1000+ swarm enemies in a plain Unity GameObject project, at frame rate. No DOTS, no NavMeshAgent, no AI framework, no paid add-ons. Built for survivor-likes, bullet-heaven, and zombie hordes.Requires URP. Tested on Unity 2022.3 LTS and Unity 6 LTS. Swarm visuals use a URP-only VAT shader. Built-in RP and HDRP aren't supported (agents render magenta without URP). The simulation core is pipeline-agnostic and compiles without URP, so you can supply your own materials.🚀 Built for Unity 2022.3 LTS, ready for Unity 6.Massive Swarm System drops a thousand-plus enemies into a plain Unity GameObject project and holds your frame rate while they swarm. It's the missing piece for games where the threat is the crowd itself.One Swarm Manager ticks the whole swarm in a single loop: no per-agent Update, no DOTS or ECS rewrite, no NavMeshAgent baking. Everything is in the box: simulation, navigation, spawning, behaviors, and the VAT animation baking tools, with nothing else to buy. The core runtime references nothing beyond the engine, so it compiles in a bare project. Agents chase, surround, hold their spacing, and pile on pressure as a crowd, all driven by data instead of a script on every enemy. You stay in the GameObject workflow you already know.It's made for survivor-likes, bullet-heaven games, zombie hordes, and arena survival: any 3D game where the pressure comes from sheer numbers and how they move, not from per-unit orders or scripted set pieces.🎮 Play the demo | 💬 Discord | 📕 Manual | ▶️ Video Tutorials🐝 At a glance1000+ agents at frame rate from a single centralized simulation tickEverything included: no paid add-ons, no GPU instancing or animation packages to buyPlain GameObject workflow: no DOTS, ECS, or extra packages for the core runtimeApproach & Press, Personal Space, Orbit Style, and Retreat behaviors out of the boxImportance LOD keeps a pile-on around the player inside the frame budgetSimulation and visuals decoupled: render with pooled MeshRenderers (SRP Batcher) or GPU-instanced VAT.One-click setup and a scene-view overlay get your first swarm running in minutesSurface Flow Field navigation for levels with walls, stairs, and uneven floors⚙️ Performance & scaleMeasured on named hardware in a release build: 3,848 agents at 63 FPS (15.8 ms) in the Pyramid demo scene, with every one of them on screen. Intel i7-10700K, NVIDIA RTX 3080, Unity 2022.3.62f2, 1440p on the High Fidelity tier with dynamic shadows and camera effects on. Download the same demo and read the same counter yourself.It holds up on a phone too. A release APK runs 1,124 agents at 40 FPS on an OPPO A74 5G, Performant tier, 1440p at 60% render scale, with shadows and camera effects on and the player alive in a dense crowd.Manager-driven simulation: the whole swarm updates in one tick, with no per-agent Update, FixedUpdate, or LateUpdateDense internal agent data built for scalable movement and behaviorSpatial grid for spacing, neighbor checks, and body blockingImportance LOD tiers that scale behavior and visual cost by how much each agent mattersInspector performance hints and a live stats overlay to measure and tune on-device🧠 Behaviors & navigationSeven behavior passes you mix per archetype: Approach & Press, Personal Space, Retreat, Group Pull, Predictive Catch-Up, Orbit Style, and Idle MotionScriptableObject movement and behavior profiles you tune in the inspectorAutomatic target registration with multi-target support and retargeting hysteresisSurface Flow Field navigation for walls, stairs, and uneven floors🎛️ Spawning & setupRect and ring shape spawnersA Spawner Director to coordinate multiple spawners for ambushes and maintained hordesAgent archetypes bundling prefab, radius, push resistance, and the movement, behavior and attack profilesWelcome window, scene-view create buttons, and an archetype wizard with five ready presets: Zombie Horde, Sword Mob, Skittering Bug, Ranged Skirmisher, and Custom (Defaults)🎨 Visuals & renderingPooled visual GameObjects that follow the simulation dataVisual interpolation for smooth movement at any tick rateOptional Animator-based visual syncingOptional VAT animation workflow for high-count animated enemies, with VAT Baker tools included and an SRP Batcher compatible shader🧰 Damage, source & integrationAttack profiles with optional swing and contact damage, each with its own reach, timing and pushback strengthDamage interfaces that hand your own health system the hit point, direction, normal and pushback strength, so the reactions stay yoursKnockback runs both ways. One call sends agents flying, and you set how long before their own steering takes back overFull C# source, no DLLsCore runtime is render-pipeline-agnostic and references nothing beyond the engine, with the optional Input System helpers in a separate assembly. The included visuals need URP, because the VAT shader is URP-onlyThe samples ask for more, all of it free: StarterKit wants TextMeshPro, and FullDemo wants TextMeshPro, Cinemachine 3.x and the Input System. Delete a sample folder and its requirement goes with itDebug tools and gizmos, sample scenes and prefabs, and offline documentation💬 Support: Discord | Support page | support@creativespore.com🌐 Web: www.creativespore.com🐦 Twitter: @CreativeSporeKey features:Manager-driven swarm simulationNo per-agent Update, FixedUpdate, or LateUpdate simulation logicNo DOTS, ECS, Jobs/Burst, or NavMeshAgent requiredGameObject-based workflowFull C# source, no DLLsDense internal agent data for scalable movement and behaviorSpatial grid for spacing, neighbor checks, and body blockingObstacle blocking against your own collider layersGround probing so agents follow uneven terrain and stairsScriptableObject movement profilesScriptableObject behavior profilesAgent archetypes for prefab, radius, push resistance, and the movement, behavior and attack profilesRect and ring spawnersSpawner director for coordinating multiple spawnersAutomatic target registrationMulti-target support with retargeting hysteresisSeven behavior passes: Approach & Press, Personal Space, Retreat, Group Pull, Predictive Catch-Up, Orbit Style, and Idle MotionImportance LOD tiers for behavior and visual cost controlPooled visual GameObjectsVisual interpolation and extrapolation supportOptional Animator-based visual syncingOptional VAT animation workflow for high-count animated enemiesVAT Baker tools includedSRP Batcher compatible VAT shaderOptional swing damage profilesOptional contact damage profilesDamage interfaces carrying hit point, direction, normal and pushback strengthAgent knockback API with a tunable external-control windowSurface Flow Field navigation supportDebug tools and gizmosRuntime stats overlay for on-device measurementInspector performance hintsWelcome window and setup helpersArchetype wizard with five ready presetsSample scenesSample prefabsDefault settings and profilesOffline documentationCore runtime is render-pipeline agnosticOptional Input System helpers are isolated in separate assembliesCompatibility:Built for Unity 2022.3 LTSUnity 6 compatible / validation recommended before submissionVerified on Unity 6 with a clean project importURP required for the included swarm visuals (the VAT shader is URP-only)Core simulation is render-pipeline agnostic if you supply your own materialsSamples need free packages: StarterKit uses TextMeshPro, and FullDemo uses TextMeshPro, Cinemachine 3.x and the Input SystemOptional helper content can be removed if not neededEvery sample is a folder you can delete, and its package requirement goes with itDesktop and Android, with the mobile numbers measured on a release APKI designed this package and I wrote the code that ships in it.I use Claude CLI (Anthropic) the way I use a profiler or an IDE. It helps me iterate on code and argue through a refactor before I commit to one. Documentation it drafts, I rewrite. Where it earns its keep most is catching that a tooltip, an inspector label and the manual page have drifted apart.Nothing goes in unread. Every line I keep runs in the editor first, and gets reshaped where it does not fit the rules this package is built on, such as no per-agent Update and no allocations inside the simulation loop.Some character models in the sample scenes started in Meshy.ai. They are sample content and never part of the runtime, and I finished each one myself: cleanup, materials, and baking through the VAT pipeline that ships with the asset.The performance numbers on this page were measured on named hardware in release builds, not estimated.
