Enemy always moves left, even when player is on the right

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1

Godot Version

4.4.1

Question

My mob moves only in one direction, even when the player is on the other side. Here is my code:

extends CharacterBody2D

var chase = false
var speed = 100
func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
	# Add the gravity.
	if not is_on_floor():
		velocity += get_gravity() * delta
	var player = 	$"../../Player"
	var direction = (player.position - self.position).normalized()	
	if chase == true:
		velocity.x = direction.x * speed
	else:
		velocity.x = 0	
	move_and_slide()			
		

func _on_area_2d_body_entered(body: Node2D) -> void:
	if body.name == "Player":
		chase = true
func _on_area_2d_body_exited(body: Node2D) -> void:
	if body.name == "Player":
		chase = false
2

You are comparing local positions, maybe you would have better results using global_position for both the player and your enemy.

2 Likes
3

Maybe another solution would be to compare position.x and then set a direction independently based on whoever has highest. Or use a raycast on each side.
If you want to use your solution, i would try adding print statements here and there to try to figure out exactly where things go wrong.

Maybe try:
var direction = sign(player.position.x - self.position.x)
velocity.x = direction * speed

1 Like
4

To add to the recommendations, you can use position.direction_to() and position.distance_to() for a cleaner implementation. Refer to the Vector2 docs for more useful methods:

1 Like
5

A unique name would allow you to use $%Player directly and not have assign it to the local player var.

Additionally, you can save some cpu time by this:

func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
	# Add the gravity
	if not is_on_floor():
		velocity += get_gravity() * delta
	else: # small logic change here: only change the x velocity if on the ground
  		velocity.x = 0
		if chase == true:
			velocity.x = ($%Player.global_position - self.global_position).normalized() * speed
	move_and_slide()

To expand a little on @gertkeno correct answer: position is always in relation to the parent node. If your Character2D in inside say a Node2D that you name Enemy then the position is most likely 0,0 unless you accidentally moved it, while the global_position is a very different value and what anyone would understand as position on the screen when running the game.
Sadly there’s not much in the official tutorial to get this difference across.

1 Like