Herdmember

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-03

Overview

Herdmember is a lightweight component attached to entities (typically mobs like Beefalo or Pigs) to manage their association with a Herd. It tracks which herd the entity belongs to, enables/disables herd participation (via a tag), and can spawn or reassign a herd instance when the member is enabled or leaves. It works closely with the herd and health components — particularly ensuring only alive, non-dead members can join or form herds.

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddComponent("herdmember")
inst.components.herdmember:SetHerdPrefab("beefaloherd") -- optional override
inst.components.herdmember:CreateHerd() -- immediately create/join a herd
inst.components.herdmember:Leave() -- remove from current herd

Dependencies & tags

Components used: health, herd (via external calls), knownlocations (via herd, indirectly). Tags: Adds "herdmember" when enabled; removes "herdmember" when disabled or on removal.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
enabled	boolean	true	Controls whether the entity is considered part of a herd (adds/removes "herdmember" tag).
herd	Herd instance or nil	nil	Reference to the herd this member belongs to.
herdprefab	string	"beefaloherd"	Prefab name used to spawn a new herd when needed.
task	ScheduleTask or nil	nil	Delayed task used to reinitialize herd membership after leaving.

Main functions

SetHerd(herd)

• Description: Assigns a herd instance to this member. Does not automatically add the member to the herd; it merely sets the reference.
• Parameters: herd (Herd instance or nil) — the herd this member will belong to.
• Returns: Nothing.

SetHerdPrefab(prefab)

• Description: Updates the prefab name used when spawning a new herd.
• Parameters: prefab (string) — the prefab name, e.g., "beefaloherd".
• Returns: Nothing.

GetHerd()

• Description: Returns the currently assigned herd instance.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Herd instance or nil.

CreateHerd()

• Description: Spawns a new herd prefab at the member’s current location and calls GatherNearbyMembers() on the herd. Only executes if the member is enabled, not currently in a valid herd, and (if the health component exists) is not dead.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No effect if enabled is false, health:IsDead() is true, or spawning fails.

Leave()

• Description: Removes this member from its current herd (if valid), and schedules re-initialization after a 5-second delay (unless disabled).
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No effect if self.herd is nil or invalid.

Enable(enabled)

• Description: Toggles herd participation. If disabling and in a herd, immediately removes from herd; if enabling and no valid herd, schedules herd initialization.
• Parameters: enabled (boolean) — whether to enable herd membership.
• Returns: Nothing.

GetDebugString()

• Description: Returns a string useful for debugging, indicating the herd reference and whether the member is disabled.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: string — format: "herd:<herd_ref> disabled" or "herd:<herd_ref>".

OnRemoveFromEntity()

• Description: Cleanup function called when the component is removed from its entity. Cancels pending task and removes "herdmember" tag.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: None.
• Pushes: None.

Constructor notes

• The constructor schedules OnInit to run after 8.1 seconds (self.inst:DoTaskInTime(8.1, OnInit)). This delay ensures the herd system’s sampling rate (documented as HERDSAMPLER823) is not violated. OnInit in turn calls CreateHerd().
• enabled is handled as a property with an observer (onenabled) to automatically add/remove the "herdmember" tag.