T3D's AI System

#1 I think they said AI is someway off and they aren't sure what it'll be like. Even so, I wouldn't expect drag-and-drop.

#2 though i dont see how adding a aispawner and maybe a small set of behaviours could be terribly difficult... for out of the box

#3 Which is Stronghold - even if the only behaviour was running around in a big circle as target practise.

It's still the basis I built my AI on. :)

#4 well i wouldnt call a dumb ai running on a path i would just call it a object being pathed.. aigaurd /ai patrol would and should be a standard in the demo... 1 pathed guy, 1 guard guy... 1 patrol guy. thats a nice starter for any fps kit.

#5 I agree! I just think it would be nice to see an AI system were you just link the behaviors like dunia engine. Maybe a stock aiguard, aipathed, and aipatroled models, and leave the visual flowchart editor for making the AI to the users needs!

#6

Quote: which is the method used in Farcry and cry engine 2 and a few other engines.

Whats wrong with this method? Looks a lot easier then coding it directly in script. I wish they would go the editor route myself, I think it would make for a much more easier get-up-and-go kinda AI.

Will

#7 @Will
I think mostly the whole GG community would like to see an AI editor integrated into Torque, that works out of the box :D, I know it would save me a lot of time :). But making such a system is a gargantuan task in itself. In my opinion torque will eventually reach that level, but it will probably be some time before we see something along those lines.

#8 One of the reasons i started with GG was I had asked about AI, and someone posted that they had an AI package that would be ready for TGE. That was in 2005.

That being said, the more I learned, the more I really do not want an out of the box AI system. I believe AI more than anything else is what sets your game off as unique. A std stock AI and you end up with Crysis where everything is nothing more than a mod.

#9 Agreeing with Randy, AI is very game specific.
Which is kinda stating the bleeding obvious really but hey ....

#10 Me, I throw my 2c in with Randy and Steve. Out of the box in-editor node/spawn placement would be cool -- wait we already got that, sort of. But out-of-the-box cookie-cutter/mod AI functionality == no!

#11 Something would be nice at least.

If not out-of-the-box functionality, a kit or some good resources.

#12 An out of the box "game specific" AI system likely wouldn't make much sense, I agree on that.
But what would make sense is adding capabilities that are required by any AI system. Things like the following

1. Base System with connectors, a base AI block that can be extended to create specific blocks (Fuzzy logic, NN, RBS, ...) that then could be used by the AI base system.
2. Tightly integrated path finding
3. What I would like to see are some basic "living beeing senses" / detectors like View and Hear, again extended from a base sense, to be also expandable for specific needs.

#13

Quote:A std stock AI and you end up with Crysis where everything is nothing more than a mod.

But for some, code challenged types, it might be the difference between putting out a functional game or not.

And on the point about a lot of games ending up looking the same... look at it this way: in a desert of mediocrity the unique gems will stand out and shine all the more.

Some very basic stuff one can use as is, or use as a foundation to expand and build on, or ignore completely, would not be a bad thing I don't think.

#14 Thanks everyone,
Since torque 3d will more than likely not have A.I out-the-box. What would the community think an A.I system/engine similiar to the one mentioned above as a content pack. Out-the-box with a stock aiguard, aipathed, and aipatroled. Plus, what Mark suggested

Quote:
1. Base System with connectors, a base AI block that can be extended to create specific blocks (Fuzzy logic, NN, RBS, ...) that then could be used by the AI base system.
2. Tightly integrated path finding
3. What I would like to see are some basic "living beeing senses" / detectors like View and Hear, again extended from a base sense, to be also expandable for specific needs.

Also, with this pack there could be game specific A.I flowchart plug-in packs(sold seperately) for a specific type of genre. Example if you want to make a RPG then you would buy the A.I plug-ins for an RPG. If you wanted to do a FPS like call of duty, then you would buy the plug-ins that are for that specific genre. That way people or not buying A.I that they will not be using.

thanks

#15 I've somewhat been experimenting with some basic AI in the FPS kit for Torque 3D. What I have so far is a kludge of examples from AI programming books, flocking/swarm AI, Killer Korc, and the Improved AI Guard resource. I've put that much together since yesterday. I doubt it will get included in time for a beta release and I also haven't really been pursuing it all that seriously - nor do I desire to - hopefully someone more knowledgeable in AI will create an AI pack or resource instead. Definable AI type spawn points is easy, but real path-finding and smart behavior just blows my mind ;)

I can say that a bot with a rocketlauncher running through the Undercity level is a very dangerous bot. But stick one outside like in the Warrior Camp level and you can run circles around the dumb sucker.

#16 @Gerry,

I can understand wanting an AI pack, but I guess what I am saying is it is not something I would consider a "core" part of a game engine. Since most will heavily modify or change or even remove it, would not make sense for GG to spend a lot of time on.

To create a successful game, someone on your team will have to know code, whether it is in the core or a kit. As chances are something will not be what you want it to be or do. I really can't vision someone forking over $1000 without having a plan for making changes to the code or script. Even with a scripted AI, you will have to code to get the game play, scoring and other aspects in the game.

@Michael,

I have been playing as well. If you find any info on how people have used the event manager, would you mind passing my way? Having found it being used much myself.

#17 SOAR - AI Engine developed by the University Of Michigan

site here

Search google for soars and will find a lot of PDF papers on it

#18 @Randy: I'll see what I can dig up, that's kind of in a gray area for me, mostly because I haven't seen it used much myself. Maybe Michael Perry's awesome documentation will address that aspect of Torque 3d also.

#19 We are working on an AI system for torque, I posted some initial information on my last blog www.garagegames.com/community/blog/view/16925, initially it was meant to just be for our game but with the interest shown we've decided that if there is still a need for a good pathfinding solution (i.e. nobody else has released one) by the time we're finished then we'll release ours as an A.I. pack/resource.

It's based on TGEA at the moment but the editing side is very similar to some of functionality being shown for the river/road editors with adding additional nodes/sections.

#20 @Michael,

No problem.... I am just piddling waiting for T3D, and yes I do hope it has more documentation on some of these features on they could possibly be used.

Of course I have read the code and have got something working using it, but it's not pretty by any means:)

@Luis,

yes there are 3rd party open source options. There is also the FEAR SDK you can use for information.