Custom Actor And Component Handbook

This page shows a small custom actor with a custom logic component. The example is a basic enemy that owns health and destroys itself when health reaches zero.

Use this pattern for gameplay state that belongs on an actor but should stay separate from movement, rendering, or input code.

APIs Used

Task	API
Actor base class	Engine::Entities::Actor
Logic component base class	Engine::Components::Logic
Attach component	Engine::Entities::Entity::addComponent<T>(args...)
Read attached component	Engine::Entities::Entity::getComponent<T>()
Spawn actor	Engine::Entities::Scene::spawnActor<T>(transform, args...)
Destroy actor	Engine::Entities::Scene::destroyActor(actor)

Health Component

HealthComponent stores health and invokes a death callback once when health reaches zero. It does not know about enemy behavior or actor destruction.

#pragma once
 
#include "Engine/Component/LogicComponent.h"
 
#include <functional>
 
namespace AirHockey
{
    class HealthComponent : public Engine::Components::Logic
    {
    public:
        static constexpr bool IsUnique = true;
 
        HealthComponent(Engine::Entities::Scene* owningScene, float maxHealth);
 
        void inflictDamage(float amount);
        void setOnDeath(std::function<void()> callback);
 
        [[nodiscard]] float getHealth() const;
        [[nodiscard]] bool isDead() const;
 
    private:
        float health_ = 0.0f;
        bool isDead_ = false;
        std::function<void()> onDeath_;
    };
}

#include "AirHockey/Components/HealthComponent.h"
 
#include <algorithm>
#include <utility>
 
namespace AirHockey
{
    HealthComponent::HealthComponent(
        Engine::Entities::Scene* owningScene,
        float maxHealth
    ) : Logic(owningScene), health_(maxHealth)
    {
    }
 
    void HealthComponent::inflictDamage(float amount)
    {
        if (isDead_ || amount <= 0.0f) {
            return;
        }
 
        health_ = std::max(0.0f, health_ - amount);
        if (health_ > 0.0f) {
            return;
        }
 
        isDead_ = true;
        if (onDeath_) {
            onDeath_();
        }
    }
 
    void HealthComponent::setOnDeath(std::function<void()> callback)
    {
        onDeath_ = std::move(callback);
    }
 
    float HealthComponent::getHealth() const
    {
        return health_;
    }
 
    bool HealthComponent::isDead() const
    {
        return isDead_;
    }
}

Logic requires the owning scene in its constructor. Actor-owned components can receive it automatically through Actor::addComponent<T>(args...) when their constructor supports Scene*.

IsUnique = true makes addComponent<HealthComponent>() return the existing health component if one is already attached.

Enemy Actor

Create the component in the actor constructor. Scene::spawnActor<T>() calls the actor constructor, adds the actor to the scene, then calls beginPlay().

#pragma once
 
#include "Engine/Entity/Actor.h"
#include "Engine/Entity/SpawnContext.h"
 
namespace AirHockey
{
    class HealthComponent;
 
    class Enemy : public Engine::Entities::Actor
    {
    public:
        explicit Enemy(const Engine::Entities::SpawnContext& context);
 
        void applyDamage(float amount);
 
    private:
        HealthComponent* healthComponent_ = nullptr;
    };
}

#include "AirHockey/Actors/Enemy.h"
 
#include "AirHockey/Components/HealthComponent.h"
#include "Engine/Entity/Scene.h"
 
namespace AirHockey
{
    Enemy::Enemy(const Engine::Entities::SpawnContext& context)
        : Actor(context)
    {
        healthComponent_ = addComponent<HealthComponent>(100.0f);
 
        healthComponent_->setOnDeath([this]() {
            auto* scene = getOwningScene();
            if (scene) {
                scene->destroyActor(this);
            }
        });
    }
 
    void Enemy::applyDamage(float amount)
    {
        if (healthComponent_) {
            healthComponent_->inflictDamage(amount);
        }
    }
}

Include the component header in the .cpp file before calling addComponent<HealthComponent>(). A forward declaration is enough in the actor header because the actor only stores a pointer.

The death callback owns the destruction policy. The health component only reports death.

Scene Setup

Spawn the enemy from a scene with the same spawnActor<T>() call used by other actors.

void CombatScene::loadContent()
{
    Scene::loadContent();
 
    Engine::Ecs::Transform enemyTransform;
    enemyTransform.setPosition({ 0.0f, 0.0f, -4.0f });
 
    auto* enemy = spawnActor<AirHockey::Enemy>(enemyTransform);
    enemy->applyDamage(25.0f);
}

spawnActor<T>() returns a raw actor pointer owned by the scene. Do not delete it directly. Use Scene::destroyActor() when gameplay should remove it.

Scene::destroyActor() queues destruction. Scene::flushPendingActorDestruction() later calls Scene::destroyActorImmediate(), which calls endPlay(), removes the actor from the scene, and deletes it. The engine flushes pending actor destruction after logic tick.

Damage Entry Points

Keep damage entry points on the actor when other systems should not access components directly.

auto* health = hitActor->getComponent<AirHockey::HealthComponent>();
if (health) {
    health->inflictDamage(10.0f);
}

Direct component access is fine for small prototypes. Prefer an actor method when damage needs armor, hit reactions, score events, or team checks.

if (auto* enemy = dynamic_cast<AirHockey::Enemy*>(hitActor)) {
    enemy->applyDamage(10.0f);
}

Lifecycle

Step	What Happens
spawnActor<T>()	Creates a SceneNode, constructs the actor, stores it in the scene, then calls beginPlay()
Actor constructor	Attach components and set callbacks
Actor::beginPlay()	Calls beginPlay() on all attached components
Actor::tick()	Ticks components with canTick() == true
Scene::destroyActor()	Queues the actor for destruction after logic tick
Scene::flushPendingActorDestruction()	Calls destroyActorImmediate() for queued actors
Scene::destroyActorImmediate()	Calls endPlay(), removes the actor from the scene, then deletes it

Health does not need ticking. Add ticking only for components that update every frame.

Notes

• Derive custom actors from Engine::Entities::Actor.
• Derive gameplay-only components from Engine::Components::Logic.
• Pass owningScene into Logic(owningScene) from the component constructor.
• Add components in the actor constructor so Actor::beginPlay() initializes them automatically.
• Do not touch component state after a death callback destroys the owning actor.
• Keep rendering, physics, and health as separate components unless the data must be owned together.