FLOW Category

The FLOW category contains nodes that control when and how many times execution happens, independently of data values. They don't evaluate external data — they maintain their own internal state to modify the execution flow.

Difference from conditions

Type	Examples	Reads external data
Condition	BTCondition, Distance Check	Yes (ai_dist, blackboard…)
FLOW	Do Once, Flip Flop, Gate, Delay	No — only counts or measures time

FLOW nodes are data-blind — it doesn't matter what arrives, only when and how many times.

Nodes

Node	Type	Description
Do Once	Branch (True/False)	Executes True only the first time; False on all subsequent calls
Flip Flop	Branch (True/False)	Alternates True/False on each call
Gate	Branch (Out/Skip)	Lets execution through every N calls
Delay	Branch (True/False)	Executes True after N seconds have elapsed

Internal variables per node

Each node uses instance variables named after the node:

Node	Internal variable(s)
Do Once	self._do1_<name>
Flip Flop	self._ff_<name>
Gate	self._gate_<name>
Delay	self._dly_<name>, self._dly_<name>_done

Renaming a node in the editor resets its state — the node name determines the variables.

Common patterns

One-time initialization

[OnUpdate] → [Do Once]
                ├── True  ──► [BT Set Blackboard: initialized = True] → [setup logic]
                └── False ──► (nothing — already initialized)

State toggle

[OnCollision] → [Flip Flop]
                    ├── True  ──► [BT Custom Task: open_door()]
                    └── False ──► [BT Custom Task: close_door()]

Heartbeat every 5 seconds

[OnUpdate] → [Delay: 5.0s, Repeat=True]
                 ├── True  ──► [BTCustomTask: update_minimap()]
                 └── False ──► (waiting)

Run only every 3 active frames

[OnUpdate] → [Gate: N=3]
                 ├── Out  ──► [expensive logic]
                 └── Skip ──► (nothing)