Announcing Helmsman AI: A Professional Squad & Companion Engine for Unity

Hello, developers.

Today, I'm launching Helmsman AI, a project born from a frustration I think many of us share: the difficulty of creating AI that feels truly intelligent and cooperative. Most tutorials teach us how to make a single enemy chase a player. But what about a squad of soldiers that use formations? Or a friendly companion that knows how to revive you?

Building these complex, system-driven behaviors from scratch is a massive undertaking. Helmsman AI was created to be the definitive solution—a complete, professional-grade engine that allows you to stop scripting individual drones and start commanding intelligent squads.

The Core Philosophy: A System-First Architecture

This is not just a collection of scripts; it's a complete framework built on professional design patterns to be both powerful and easy for designers to use.

• Data-Driven by Design: At its heart, the engine is powered by ScriptableObjects. You don't need to code to create new AI archetypes. You simply create AIAgentProfile, AIBehaviorProfile, and AILoadout assets in the editor to define every aspect of an AI's stats, equipment, and tactical decision-making.
• Modular State Machine: We've moved beyond massive switch statements. The AI's brain is a clean, formal State Machine pattern. Each state (Idle, Engaging, Reviving) is its own class, making the logic easy to understand, debug, and extend with your own custom behaviors.
• Decoupled & Event-Driven: The core systems communicate through events and a centralized AITeamManager. This means the AI engine can be integrated into your existing projects cleanly, without creating a tangled mess of hard-coded dependencies.

Key Features & Capabilities

• Tactical Squad Management: Control groups of agents with the AISquad component. Issue group-level commands for movement and focus-firing.
• Dynamic Formations: Don't just move your AI to the same point. Assign FormationDefinition assets to your squads to have them intelligently maintain formations like a wedge, line, or defensive circle.
• Intelligent Support Behavior: The standout feature. Designate agents with the canReviveAllies behavior, and they will intelligently identify, move to, and revive fallen teammates, adding a deep tactical layer to any encounter.
• Flexible Loadout System: Define different AI roles by creating AILoadout assets. Easily create a "Heavy" with a machine gun and a "Sniper" with a long-range rifle, all referencing your existing WeaponData items.

What You Get: A Production-Ready Toolkit

This asset has been tested and polished to work out-of-the-box. We focused on ensuring a smooth "zero to working squad in 10 minutes" experience.

Your download includes two formats (.unitypackage and .zip) containing:

• The complete, fully commented C# source code for the entire engine.
• A functional demo scene showcasing squad movement, hostility, and revive behaviors.
• A full suite of sample ScriptableObject assets (AIAgentProfile, FormationDefinition, etc.) to get you started immediately.
• A README.pdf with setup and integration instructions.

Use Cases & Extensibility

This is a flexible foundation for any game that needs advanced AI. Use it for:

• Co-op RPG companions that support the player.
• Intelligent enemy squads in a tactical FPS.
• AI partners in a survival simulation.
• Advanced NPC logic in an open-world game.

Because the system is modular, you can easily add your own custom states (FleeState, PatrolState) or integrate it with other tools like dialogue systems.

Final Thoughts

This is the tactical AI foundation I wish I had years ago. It's designed to teach and empower developers to think in terms of systems, not just individual scripts. This is your base camp; build up from here.

→ Download Helmsman AI on Itch.io

→ Support my work on Ko-fi

Tag me if you build something with it—I'd love to see it in action!