Map assessment and pathing enhancements

[evilgrins]

Leave the Titans as is, but assess away.

This guy does amazing, bizarre, and truly unique maps.

[Nelsona]

What does it needs this map ?
I see paths well executed - okay 20 PlayerStarts aren't used all of them in stock UT, has AlternatePaths... Did I missed something ?

[evilgrins]

What does it needs this map ?
I see paths well executed - okay 20 PlayerStarts aren't used all of them in stock UT, has AlternatePaths... Did I missed something ?

Not if it needs nothing, no.

When I say "assess" I don't necessarily mean the map needs something. I just want you to check it over and make sure it's okay.

So, this map is okay. Cool!

[Nelsona]

I don't know how much interest are you having generally in understanding pathing... but... I think this is the only map where mapper was trying his best in optimizing navigation and items are excepted from navigation - perhaps because are "bEndPoint" or "bEndPointOnly" and tutorials are getting used to deliver FALSE issues at this point, even EPIC mappers could not understand that paths linked are heading to target without problems, but they were charging maps and causing sh!tty loops, even if Polge explained well that an InventorySpot reacts as PathNode. In this map, due to InventorySpot stories and fake news unchanged in some tutorials, mapper simply excepted items creating a network with only 96 Navigation Points resulting in a decent number of paths aka reachSpecs.
The only issue which I see here is UTDMT - read this well. Big moron it's capable to only block space when it's sitting in tunnels after fight and bugging its own team from attacking enemies. In original map there aren't these issues...

Okay, there are 20 PlayerStart actors per team - UT uses 16 but... this doesn't means that a mutator cannot manage to use them as well - we can write such mutators after all...

[evilgrins]

Okay, this map again... and I'd like you to path both a UTDMT and a UTDMS.

I'd like the UTDMT to not simply go back and forth, but to patrol all the way around the base. So there's times where it's not up front, and occasionally players taking the red flag do try to exit out the back. Basically make the Titan walk laps around.

As to the UTDMS , and how you want to is up to you, I'd like it to walk a patrol inside of the base.

Blue Team's base has cannons outside and within, so I wanted the Red Team's base to have "security" inside and out as well.

Any improvement to bot-pathing is up to you... although in the Red Bad just right of where that Skaarj is, bots frequently get stuck running back & forth on that mini/support wall FOREVER.

If possible, don't shrink the Titan. Skaarj is okay, but I like the Big Guy being BIG.

[Nelsona]

Xth TIME: Plain TITAN won't navigate in stock reachSpecs or he gets stuck in whatever area out of navigation directives.
It will require a lot of time for a manual editing of all possible routes for this Big-One (Idiot) and it's not 100% sure that he won't get lost in the wild. Red paths for this Monster are like NONE.
Either way I'm curious what is about with those bad locations...

Another way... I think I'll write something new in PathsLinker. In certain Range if reachSpecs indexes dimensions required will go over stock 70, I must see what can do 227 as native pathing... and if is needed, certain spots are going to be enlarged for these "BIGS" as directives for navigation. Let me see how to get these more simple as possible...

[evilgrins]

Sounds like a plan.

Couldn't say what is about the bad locations, but keep in mind this map was originally thrown together just to display those cannons. Not sure if it was intended long term for actual play. SilverSound, think that was the name, said as much at one time or another on the other forum.

[Nelsona]

Info: Usually I do have a bit of memory when SilverSound said that "too bad that UT is plagued by bad mappers". Oh well, I don't know too much about his place here... because we do have THE BAD News and THE GOOD News.

The Bad News
In the same left area moving from Blue to Red with D3D Render I was locked in place for some reason... not a single time in the same place. I adjusted those trash brushes but still seldom locks are still occurs. D3D9 reacts better... Geometry might be needed to be revised. That UnrealEx Tunnel maker is good at doing GARBAGE not geometry - I'm very serious here.

The Good News
I can demand large navigation specifications, a bunch at once. Results are visible: Big Titan is patrolling helped by these new user Navigation Specifications.
Sample from my specs reporter:

Code: Select all

ReachSpec: 889 : Start = AlternatePath1 End = InventorySpot23 ColRadius = 120 ColHeight = 120 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 21 Pruned = 0.
ReachSpec: 890 : Start = AlternatePath2 End = PathNode26 ColRadius = 120 ColHeight = 120 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 742 Pruned = 1.
ReachSpec: 891 : Start = AlternatePath2 End = PathNode27 ColRadius = 120 ColHeight = 120 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 246 Pruned = 0.
...

I restricted a bit access in tunnels.

Code: Select all

ReachSpec: 858 : Start = PathNode169 End = AlternatePath14 ColRadius = 50 ColHeight = 70 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 420 Pruned = 0.
ReachSpec: 859 : Start = PathNode170 End = PathNode169 ColRadius = 50 ColHeight = 70 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 437 Pruned = 0.
ReachSpec: 860 : Start = PathNode170 End = PathNode171 ColRadius = 50 ColHeight = 70 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 551 Pruned = 0.
ReachSpec: 861 : Start = PathNode171 End = PathNode126 ColRadius = 120 ColHeight = 120 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 711 Pruned = 1.
ReachSpec: 862 : Start = PathNode171 End = PathNode170 ColRadius = 50 ColHeight = 70 ReachFlag = 1 Dist = 551 Pruned = 0.

We do have pruned paths but are not a problem...
I ended with

Code: Select all

XC_ReachSpecsDescriptor: Detected 1552 reachSpecs.
XC_ReachSpecsDescriptor: Direct Paths = 826.
XC_ReachSpecsDescriptor: Pruned Paths = 726.
XC_ReachSpecsDescriptor: Nulled Paths = 0.

These large specs are making Guard Dog to be aggressive... I clap hands...
If anybody else can solve these geometry issues - without touching paths - this map would be good to see. You won't notice Titans often patrolling in original dimensions in more places...
In end, map is miss-balanced, Cannons can be eliminated by enemies but not Monsters. Monsters are re-spawning shortly.
Let me test it more before posting it. Map is not having and RED path - excepting those evil tunnels, it's all enlarged and that's why it has to be well tested...

Edit: Probably ready...

CTF-UTDM-Cannons-SandF_rS1552.7z

(467.49 KiB) Downloaded 131 times

Good ?

[evilgrins]

Okay, there's a few things I wanted to change anyway... I'll do to this one you finished.

[evilgrins]

What I wanted to try works.

You may recall I had been monkeying around with some of ZenCoder's code, and since this map is a bit uneven so far as teams, I wanted to see if I could fix that...

...and it does.

Playerbots put on a map and not forced onto the Gold Team, placed on the Blue Team, and not listed as "Player" on the score board.

Tried a Skaarj Playerbot first, but he was too big to fit through 1 door, so I opted for something smaller.

Only done this with 1 so far, will eventually pick a 2nd.