Creating NPC Behavior in UEFN

The character in this example uses a Custom type character definition, since they only need to move around, and don't need access to the guard or wildlife API. The character's behavior is driven by a custom Verse Behavior named verse_commander_character.

Guards are non-playable characters (NPCs) that can move along designated paths and can become hostile to attack enemy players. Wildlife are animals, like chicken and boar, that can also move along designated paths and attack enemy players.

To get started creating the custom NPC, create a new NPC Behavior named vese_commander_character using Verse Explorer. For info on creating your own custom NPC behaviors, see Create Custom NPC Behavior.

The character needs to know and manage the following properties:

• CommandWaitTime: How long to wait between each command.
• FocusTime: How long to force focus on a target. Turning the character left or right is handled by using the character's focus_interface to force them to face a particular point to their left or right. Since focusing on a target doesn't complete unless interrupted, this is set to a very low number, just enough time for the character to turn to face a direction.
• ReachRadius: This is how close the character needs to get to their navigation target to consider having “reached” it.
• VerseCommanderMinigame: This is a reference to the VerseCommanderMinigame in the level, and lets the character listen for commands coming from it.
• VFX and Arrow References: These reference the different teleport in/teleport out VFX, as well as the Forward Arrow prop which makes it easier to see the character's orientation.