Ambient Animal

Makes the connected object live: it wanders inside a box or an area object, stops to rest, turns to look at the nearest player while it rests, and — if you want — shies away from a player who comes close. Animated models play their idle, walk and run clips on their own.

Since 1.64.

Output: effect (wire into an Object Selector, or leave it in an object's own flow)

Inputs

Handle	Type	Meaning
area	object	stay inside this object (a pen, a tank). Unwired: a box of rx × ry × rz around where it was placed

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Range
speed	0.3	0 – 3, how fast it wanders
rest	0.35	0 – 0.9, the share of time it stands still (0 = never rests)
restTime	3	seconds per rest
lookRadius	4	metres: while resting it looks at a player this close (0 = never)
fleeRadius	0	metres: it shies away from a player this close (0 = tame)
fleeDistance	2	metres it moves away
rx, ry, rz	3, 0.3, 3	the box when no area is wired
seed	0	0 = from the object, so a herd does not move in step
turnSpeed	4	how quickly it turns
forward	+z	which way the model faces
ground	on	walk on the floor (off: fish, birds)
clips	on	play its idle / walk / run clips (see Characters & Motion)

Where it walks and when it rests come from the shared clock, so every player sees the same animal in the same place.

Practical example

A cat in the living room: give the cat model an Ambient Animal, rx 3, rz 2, rest 0.6, restTime 5, lookRadius 3. It strolls, sits, and watches you when you come near.