Timed State Cycle

Export

Use this graph for a repeating sequence in which one transition waits for time, another responds to input or gameplay, and a finite state returns to the beginning.

In the editor

  1. Connect Start to Idle, then add Patrol and Log states and connect Idle to Patrol, Patrol to Log, and Log back to Idle.
  2. Select the Idle-to-Patrol transition, replace its default Condition with Timer, and set the Duration.
  3. Put the patrol movement Action in Patrol. On Patrol-to-Log, replace the default State Finished with the input or gameplay Condition that should interrupt patrol, and use Continuous evaluation.
  4. Put a finite Log or other one-shot Action in the final state.
  5. Keep State Finished on the Log-to-Idle transition.

Idle, Patrol, and Log form a repeating State Designer cycle.

The Idle-to-Patrol transition uses a Timer Condition with a configured duration.

How it runs

Start activates Idle. Timer starts when Idle runs and allows the first transition after its duration. Patrol then stays active until its own Condition becomes valid. Log performs its finite Action, reports Finished, and immediately returns to Idle through State Finished. Entering Idle starts the transition timer for the next cycle.

Key choices

  • Use a Timer Condition when the source state’s behavior should continue while time passes.
  • Use a Wait Action when waiting is itself part of an Action State’s Sequence or Parallel work.
  • Use On Iteration Complete when a repeating state should finish its current Action iteration before checking the transition.
  • Keep Continuous for input or gameplay changes that should interrupt the source state immediately.

Verify in Play Mode

Watch the active highlight remain on Idle for the configured duration, move to Patrol, and enter Log only when its Condition succeeds. After Log finishes, the graph should return to Idle and begin a fresh timed cycle.