t1k:unity:dots-ai:behavior-designer-pro

Field	Value
Module	`dots-ai`
Version	`2.1.7`
Effort	`high`
Tools	—

Keywords: AI, behavior designer, behavior tree

How to invoke

/t1k:unity:dots-ai:behavior-designer-pro

Behavior Designer Pro — DOTS Entity Reference

Skill Purpose

Reference for Behavior Designer Pro (BDP) — a behavior tree tool for Unity DOTS by Opsive. This skill covers DOTS Entity mode only — Burst-compiled, job-parallel ECS task systems.

Related skills: dots-ecs (ECS fundamentals) · dots-jobs-burst (Jobs, Burst) · dots-rpg (RPG gameplay) · dots-performance (optimization)

When This Skill Triggers

Using any Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.* namespace
Creating ECS entity tasks (ECSActionTask, ECSConditionalTask)
Working with EvaluateFlag, TaskComponent, BranchComponent ECS components
Entity baking for behavior trees (auto-bootstrap on world creation — BDP 3+)
Conditional aborts with IReevaluateResponder
Programmatic tree creation (TreeLogicNodes, ITreeLogicNode, fluent TreeBuilder)
Performance throttling (EvaluateFlag + AIUpdateTier integration)
Migrating BDP 2 → BDP 3 (3rd-generic wrapper refactor)

Requirements

Unity: 6000.3+ (Unity 6)
Entities package: 1.4.5+
BDP package: com.opsive.behaviordesigner 3.0.2 (pinned; see migration guide for upgrade notes)
Platform: All except WebGL (Entities/Burst limitation)
Assembly: DOTSBDP asmdef (references Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.Runtime, Opsive.Shared.Runtime)

Module Quick Reference

Module	Reference	Coverage
Concepts	concepts-guide.md	Tree flow, task types, composites, decorators, conditional aborts
Entity Tasks	entity-task-guide.md	ECS tasks (6 files each), Burst systems, jobs, flags, reevaluation
Entity Baking	entity-baking-guide.md	Baking workflow, spawning, BDP 3 auto-bootstrap
Tree Creation	tree-creation-guide.md	Programmatic tree building, TreeBuilder API, BattleDemo archetypes
DOTS RPG Integration	dots-rpg-integration-guide.md	17 BDP tasks, 3-layer architecture, system ordering bridges
Performance	performance-throttling-guide.md	EvaluateFlag throttling, AIUpdateTier, scaling strategies
Migration	migration-2-to-3-guide.md	BDP version migration recipes (institutional memory)

Architecture Overview

BehaviorTreeSystemGroup (SimulationSystemGroup)
├── BDPEvaluateFlagThrottleSystem (before group — disables EvaluateFlag for skip-frame entities)
├── BeforeTraversalSystemGroup (OrderFirst)
│   └── ReevaluateTaskSystemGroup (conditional abort reevaluation)
├── InterruptSystemGroup
│   └── InterruptTaskSystemGroup
├── TraversalSystemGroup
│   ├── TraversalTaskSystemGroup (custom task systems — 15 total)
│   └── EvaluationSystem (tree traversal)
└── EvaluationCleanupSystem (OrderLast — re-enables EvaluateFlag)

System Ordering (3-Layer)

Layer 1: PERCEPTION (AISystemGroup)
  AIUpdateTierSystem → DetectionSystem → AggroSystem
      ↓ [BDPAfterPerceptionBridge]

Layer 2: BEHAVIOR (BehaviorTreeSystemGroup)
  BDPEvaluateFlagThrottleSystem → BDP internal → Custom task systems
      ↓ [BDPBeforeNavigationBridge]

Layer 3: EXECUTION (Navigation + Combat)
  AgentNavigationBridgeSystem → AutoAttackSystem

→ See references/ecs-components-guide.md for the full ECS component table (~600-800B overhead per entity), EvaluateFlag throttle pattern, and task status flow.

Key Namespaces

using Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.Runtime;            // BehaviorTree API
using Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.Runtime.Tasks;       // TaskStatus, ECSActionTask, ECSConditionalTask
using Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.Runtime.Components;  // ECS: TaskComponent, BranchComponent, EvaluateFlag
using Opsive.BehaviorDesigner.Runtime.Groups;      // BehaviorTreeSystemGroup
using Opsive.GraphDesigner.Runtime;                // ITreeLogicNode, IAuthoringTask

Key Conventions

To create an ECS task, inherit ECSActionTask<TSystem, TComponent, TComponentFlag> or ECSConditionalTask<TSystem, TComponent, TComponentFlag> with Burst-compiled ISystem (BDP 3 — 3rd generic is the per-task flag struct)
Do NOT override the Flag property — BDP 3 base class implements it via the 3rd generic. Override causes CS0108 warning
Each entity task = 4-6 files: Authoring, Component (IBufferElementData), Flag (IEnableableComponent), System (ISystem), Job (IJobEntity), optional ReevaluateSystem+Flag
To bake behavior trees, place BehaviorTree on a prefab in a SubScene — BDP 3 auto-bootstraps the baked-tree system on world creation; no explicit call needed
To create trees programmatically, set bt.TreeLogicNodes, bt.EventNodes (with Start node), then bt.Serialize()
To force system ordering, use empty bridge ISystem structs with [UpdateAfter]/[UpdateBefore]
All task systems MUST be [DisableAutoCreation] — BDP manages their lifecycle
All task systems MUST include EvaluateFlag in their query (BDP template enforces this) -> See references/gotchas-scaling-guide.md for ECS task gotchas and performance scaling table (<100 to 2000+ units).

Reference Files

File	Contents
concepts-guide.md	Tree flow, task types, composites, decorators, conditional aborts
entity-task-guide.md	ECS tasks (6 files each), Burst systems, jobs, flags, reevaluation
entity-baking-guide.md	Baking workflow, spawning, BDP 3 auto-bootstrap
tree-creation-guide.md	Programmatic tree building, TreeBuilder API, BattleDemo archetypes
dots-rpg-integration-guide.md	17 BDP tasks, 3-layer architecture, system ordering bridges
performance-throttling-guide.md	EvaluateFlag throttling, AIUpdateTier, scaling strategies
ecs-components-guide.md	ECS component table, EvaluateFlag throttle, task status flow
gotchas-scaling-guide.md	ECS task gotchas, vendor bug workarounds, performance scaling table
advanced-guide.md	Advanced BDP patterns and techniques
migration-2-to-3-guide.md	BDP version migration recipes (institutional memory)
bdp-task-generic-guide.md	`BDPTaskData<TPayload>` — form-b rationale, exact API, all shipped payload types, MANDATORY `[assembly: RegisterGenericComponentType]` registration gotcha (runtime `Unknown Type` on missing entry), Patrol/WaitDuration/Flee examples, 3 use-cases, step-by-step new-task guide, write-back gotcha