Prefabs
How To Rez
Game Design
modmaker's Resume
How to Skin
Tools Downloads
Links

News Briefing

Introduction

  • Learning Curve
  • Lith Tools Overview
  • Download the SDK
  • Installing the Tools
  • Dedit Basics
  • Your First Level
  • Expanding a World
  • Building on the Grid
  • KeyBoard Shortcuts
  • Edit Modes
  • Eradicating Leaks
  • World Scale
  • First Level Basics

  • Textures/Surface Flags
  • 4 Types of Doors
  • Making Windows
  • Grates and Railings
  • Stairs, Lifts & Ramps
  • Lights, dirlights, FX
  • Water & Rain Volumes
  • Sky Boxes / Portals
  • A basic Trigger
  • The Wall Switch
  • Adding Pickups
  • Proptypes vs Props
  • StarlightView Mode
  • Muliplayer/ SinglePlayer
  • Second Level Intermediate

  • Prefab Advantage
  • A Prefab Deconstruct
  • Adding Sound FX
  • Hacking Device
  • Torchable Lock
  • Complex Trigger
  • Active Props
  • Light Groups
  • Particle FX
  • Client FX Light
  • Third Level Intermediate

  • AI Basics
  • AI Volumes and Nodes
  • Simple AI Alien
  • Character AI
  • Goal: Patrol
  • Keyframer
  • Advanced Level Building

  • -nosnapnocsg
  • Optimizing a level
  • Importing Terrain
  • Using the Camera
  • A Cinematic
  • Giving AI a script
  • Convoluted trigger
  • Random Events
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    AI Basics

    • AI Volumes
    • AI Nodes
    • AI Goals
    • AI Characters
    What you've been waiting for. You can just drop AI into a map and it will practically work. The important thing to realize AI has two broad groups, allies and enemies. Allies wont attack you. AI without weapons wont attack you.

    This is a basic overview. As you study these terms in more detail it should all become more clear.

    AI Volumes

    Most of the AI must have an AI Volume to function within. This basically tells the AI where they can go. Thus AI vloumes should not pass through walls and geometry like crates and vehicles, cause then an AI will get stuck there.

    AI Nodes

    Nodes are more specific points within AI Volumes that give specific purpose to the AI.

    Example: "At this point, you will crouch down and take cover from the player shooting at you"

    AICOVERNODE is placed behind a crate,

    AI SNIPE NODE

    AI PATROL NODE

    AI ALARM NODE

    AI Goals

    You would probably want AI to behave differently. Some may attack, while others take defensive positions and snipe from cover. You use goals within the AI's properties tab to differentiate and depending of the goals the AI use different Nodes. Conceptually pretty simple.

    AI Characters

    The actual Character choices influence the AI's behaviour as well. Most Corporates have a better interaction pattern then do the Marines in the original AvP2 game. That's because they were the enemy for the player, and coded. Most the Marines were merely used in Cut Scenes and there involvement was more scripted. Characters are given goals and brains and there are a multitude of options to make them quite interactive.

    Why does AvP2 not have BOTS?

    One its not coded in the source. The AI could actually behave like deathmatch bots, they already have significant interaction so it is possible, regardless what some un-educated people might say. AI's are coded to handle themselves fairly well with the existing code. Nonetheless they do need some tweaks. LAST ONE OUT has included a couple DEATHMATCH scenarios to prove that the AVP2 AI is quite capable of holding its own. Unfortunately without the source they can not be put into existing MP maps using some menu setup, but rather included in SP skirmish maps only.

     
    Copyright 2001-2002 William "modmaker" Bostjan All Rights Reserved.