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Sporebrain

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

Overview​

sporebrain is a Brain component that defines the behavior tree for spore-based entities (e.g., Sporeling, Sporeling Queen). It prioritizes following nearby valid targets (players, characters, or monsters) within a defined range while periodically wandering around a home location. The brain uses the Behavior Tree (BT) system with two primary behaviors: Follow and Wander. It relies on the knownlocations component to retrieve the home location for wandering and uses FindEntity to locate suitable targets.

Usage example​

-- Add the sporebrain to an entity
inst:AddComponent("sporebrain")

-- The brain is automatically initialized when the entity is spawned
-- No further manual setup is required; the behavior tree runs automatically.

Dependencies & tags​

Components used: knownlocations (accessed via self.inst.components.knownlocations:GetLocation("home")).

Tags: The component checks for presence of any one of the following tags on potential follow targets: "player", "character", "monster". It does not directly add or remove tags itself.

Properties​

No explicit public properties are initialized in the constructor. The component internally stores inst.followobj, inst.bt, and uses constants (MAX_WANDER_DIST, MIN_FOLLOW_DIST, etc.) defined at the script scope.

Main functions​

SporeBrain:OnStart()​

  • Description: Initializes and starts the behavior tree for the spore entity. Constructs a priority node that first attempts to follow a nearby target, and if that is not viable, falls back to wandering around the home location.
  • Parameters: None.
  • Returns: nil.
  • Error states: May fail silently if FindEntity returns nil (no valid target found) or if the home location is not registered in the knownlocations component.

FindObjectToFollow(inst) (private)​

  • Description: A helper function that locates a valid entity to follow. It verifies the current followobj is valid and within range; otherwise, it searches within MAX_FOLLOW_DIST for an entity matching one of the required tags.
  • Parameters:
    • inst (Entity): The entity instance for which to find a follow target.
  • Returns: Entity or nil — the found entity or nil if no suitable target exists.
  • Error states: Returns nil if no entity matching the required tags is found within range or if all previously found targets are invalid.

Events & listeners​

No event listeners are registered, and no events are pushed by this component.