returns true if a leader exists and either is not close enough or the leader is not in a "moving" state.
• Parameters:
  • self: The BernieBigBrain component instance.
• Returns: boolean.

KeepLeaderFn(inst, leader)

• Description: Helper function used to validate whether a leader should remain assigned. Checks if the leader is valid, visible or teleported, and satisfies either low sanity (< 0.5) or "hotheaded" condition.
• Parameters:
  • inst: The Bernie entity instance.
  • leader: The candidate leader entity.
• Returns: boolean — true if the leader should be retained.

OnStart()

• Description: Initializes the behavior tree root with priority nodes: deactivate check, combat (ChaseAndAttack), running/walking follow via Follow (with different flags for speed), FaceEntity to orient toward leader, and fallback Wander. Registers an onremove event listener to clear the leader reference.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: nil.

OnStop()

• Description: Cleans up resources: removes the onremove event listener, and clears the current leader via SetLeader.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: nil.

Events & Listeners

• Listens to:
  • onremove: Listens via inst:ListenForEvent("onremove", ...) to ensure _leader is cleared when the Bernie entity is removed.
• Pushes: None identified.

Constants (Relevant Behavior Thresholds)

Constant	Value	Purpose
MIN_FOLLOW_DIST	1	Minimum distance to maintain while following.
MAX_FOLLOW_DIST	8	Distance at which following behavior ends.
TARGET_FOLLOW_DIST	5	Target distance during following.
WALK_FOLLOW_THRESHOLD	11	Distance beyond which Bernie begins running instead of walking.
RUN_FOLLOW_THRESHOLD	6	(TARGET_FOLLOW_DIST + 1) — run until within this distance of leader.
MIN_COMBAT_TARGET_DIST	11	Minimum distance threshold for entering combat mode when not already in combat.
MAX_COMBAT_TARGET_DIST	14	Maximum distance threshold to remain in combat mode when already in combat.
FIND_LEADER_DIST_SQ	484	(22 * 22) — Max squared distance to search for a new leader.
LOSE_LEADER_DIST	30	Used conceptually; distance checks use LOSE_LEADER_DIST_SQ = 900.
MIN_ACTIVE_TIME	4	Minimum time alive before deactivation is considered.
DEACTIVATE_DELAY	16	Delay after last combat activity before deactivation is allowed.
FOLLOWER_SANITY_THRESHOLD	0.5	Sanity below which a player becomes a viable leader candidate.