Grassgatorbrain

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

Overview

The GrassgatorBrain component implements the behavior tree logic for the grass gator entity in Don't Starve Together. It defines the priority-ordered behavioral hierarchy governing when and how the grass gator chases, attacks, flees, or wanders. The component relies on shared behavior nodes (e.g., ChaseAndAttack, RunAway, FaceEntity, Wander) and integrates with the BrainCommon utility for state-aware logic such as salt-avoidance behavior. Behavior selection is conditional and context-sensitive, using timers, location knowledge, and distance-based thresholds to orchestrate realistic movement and combat responses.

Dependencies & Tags

• Components used:
  • inst.components.knownlocations — used to retrieve the entity's home location (via GetLocation("home")) for wandering when submerged.
  • inst.components.timer — used to manage and check the "facetarget" timer for orientation logic (StartTimer, TimerExists).
• Behaviors imported:
  • behaviours/wander
  • behaviours/faceentity
  • behaviours/chaseandattack
  • behaviours/runaway
• Tags referenced:
  • "notarget" — used to exclude entities from targeting via target:HasTag("notarget").
  • "character" — used in HUNTER_PARAMS as a required tag for target selection.
• No tags are added or removed by this component itself.

Properties

No public instance properties are initialized directly in the constructor. All state is encapsulated in the behavior tree (self.bt) and runtime evaluation of function closures.

Main Functions

GrassgatorBrain:OnStart()

• Description: Initializes the behavior tree root node and assigns it to self.bt. Constructs a hierarchical priority tree that evaluates conditions in order of urgency: panic triggers first, then combat (chase/attack), then fleeing with face-orientation, face-orientation alone, and finally wandering. It excludes the tree from running while the entity is "diving".
• Parameters: None (self is the only argument, as it is a method).
• Returns: nil.

Events & Listeners

No event listeners or events are registered or pushed by this component. All state management and response handling occur through the behavior tree and conditional function evaluation (e.g., GetFaceTargetFn, KeepFaceTargetFn).