Glossary¶
Quick reference for framework-specific terms. Each entry links to the page with full documentation.
| Term | Definition | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Action | A unit of behavior with preconditions, effects, a cost, and a strategy that executes it. The planner chains actions together to achieve goals. | Action Strategies |
| Behavioral State | A high-level mode of behavior (e.g., Patrol, Combat). Each state contains its own set of actions, goals, and beliefs, keeping the planner's search space small. | GOAPAgent |
| Belief | A stateless boolean evaluator that reads the blackboard and returns true/false. Used as preconditions, effects, and FSM transition conditions. | What is GOAP? |
| Blackboard | Per-agent typed key-value store. The single source of truth for all runtime data — sensors write to it, beliefs read from it, strategies read/write it. | Blackboard |
| Brain | The top-level ScriptableObject asset that defines an agent's complete AI configuration. Contains states, sensors, keys, transitions, and the key manifest. |
GOAPAgent |
| Capability | A cached component reference on the agent's GameObject (e.g., NavMeshAgent, Animator). Accessed via context.GetCapability<T>() with O(1) lookup. |
GOAPAgent — Custom Agent Context |
| ContentRevision | An integer counter incremented on every blackboard write. The planner uses it as a cache gate to skip redundant replanning. | Blackboard — ContentRevision |
| Cost | A float value on each action representing how expensive it is. The planner minimizes total plan cost. Score Modifiers can adjust costs dynamically. | What is GOAP? |
| Effect | A world-state change an action promises to make when it completes. The planner uses effects to chain actions together during backward search. | What is GOAP? |
| FSM Transition | A belief-driven transition between behavioral states, checked on a timer (~0.1s). Can interrupt the current plan. | GOAPAgent — GoapStateTransition |
| Goal | A desired world state with a priority. The planner selects the highest-priority valid goal and plans a sequence of actions to achieve it. | What is GOAP? |
| GOAP Hub | The visual editor window for configuring brains, states, actions, goals, sensors, and key mappings. Includes validation and runtime debugging. | GOAP Hub Overview |
| Key | A concrete blackboard entry identified by a SerializableGuid. Has a name and a GoapKeyType (Boolean, Float, Vector3, Integer, Object, String). |
Blackboard |
| Key Manifest | The wiring table in a Brain that maps abstract Slots to concrete Keys. Enables action reuse across different agent types. | What is GOAP? |
| NoiseEmitter | A MonoBehaviour that emits sound events for the Auditory Sensor to detect. Attach to GameObjects that produce sound. |
Sensor Controller — NoiseEmitter |
| Planner | The Burst-compiled A* search system that finds an optimal sequence of actions to achieve a goal within the current behavioral state. | The Planning Loop |
| Post-Process | A ScriptableObject that runs after a strategy succeeds. Used for cleanup, key resets, memory clearing, and state transition preparation. |
Action Strategies — Post-Processes |
| Precondition | A world-state requirement that must be true before the planner can select an action. Expressed as a belief + expected value. | What is GOAP? |
| Recollection | Temporal memory system (GoapRecollectionSystem) that tracks stimuli with confidence decay. Agents remember last-known positions and lose track over time. |
Blackboard — Recollection System |
| Score Modifier | An AnimationCurve-driven adjuster that dynamically changes action costs or goal priorities based on blackboard values. |
Guard Post Demo — Score Modifiers |
| Self-Reset Pattern | A post-process chain that satisfies a goal, cleans up, then resets the goal key — making a state robust to any entry path. | Action Strategies — Self-Reset Pattern |
| Sensor | A ScriptableObject that reads world state (vision, hearing, proximity) and writes results to the blackboard at configured intervals. |
Sensor Controller |
| SerializableGuid | A Unity-serializable 128-bit GUID used as the universal key identifier. Never construct them in code — they're created in the GOAP Hub. | Blackboard — SerializableGuid |
| Slot | An abstract key reference on an action or sensor. The Key Manifest maps slots to concrete blackboard keys, enabling reuse across agent types. | What is GOAP? |
| Strategy | A ScriptableObject containing the actual execution logic for an action (move, attack, animate). Shared as a singleton across all agents using the same brain. |
Action Strategies |
| Temporal Key | A blackboard key managed by the RecollectionSystem instead of direct writes. Supports confidence decay and multi-entity tracking. |
Blackboard — Regular Keys vs Temporal Keys |
| ValidityKey | A boolean key automatically managed by a temporal memory stream. true while any memory entry exists, false when all entries expire. Never write to it directly. |
Blackboard — Key Ownership Rules |