Possible solution to JA's terrible NPC way-pointing?

[ensiform]

Nope.  And Nav Meshes in all likelihood wouldn't be integrated into the editor.  It'd be a process in the map when being run and then can be saved.

[mrwonko]

It should be integrated in the editor, anything else is tedious. I need to write my own editor some day...

[ensiform]

Care to explain why it should be in the editor?

[mrwonko]

Because it's something that might need manual adjustment ("editing", one might say), which is an editor's domain. I was thinking of Skyrim's Editor as an example, which includes functionality for generating navmeshes which can then be tweaked by hand.

[Cerez]

The solution to fix JA's terrible waypointing is to...fix JA's terrible waypointing. The problem (and I've always asserted this, over and over) is the terrible waypointing that is done in the maps. Do you want an example of AI that is perfectly waypointed? Try looking at what JK2 did with their maps. A lot of this can be fixed with map modding. Granted, the code in JKA is a bit different, getting it to be at JK2-level isn't hard.

While I agree with this, I believe, as @@NumberWan has also pointed out, that the current AI is unreliable in following those waypoints as expected, especially when it comes to choosing a path, or walking from point to point before changing direction.

 

If it's going to be fixed in such a way, the NPC AI needs to behave more reliable about it, and follow direction. What we have at the moment is a transitional thing, where we set fixed waypoints, and then the NPC decides to do what they like with them (or between them) -- which is not helpful. Not to mention that because of this freedom in logic, they often tend to get stuck at a waypoint, or behave ridiculously walking back and forth.

 

It should be either pre-defined, or automatic behaviour, but it needs to be easy to use/switch and reliable for us to be able to use it in more advanced ways, and script more intelligent and lively NPCs.

[eezstreet]

While I agree with this, I believe, as @@NumberWan has also pointed out, that the current AI is unreliable in following those waypoints as expected, especially when it comes to choosing a path, or walking from point to point before changing direction.

 

If it's going to be fixed in such a way, the NPC AI needs to behave more reliable about it, and follow direction. What we have at the moment is a transitional thing, where we set fixed waypoints, and then the NPC decides to do what they like with them (or between them) -- which is not helpful. Not to mention that because of this freedom in logic, they often tend to get stuck at a waypoint, or behave ridiculously walking back and forth.

 

It should be either pre-defined, or automatic behaviour, but it needs to be easy to use/switch and reliable for us to be able to use it in more advanced ways, and script more intelligent and lively NPCs.

Well either way, it's not a problem of the AI. The AI hasn't really changed between games, it's the pathfinding that has.

[Cerez]

Well either way, it's not a problem of the AI. The AI hasn't really changed between games, it's the pathfinding that has.

Whatever it is, it's causing the waypointing system to be unreliable.