Grimrock

function countEntitiesOfTypesInLevel(spawnedEntityNames, level)
	local count = 0

	for e in allEntities(level) do
		for _, t in ipairs(spawnedEntityNames) do
			if (e.name == t) then
				count = count + 1
			end
		end
	end
	
	return count
end

function partyDist(x, y)
	return math.abs(party.x - x) + math.abs(party.y - y)
end


function spawnChecked(level, spawners, spawnedEntityNames, maxEntities, minDistance)
	if countEntitiesOfTypesInLevel(spawnedEntityNames, level) >= maxEntities then
		return
	end
	
	local spawner = spawners[math.random(1, #spawners)]
	
	local dist = partyDist(spawner.x, spawner.y)
	
	if dist < minDistance then
		return
	end
	
	spawner:activate()
	
end	
	

• Put it into a script entity in one (and only one) level in the dungeon, doesn't matter which, called "smartSpawning"
• Call it with smartSpawning.spawnChecked(<level>, <table-of-spawners>, <table-of-monsters>, <max-monsters>, <min-distance>) from a timer, pressure-plate or other activating device

function spawnGo()
	local spawners =
	{
		lvl5spawner1,
		lvl5spawner2,
		lvl5spawner3,
		lvl5spawner4,
		lvl5spawner5,
		lvl5spawner6
	}
	
	smartSpawning.spawnChecked(5, spawners, { "spider" }, 16, 7)	
end	

• Spawns choosing a random spawner from the list
• Doesn't spawn if there are already <max-monsters> spawned entities in the level
• Doesn't spawn if the picked spawner is under <min-dist> distance from the party (to avoid seeing monsters appearing out of nowhere)

Ixnatifual wrote:As I understand it at most 2 snails are supposed to be in the level at one time given the above. Yet it seems to keep endlessly spawning snails. Am I missing something here?

for e in allEntities(level) do
      for _, t in ipairs(spawnedEntityNames) do
         if (e.name == t) then
            count = count + 1
         end
      end
   end

I just tested monster movement in my dungeon - I went to level 14 and looked at the monsters through the editor map at level 1. It took like a minute for a monster up there to move even a single square. So the game seems to have its own smart method of reducing CPU load for less relevant monsters.

• The level you are in is updated every frame
• The level above is updated every odd frame
• The level below is updated every even frame
• All other levels are updated in a round-robin fashion

Even on a super simple level it looped the second for 117 times. I tried on one of the larger levels and it was a whopping 1968! If only there was an allMonsters function instead of allEntities.