Shadowcreaturebrain

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

Overview

The ShadowCreatureBrain component defines the behavior tree for shadow creatures (e.g., Abigail's shadow minions or similar entities). It manages high-level AI logic such as selecting and tracking a primary target, initiating harassment behaviors (including battle cries and loitering while facing the target), and falling back to wandering or following when harassment is not applicable. It integrates with the Combat, Locomotor, and ShadowSubmissive components to dynamically adapt behavior based on the target's dominance status, walk speed, and proximity.

Key responsibilities include:

• Maintaining a master target (mytarget) and a harassment target (_harasstarget).
• Initiating "ChaseAndHarass" sequences when the creature's walk speed is below 5 or it is too far from the harassment target.
• Triggering BattleCry() and event-driven taunt animation alignment during harassment.
• Reacting to the target being on land vs. sea, with teleportation if applicable.

Usage example

local inst = Entity()

-- Attach required components before adding the brain
inst:AddComponent("combat")
inst:AddComponent("locomotor")
inst:AddComponent("shadowsubmissive")

-- Initialize and attach the brain
inst:AddBrain("ShadowCreatureBrain")

Note: This component is typically added via inst:AddBrain("ShadowCreatureBrain") in the prefab definition. The constructor does not require manual invocation.

Dependencies & tags

Components used:

• combat (accesses target, nextbattlecrytime, and BattleCry())
• locomotor (accesses walkspeed)
• shadowsubmissive (accesses ShouldSubmitToTarget(target))

Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
mytarget	Entity?	nil	Primary target (e.g., spawn-originating player); tracked via "onremove" event callback.
_harasstarget	Entity?	nil	Secondary target used during harassment (set when ShouldSubmitToTarget returns true on combat.target).
listenerfunc	function?	nil	Callback used to clear mytarget when the target entity is removed. Initialized on first target assignment.

Main functions

SetTarget(target)

• Description: Sets the primary target (mytarget) and manages event listeners for target removal. If the new target is invalid, mytarget is set to nil. If the target changes, any previous "onremove" listener is unregistered and a new one registered.
• Parameters:
  • target (Entity?): The entity to assign as the primary target. May be nil.
• Returns: None.
• Error states: No explicit error conditions; silently invalidates stale entities.

OnStart()

• Description: Initializes and starts the behavior tree. Sets mytarget to inst.spawnedforplayer, then constructs a priority-based behavior tree with nodes for panic, land/sea teleportation, attack, harassment, loiter, follow, and wander. The tree is stored in self.bt.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: None.
• Error states: Assumes all dependencies (combat, locomotor, shadowsubmissive) are present; missing components may result in runtime errors when the tree executes.

OnStop()

• Description: Clears the primary target (mytarget) and associated event listener, effectively resetting the brain's target state.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: None.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  • "onremove" on mytarget: Fires listenerfunc (defined in SetTarget) to clear mytarget when the primary target is removed.
• Pushes:
  • "teleport_to_sea": Triggered by the behavior tree when the current target is on land and the entity is following it (inst.followtosea), initiating teleport logic.