Baldwin
Lost Soul
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 Friday, December 31, 2010
Start : Load your map with devmap. Join and type in the console: "makenodes" to create a new file from scratch (will delete the current nav file at saving, if any) or "editnodes" to modify the currently loaded nodes.
- Walk around your map dropping nodes: As you walk, the game will be dropping navigation nodes. These nodes are used by the bots to move. Each time a node is dropped the code tries to determine what type of movement is required to move from the previous node to the new one, and it's guess is printed in the chat screen. This only applies to 'normal' movements, other movements like func_plats, teleporters and jumpads aren't guessed, but directly created by the code, so when going through them it will always be print as LINK_INVALID. Also, LINK_JUMP will never be print, they are found before saving by checking all the nodes together.
The only LINK_INVALID you have to worry about is when turning around a corner, if one node doesn't see the other, and there isn't a third node so the bot can use it as union, the bot will probably never choose that path. In this situation you can force a new node to be dropped by typing in the console "addnode". The node will be dropped right at your current position.
For midair maps, which doesn't use any item, we need to add goals so the bots find some place to go. We use misc_botroam entities for this purpose. They can also be dropped from the console by typing "addbotroam". NOTE: Our botroams don't act the same as Quake 3 bot roams. Items, even the less interesting one, will always have priority over a bot roam for us, so bot roams will be ignored as long as the bot finds any reachable item to go for.
- Save the nav file: Once you are done walking around and you don't see any more "Dropped node" prints, but only links prints, you can save the navigation file by typing in the console: "savenodes". The code will find any possible link between all the nodes, cathegorize it, and save it into a file.
- Review : With the saved navigation file, you can, if you want to review the links, type in the console "showplinks" (NOTE: see EDIT2). This will show lines from the closer node to you, to each node linked from it. If you go walking around you will see the possibilities to move from each place. Type "showplinks" again to disable it.
- You can callvote addbots now
Postscript: Don't try to force the bots to follow a path by giving them few options. That was okay with some Q2 bots which used a similar system for dropping the nodes, but their pathing algorithms weren't even similar to Warsow's one. Just make sure all the map has nodes and let the bots do their own decissions.
EDIT These are commands for bot debugging (to use after the nav file has been saved):
- botdebug : enables/disables debugging mode. It's a toggle command. Without it, the following commands don't work.
- bot_showlrgoal : it's a cvar. When set to 1, and botdebug enabled, if you are chasecamming a bot, it will print you his "Long Range" goal decissions (meaning, what item is going to search next). - bot_showpath : a cvar. When set to 1, and botdebug enabled, if you are chasecamming a bot it will draw the path the bot is following.
- bot_showsrgoal and bot_showcombat are another two cvars, they served a purpose in a past, but they are quite lacking in identifiable function now.
Since version 0.3 the command showplinks has been removed. The following commands were added: - showclosestnode : shows closest node always, and if links are compiled (nav is saved) also the plinks for the closest node. The command can be enabled during dropping nodes mode. - deleteclosestnode : deletes closest node - botnotarget : bots don't attack you
These are more commands for bot debugging: - botdebug : enables/disables debugging mode. It's a toggle command. - bot_showlrgoal : it's a cvar. When set to 1, and sv botdebug enabled, if you are chasecamming a bot, it will print you his "Long Range" goal decissions (meaning, what item is going to search next). - bot_showpath : a cvar. When set to 1, and sv botdebug enabled, if you are chasecamming a bot it will draw the path the bot is following.
- bot_showsrgoal and bot_showcombat are another two cvars, they served a purpose in a past, but they are quite lacking in identifiable function now.
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Jamaicabronx
