Approach Target

The Approach Target section controls how agents close distance on the target, whether they try to anticipate where a moving target is headed, and whether they retreat when the target gets too close.

These behaviors work at the macro level: getting the swarm from wherever it spawns to the standoff distance where the front rank settles against the target. That distance is the target's body radius plus the agent's own radius plus Combat Standoff. Shape and spacing once the crowd has arrived are handled in Crowd Spread.

With a Surface Flow Field, this owns only the last leg

In a scene with a baked Surface Flow Field, the field owns long-range travel. While an agent is farther from its target than Surface Flow Direct Approach Distance (default 8, measured along the route), its approach seek is taken back out so it follows the route instead of cutting straight. Inside that distance the seek eases back in. Inside Surface Flow Goal Release Distance (default 2) the field lets go and Approach & Press steers alone, and a large crowd is released from farther out as long as the route already points at the target. The route only suppresses the seek at Smooth or Eikonal quality with a target inside the field. On Cardinal, or with Direct Approach Distance at 0, the seek always blends in. Surface flow is opt-in, so the description above holds for the default setup with no field.

Most profiles only need Approach & Press active here. Add Predictive Catch-Up for fast or evasive targets and Retreat When Too Close for enemies that should keep a minimum distance. Both are Advanced-mode blocks. In Simple mode the inspector shows one Approach Target block with only Approach Weight and Combat Standoff.