Leader Follower and Flocking

Leader Follower & Flocking System

Component	Specification
Member Interface	net.dasik.social.api.group.GroupMember
AI Goal	net.dasik.social.ai.goal.FollowLeaderGoal
Flock Types	FlockType.TERRESTRIAL, FlockType.AERIAL
Boids Strategies	TerrestrialFlockingStrategy, AerialFlockingStrategy

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🕊️ Overview & Steering Math

Dasik Library implements generalized Boids Flocking Math (Craig Reynolds model) optimized for Minecraft pathfinding. Entities implementing GroupMember automatically coordinate group movement, leader following, and spatial separation.

Steering Vector Formula

The combined steering force vector $\vec{F}_{\text{steer}}$ is computed as:

$$\vec{F}_{\text{steer}} = (w_{\text{sep}} \cdot \vec{V}_{\text{separation}}) + (w_{\text{coh}} \cdot \vec{V}_{\text{cohesion}}) + (w_{\text{ali}} \cdot \vec{V}_{\text{alignment}})$$

Where:

• $\vec{V}_{\text{separation}}$ pushes entities apart to prevent crowding.
• $\vec{V}_{\text{cohesion}}$ pulls entities toward the group center of mass.
• $\vec{V}_{\text{alignment}}$ aligns entity headings.
• $w_{\text{sep}}, w_{\text{coh}}, w_{\text{ali}}$ are configurable weights in GroupParameters.

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⚙️ GroupParameters Specification

public record GroupParameters(
    float cohesionRadius, 
    float separationRadius, 
    float maxSpeed, 
    boolean canTeleport, 
    float teleportDistance,
    float startDistance,
    float stopDistance,
    float alignmentWeight,
    float cohesionWeight,
    float separationWeight
) {
    public static final GroupParameters DEFAULT_AERIAL = new GroupParameters(
        3.0f, 1.0f, 0.4f, true, 144.0f, 6.0f, 2.0f, 0.05f, 0.05f, 0.1f
    );
    public static final GroupParameters DEFAULT_TERRESTRIAL = new GroupParameters(
        5.0f, 1.5f, 1.2f, true, 144.0f, 6.0f, 2.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f
    );
}

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💻 Developer Code Example

Adding flocking AI to a custom entity:

public class CustomBirdEntity extends PathfinderMob implements GroupMember {
    private LivingEntity leader;

    @Override
    protected void registerGoals() {
        super.registerGoals();
        this.goalSelector.addGoal(4, new FollowLeaderGoal<>(this, GroupParameters.DEFAULT_AERIAL, 32.0D));
    }

    @Override public LivingEntity getLeader() { return this.leader; }
    @Override public void setLeader(LivingEntity leader) { this.leader = leader; }
    @Override public FlockType getFlockType() { return FlockType.AERIAL; }
}

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🔗 Related Pages

• Hive Mind Social System
• Architecture & Package Layout