Natural Selection 3.2, Could there be any problems?... Options

[IHQ-Reima[DWMH]]

Before I update to the 3.2 (and when the public non-beta is out) I want to be sure that the RCBot runs fine on it. Full changelog can be found HERE.

So...would any problems occur?

[Liger_XT5]

I'd like to help in way pointing sometime, but I haven't played NS for awhile and recently got back in, especially after watching the video that came out on the home page.
But I did come across one problem, but from the sound of you guys, I did something wrong, No way point files are loading when I do a lan server. Ill mess with that later.

(edit: It's loading them from the halflife\nsp folder, ill look into this)

Otherwise, how hard would it be to way point the maps when they are completed in the next update?

[LordSkitch]

how hard would it be to way point the maps when they are completed in the next update?

that entirely depends on the maps.

theres a few things that mess with the bots.

complex systems.
these systems (button-activated elevators, moving platforms, airlocks etc) can make map areas inaccessible to bots, cause a lot of the time they cant complete the complex system, even if it is just "run here, hit this button, run back, wait" because they cant "see" where the objects are. whats simple to you or me isnt always simple to bots.

ladders.
theres a few situations where ladders can mess up the bots.

situation 1 - embossed ladder
these ladders stick out and bots can get stuck on the left and right side, and will stare at the ladder waypoint unable to get unstuck. im still not entirely sure how to get around this, other than trying to make the entry path to the ladder as straight as possible

situation 2 - missized ladder
these ladders will have you bouncing on the top as you try to get off of them, the only way ive been able to get the bots to successfully navigate them is by duck-jumping in the air and putting a waypoint there, then setting it to the top ladder waypoint, the bots duck as they go up the ladder and try to go up a little bit after they get to the top

situation 3 - lateral ladder
these ladders are set to the side of the target to go up. the problem with these is the waypoints need to be stuck inside the wall. you need to noclip yourself, move into the wall a ways, then drop the waypoint there.

situation 4 - texture ladder
the ladder is basically just a texture set on the wall, and the trigger texture (which is invisible) is out in front. the bots dont get stuck on these at all, provided the waypoint set is right.

now, whats a good ladder waypoint set?

ladder waypoint set (for texture ladders)
youd probably think i was drunk when i did this, but from my experience waypointing these things, this is the best setup.

1) theres a straight entry onto the ladder, thats especially important with embossed ladders.
2) theres a jump right before the ladder, which will prevent them from getting stuck at the bottom.
3) theres two different waypoints at the top, a wallstick, for skulks (they use ladder waypoints much slower for some reason) and the wallstick really needs to be the first one, then second is the ladder waypoint. the angle seems to be better when its further back, which is why the wallstick should be first.
4) the extension waypoint. bots try to take the shortest path to their target. if a skulk thinks the ladder waypoint is in that path, theyll use the ladder, and go really slow up it. so this extension makes that path decidedly longer, and skulks wont use it, it adds one or two steps to the rest of the bots, so its not slowing them down really.
5) the path continues to wherever it needs to go, in this case, i just made it a loop.

Drop-offs
a lot of maps have areas that will have your bots dropping off into a pit and dying, it can be hard to have these running right especially with skulks that have celerity as they seem to run in analog lines around the paths sometimes. you just need to keep honing those till they work right.




those are just some of the random things i could think of that would make a map hard to waypoint. im sure its all way more information than you wanted to know, but regardless of it, ill probably have the maps waypointed and on here the same day that 3.2 comes out. keep in mind they wont be done, ive got waypoint sets i started in february of 2002 that arent "done" cause i keep finding parts where the bots get stuck or a part that could be done better, etc.