Palworld Capture and Combat System Recreation.
Time to dive deeper into this project.
Palworld Capture Recreation
Gameplay Systems Prototype | Unreal Engine 5 - Overview
I recreated Palworld’s core capture and companion-combat loop in Unreal Engine 5. The prototype includes dynamic capture probability, throwable capture spheres, persistent Pal data, summon and recall functionality, melee and ranged companion AI, and a Dragon boss built using Behavior Trees and AI Perception.
Dynamic Capture System
Capture probability changes based on the Pal’s remaining health and the capture modifier of the selected sphere. Each attempt performs three sequential capture checks, creating an escalating shake sequence before determining success or failure.
The underlying probability remains precise for gameplay calculations while the HUD presents a rounded percentage for clear player feedback.
Pal Cycling & Active Pal Management
I built a cycling system that allows the player to move through their captured Pals and select which one they want to deploy. A key challenge was keeping the currently spawned Pal tied to its original collection slot, even if the player changed their selection afterward.
I separated the selected Pal from the actively spawned Pal, preserving the correct array index and reference until that Pal was recalled. This prevented cycling from overwriting the active Pal’s slot and ensured that recalling, switching, and redeploying Pals consistently affected the correct entry in the player’s collection.
Dragon AI & Combat Behavior
I built the Dragon’s combat AI using an Unreal Engine Behavior Tree, giving it multiple attacks and dynamic target selection. The Dragon can use a bite attack or fire breath, retaliate against the most recent source of damage, maintain its target until that target is defeated, and assist the player by attacking enemies the player engages.
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The same character also integrates with the capture system, allowing the Dragon to transition from a hostile encounter into a captured companion using the same underlying Pal systems as the rest of the prototype.
