New Bot AI Progress

[jitspoe]

For the next version, I'm focusing on AI.  This is going to be a challenge, and I'm not sure when I'll have anything worth releasing, so I figured I'd create this thread to keep everybody updated on what the status is:

Done:

- Remove/Disable ACEBots
- Create new DLL
- Load DLL from game and update it
- Spawn AI player
- Wandering with no navmesh

To Do:

- Awareness of other players
- Game mode objectives
- Aiming
- Shooting
- Basic navigation
- Storage and loading of map navigation info
- Strafe jumping
- Dodging
- Neural network learning behavior?
- Personality
- Communication
- Handle map switching
- Linux support
- Probably a whole lot more

[ViciouZ]

When you've finalised the interface could you release a gamex86.DLL and put the AI library source up in the CVS? Would love to have a go at this

[luckmore]

I really dont understand why people voted for this. There are so many other things that could be done before this.

[BASEBALLDUDE]

Good luck Jitspoe! It will be epic when the new bot system is released to the public.

[Bitius]

Also, good luck jitspoe.Have fun developing

[jitspoe]

When you've finalised the interface could you release a gamex86.DLL and put the AI library source up in the CVS? Would love to have a go at this

I doubt it will ever be "finalized".  There will likely be a frequent need to add or change things.  I probably won't be able to release it until the next version is about done.

I really dont understand why people voted for this. There are so many other things that could be done before this.

A lot of people don't want to jump right in and get murdered by experienced players.  I believe it's the most requested thing on the uninstall survey.

[ic3y]

I really dont understand why people voted for this. There are so many other things that could be done before this.

Bots are useless. Jump Mod would be much better

[jitspoe]

Already better than acebots? 

[Bitius]

They're celebrating about the new AI they're getting

[TRION]

Please add a customizable pathways too like .naz files.. So mappers can make a file for bots too

[jitspoe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCUpvfAZ4l8 - better with music.

I haven't decided how I'm going to handle the navigation stuff yet.  It's probably going to be a mixture of "learning" player paths and blindly stumbling around places that don't have player paths.

My initial thought was to record player input as they strafe jumped around the map, then develop paths of recorded input, so the bots could strafe jump like players.  Problems with that include:
 - Bot paths limited to exactly the paths players have taken.  No room for slight variations to avoid lines and such.
 - Data storage for these paths could be really large.
 - Bots won't discover new, non-recorded paths.
 - Aiming and shooting while on a strafe-jump path will break it, since strafe jumping depends on look direction.

[JMR]

Haha! Very nice jitspoe.

- Aiming and shooting while on a strafe-jump path will break it, since strafe jumping depends on look direction.

Hmm, for bots, maybe make up a separate way they shoot? So the player model rotates to the way they are looking, but the way they are aiming doesn't effect the path they go. So you basically have two different systems, 1 for aiming and rotating player model, the other just for moving the bot towards the navigation file, with maybe a spread of some kind (record multiple variations of the same jump and randomize it.)

[BASEBALLDUDE]

Haha! Very nice jitspoe.Hmm, for bots, maybe make up a separate way they shoot? So the player model rotates to the way they are looking, but the way they are aiming doesn't effect the path they go. So you basically have two different systems, 1 for aiming and rotating player model, the other just for moving the bot towards the navigation file, with maybe a spread of some kind (record multiple variations of the same jump and randomize it.)

That's a good idea, but there's one major flaw with that idea. If the boys were to pivot and aim somewhere else while maintaining the strafe jump, that would give them an unfair advantage over the humans because we can't do that.

Instead, I'd like to propose an alternate solution. Jitspoe was talking about giving the bots "personalities" so that not all bots behave the same way. I like this idea, and depending on the bot's personality, it would either neglect to shoot in order to maintain the strafe or break the strafe to shoot.

[jitspoe]

Updated the original post.

Completed:

- Wandering with no navmesh

Bots send out traces to avoid running into walls and aimlessly wander around the map randomly.

To Do:

- Handle map switching

Currently, on map switches, all the bots drop out but do not get reloaded (but the botlib still thinks they're there).

[CyberZTec]

Jump Mod would be much better

This.

[BASEBALLDUDE]

Keep up the good work Jitspoe!

[Foxhound]

I really dont understand why people voted for this. There are so many other things that could be done before this.

Horde mode!!!! I'll play again.

[BASEBALLDUDE]

How's the progress going jitspoe?

[jitspoe]

Haven't been working on the bots much recently.  I've been messing around with stars and trying to fix bsp compiler issues.

I've started on a system to record player input, but haven't gotten very far on it.

[FusSioN]

Should fix this: Players can get into a passworded server full of bots :p