Horde & Wave Spawning System

VerifiedSafe

Wave spawning system for Tower Defense and Survival games. Configures waves, enemy types, intervals, and difficulty scaling via ScriptableObjects. Use for timed enemy assaults, Horde Mode, or Boss Waves.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
6/2/2026
Claude Code
#spawner#horde#waves#enemies#tower-defense

Recommended for

Automated summary

Wave spawning system for Tower Defense and survival games using ScriptableObject configurations.

Strengths

  • Uses ScriptableObjects for designer-friendly configuration without code
  • Clear separation between controller, config, and spawner logic
  • Encourages object pooling for performance
  • Customizable waves with spawn rate and enemy types

Limitations

  • Requires a separate object pooling system implementation
  • Does not handle enemy behavior after spawning
  • No built-in difficulty scaling across waves
When to use it

Use this pattern for any game requiring timed, scripted enemy waves (Tower Defense, Horde Mode).

When not to use it

Avoid if your game does not need structured waves or uses event-based non-timed spawning.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score92/100

The skill provides game development design patterns with C# code examples. It does not instruct any destructive, exfiltrating, or unsafe operations. The allowed tools (run_command, list_dir, write_to_file) are typical for a coding agent and are not misused in this context.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Wave Config Data
Create data for a wave. Use a ScriptableObject with fields for enemy prefab, count, and spawn rate.
Spawner Logic
Write a coroutine that spawns a wave of enemies with a configurable delay between each spawn.

name: horde-wave-logic description: "Wave spawning system for Tower Defense and Survival games. Configurable waves, enemy types, intervals, and difficulty scaling." version: 1.0.0 tags: ["spawner", "horde", "waves", "enemies", "tower-defense"] argument-hint: "action='StartWave' config='Wave1' OR spawn='Zombie_Fast'" disable-model-invocation: false user-invocable: true allowed-tools:

  • run_command
  • list_dir
  • write_to_file

Horde & Wave Logic

Overview

Manages the pacing and spawning of enemy units. Uses ScriptableObjects to define wave configurations, allowing designers to tweak difficulty without touching code.

When to Use

  • Use for Tower Defense games
  • Use for "Horde Mode" survival
  • Use for timed enemy assaults
  • Use for testing combat balance
  • Use for creating "Boss Waves"

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    WAVE CONTROLLER                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  WAVE CONFIG (Asset)      SPAWNER (MonoBehaviour)           │
│  ┌────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐      │
│  │ Wave 1:        │      │ State: Waiting/Spawning   │      │
│  │ - 10 Zombies   │─────▶│ Timer: 30s                │      │
│  │ - Rate: 0.5s   │      │ Coroutine: SpawnLoop()    │      │
│  └────────────────┘      └─────────────┬─────────────┘      │
│                                        │                    │
│                                        ▼                    │
│    OBJECT POOL            ┌───────────────────────────┐     │
│  ┌────────────────┐       │ Instantiate / GetFromPool │     │
│  │ Zombie Prefab  │◀──────│ Set Position (SpawnPoint) │     │
│  └────────────────┘       └───────────────────────────┘     │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Best Practices

  • ✅ Use Object Pooling for enemies (Critical for performance).
  • ✅ Define Waves as ScriptableObjects (List of Waves).
  • ✅ Include "Warmup" time between waves.
  • ✅ Support multiple Spawn Points.
  • ✅ Implement "Wave Cleared" logic (Track active enemy count).
  • ❌ NEVER Instantiate enemies during the loop without pooling.
  • ❌ NEVER use InvokeRepeating (hard to control); use Coroutines.

Few-Shot Examples

Example 1: Wave Config Data

User: "Create data for a wave."

Agent:

[CreateAssetMenu]
public class WaveData : ScriptableObject
{
    public GameObject EnemyPrefab;
    public int Count;
    public float SpawnRate;
}

Example 2: Spawner Logic

User: "Spawn the wave."

Agent:

IEnumerator SpawnWave(WaveData wave)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < wave.Count; i++)
    {
        SpawnEnemy(wave.EnemyPrefab);
        yield return new WaitForSeconds(wave.SpawnRate);
    }
}

Related Skills

  • @object-pooling-system - Required for spawner
  • @unit-population-ai - AI for spawned units
  • @unity-events-messaging - "Wave Start/End" events

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/download' --output '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/horde-wave-logic' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm' '.claude/skills/horde-wave-logic'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm'

openskills read 'horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/horde-wave-spawning-system-mm8o51tm/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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