Oceanshadowcreaturebrain

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

Overview

This brain component defines the artificial intelligence logic for ocean-dwelling shadow creatures (such as the Shadow Companion). It manages target selection and tracking, conditional harassment via battle cries and taunting, and terrain-aware movement—including periodic teleportation to land when in a boat. The brain integrates with the combat system for attacks and vocalizations, and uses the ShadowSubmissive component to determine whether the creature should avoid engaging certain targets. Behavior is implemented using a Behavior Tree (BT) with priority-based node selection.

Usage example

Add the component to an entity during its prefab definition:

inst:AddComponent("oceanshadowcreaturebrain")

The component does not expose public API calls beyond internal brain functions; behavior is triggered automatically via the Behavior Tree when the entity's stategraph enters the appropriate state. The brain expects components combat, shadowsubmissive, and transform to be present on inst.

Dependencies & tags

Components used: combat, shadowsubmissive, talker, transform. Tags: This component does not add or remove tags directly.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
mytarget	Entity or nil	nil	The currently tracked target entity. Set via SetTarget.
listenerfunc	function or nil	nil	Callback function that clears mytarget when the target entity is removed. Initialized on first target assignment.
_harasstarget	Entity or nil	nil	Temporary reference to the target being harassed; set in ShouldAttack when a target is submissive.

Main functions

OceanShadowCreatureBrain:SetTarget(target)

• Description: Sets or updates the primary tracking target. Automatically manages event callbacks for the target's removal.
• Parameters:
  • target (Entity or nil): The entity to track. If invalid, it is treated as nil.
• Returns: None.
• Error states: No error states; invalid targets are safely converted to nil.

OceanShadowCreatureBrain:OnStop()

• Description: Cleans up the current target by clearing mytarget. Called when the brain stops (e.g., when the entity falls asleep or dies).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: None.

OceanShadowCreatureBrain:OnStart()

• Description: Initializes the behavior tree when the brain starts (e.g., upon waking). Sets the initial target using inst.spawnedforplayer and constructs a priority-based Behavior Tree that handles teleportation, boat-specific behaviors (including harassment and combat), and land-based wandering.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: None.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • "onremove" on the current target (via self.inst:ListenForEvent in SetTarget) to clear mytarget when the target is destroyed.
• Pushes:
  • "teleport_to_land" via inst:PushEvent when the creature is on land and in a boat (in teleport action node).
  • "boatteleport" via inst:PushEvent periodically while on a boat to trigger boat-based teleportation logic.