Characters & NPCs

CAPAB supports one main character (the player’s avatar) and any number of NPC characters (non-playable characters). Both are configured in the Character Editor.

Main Character

The main character is the player-controlled hero. Click Character in the left sidebar to open the editor.

Properties

Property	Description
Name	Displayed in cinematics and dialogue
Description	Internal notes
Width / Height	Sprite dimensions in pixels
Default Facing	Direction the character faces when first placed
Animations	Sprite sheet animation per direction (up/down/left/right)

Assigning Animations

For each direction, choose:

Sprite Sheet — select from the Sprite Manager library
Animation — choose a named animation from that sheet

During gameplay the runtime automatically switches animations based on which direction the character is walking.

NPC Characters

NPCs are defined in the same Character Editor — click + Add NPC to create one.

NPC definitions share the same fields as the main character (name, dimensions, per-direction animations). Once defined, an NPC can be placed in a scene as a Character object and given a Movement Instruction.

Placing an NPC in a Scene

Open the Scene Editor.
Add a new object of type Character.
In the right panel, choose the NPC from the NPC dropdown.
The object’s width and height are automatically synced from the NPC definition.
Position the object on the canvas.
Set a Movement Instruction (see below).

NPC Movement Instructions

Each character object in a scene can be given one of the following autonomous movement behaviours. The NPC movement engine runs every game frame.

None

The NPC stands still at its placed position. Use this for static characters (shopkeepers, guards at a post) that you’ll animate via Cinematics or Events.

Roam — Slow & Eat Grass

Gentle, slow wandering. Suited to livestock or idle villagers.

Speed: 50 px/sec
Wander distance: 80 – 200 px per move
Idle pause: 3 – 8 seconds between moves
Pathfinds around blocked zones

Roam — Human in Field

Purposeful, faster wandering. Suited to NPCs going about daily routines.

Speed: 120 px/sec
Wander distance: across the full scene
Idle pause: 1 – 3 seconds between moves
Pathfinds around blocked zones

Follow Hero

The NPC pursues the player at a moderate pace and stops when close.

Speed: 150 px/sec
Stop distance: 80 px from player
Recalculates path every 1.5 – 2.5 seconds
Suited to companion animals, quest followers

Follow & Attack Hero

Aggressive pursuit — the NPC chases and attacks when it catches up.

Speed: 180 px/sec
Stop distance: 40 px from player
Sets the game variable npc_attacked_<objectId> to true on contact
The attack fires once per scene load
Use an Event trigger on that variable to handle game logic (e.g., reduce health, show dialogue)

Scale & Pathfinding Behaviour

All characters — main hero and every NPC with a movement instruction — respect the scene’s pathfinding zones:

Blocked Zones prevent passage; the A* pathfinder routes around them.
Scale Zones shrink the character’s visual size and walk speed. Pathfinding uses the scaled dimensions, so a character that is 50% scale can pass through gaps that the full-size character cannot.

Scale is anchored at the character’s feet (bottom-centre) to simulate depth perspective.