Factory Actors

Source files: FactoryActors.hpp, FactoryActors.cpp, FactoryActorsInit.cpp, CreateMermaidActor.cpp, CreatePlayerActor.cpp

Purpose: Centralized builder that instantiates actors (player and enemies) from JSON-driven definitions. It attaches the shared ECS components (transform, health, visuals, collision), then layers specialized logic per actor type (animations, AI patterns, shooting, VFX).

Data flow

• InitializeEnemyInfoMap(json_folder): scans a folder of JSON files and fills the enemy_info_map_ cache with EnnemyInfo descriptors. Each file is named after the enemy tag (stem of filename).
• CreateActor(entity, reg, tag): looks up the EnnemyInfo by tag, applies shared components via CreateBasicActor, then dispatches to CreatePlayerActor for tag == "player" or to CreateBasicEnnemy plus any specialized constructors (e.g., mermaid).
• Runtime spawning: systems or scene scripts spawn an entity, then call CreateActor with the desired tag; all components are attached in one place.

EnnemyInfo schema (JSON)

Keys read from each JSON file in the provided folder (defaults are applied if missing):

Field	Type	Purpose
tag	string	Logical identifier ("player", "mermaid", ...).
health	int	Starting HP.
speed	float	Baseline speed used by movement/shoot systems.
spritePath	string	Sprite sheet used by the base Drawable.
hitbox	object {x, y}	Hitbox dimensions.
offset_healthbar	object {x, y}	Offset for positioning the health bar.
transform.scale	object {x, y}	Scale applied to the base Transform.

Shared setup (CreateBasicActor)

Attaches common components for any actor:

• Transform: positioned at origin with provided scale, origin set to CENTER.
• Health and HealthBar: HP pool and on-screen bar offset.
• HitBox: AABB sized from config.
• Velocity: zeroed, ready for movement systems.
• Drawable: sprite path + z-layer (actors). Note: currently added twice; if unintended, consider removing the duplicate.

Player path (CreatePlayerActor)

Adds player-specific components:

• AnimatedSprite: idle sheet plus dedicated Hit and Death animations (custom sizes/durations).
• Inputs: mutable input state populated by InputSystem.
• PlayerTag: speed, shoot cooldown, charge time, and charge state from config constants.
• AnimationEnterPlayer: flag enabling the entry animation effect.
• ParticleEmitter: rear thruster VFX (yellow-to-red gradient, continuous emission, actor-layered).

Enemy path (CreateBasicEnnemy)

Adds enemy-specific components:

• EnemyTag: speed baseline for AI systems.
• AnimatedSprite: default sheet with Hit, Death, and Attack animations; defaults to currentAnimation = "Default".

Mermaid specialization (CreateMermaidActor)

• PatternMovement: sine horizontal pattern with configured offsets and BASIC_SPEED.
• EnemyShootTag: projectile speed/damage and spawn offset.
• FrameEvents: triggers on frame 5 of the Attack animation to spawn a projectile via CreateEnemyProjectile (safe-guarded by try/catch).
• TimedEvents: periodic callback (every BASIC_SHOOT_COOLDOWN) that switches the animation to Attack if the enemy is still alive.
• Adds EnemyShootTag to the entity after configuring callbacks.

Projectile creation helper (CreateEnemyProjectile)

Builds enemy projectiles with consistent components:

• Transform: positioned using the shoot offset scaled by the shooter’s transform; centered origin.
• Drawable: projectile sprite on projectile layer.
• Projectile: damage, direction, speed, owner ID, and an enemy flag.
• HitBox: small 8x8 AABB.
• Velocity: initialized from direction.
• ParticleEmitter: short red trail for visual feedback.

JSON loading behavior

Helper getters enforce types and apply defaults. Missing or malformed keys fall back to sane defaults; transform.scale defaults to (1,1) when absent. Files that cannot be opened are logged to std::cerr and skipped.

Usage notes

• Call InitializeEnemyInfoMap once at startup with the folder containing enemy JSON definitions, then use CreateActor whenever spawning an actor.
• Extend the factory by adding new specialized creators and branching on info.tag inside CreateActor.
• Keep EnnemyInfo values in sync with art assets (sprite sizes, hitboxes) to avoid visual/collision mismatch.