Easy Alert AI Recipe

[Sotha]

Often when mapper put relaxing AI in the map, they forget to give them tasks what to do if they get alerted.

 

Cardplayers will play cards. Then they get alerted and throw their cards to the floor. Once they relax again, they just go back to their chairs and sit with their swords in their hands. BAD! They should be doing something instead of sitting, the taffing slackers!

 

Here is an Easy Recipe how to get them to work if they are alerted!

 

1) Put cardplayers into the mission. Name them cardplayer1 and cardplayer2. Put them into the chairs with "sitting 1" spawnarg. Give them no targets. (You could examine the exact setup in the Ulysses: Protecting the Flock .pk4.)

 

2) Add a trigger_timer in your mission.

Name it "cardplayer_status_query_timer"

Give it "start_on 1", "wait 1". Now it is on all the time and trigger something once per second.

 

3) Add a atdm:target_callscriptfunction.

Name it "cardplayer_status_query"

Give it "call check_cardplayer_alert"

 

4) Have "cardplayer_status_query_timer" target "cardplayer_status_query"

 

5) make a script file for your map. Into it put the following script:

 

 

void check_cardplayer_alert()			//If cardplayers are alerted, give em new targets.
{

        float alert_lev = $cardplayer1.getAlertLevelOfOtherAI($cardplayer1);

        
        if ( alert_lev >= $cardplayer1.getFloatKey("alert_thresh3") )
        {
		sys.println("Giving cardplayers new targets");
		$cardplayer_status_query_timer.remove();

		$cardplayer1.addTarget($cardplayer1_watch_position);
		$cardplayer2.addTarget($cardplayer2_watch_position);		
        }

}

 

 

 

5) Add paths to your map, named "cardplayer1_watch_position" and "cardplayer2_watch_position" and put these to do the activity you would like the alerted AI to do.

 

6) You could make it more likely that the cardplayers get alerted: put an alarm entity into the room they are in. Or put a flee_point there, and make sure some AI are set to flee as soon as they see the player.

 

How the whole thing works?

The script shown is fired once per second by the entities set up in steps 2,3 and 4. It asks the cardplayer1 AI if his alert level is over "alert_thresh3", which is the alert level where the AI drops stuff (cards, bottles) and pulls their sword out.

 

If this happens, all the AI's playing cards (cardplayer1 AND 2) are given new targets "cardplayer1_watch_position". You need to add these paths to your map. The paths will send the alerted AI to do what you want, usually to a RIT network or the AI's could stand guard to a map choke point.

 

The script also removes the "cardplayer_status_query_timer", which means that it will no longer ask the AI about their alerts: it has already fulfilled it's need.

 

Enjoy!

 

Previously in the Easy Recipe series:

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/16160-easy-bush-recipe/

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/16159-easy-outdoors-recipe/

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/14859-easy-vault-recipe/

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/14469-quick-caverns-recipe/

[Destined]

Your Easy Recipe series is very nice! Saves a lot of time for a newbie like me! Keep up the good work

Edited May 21, 2015 by Destined

[grayman]

Ekssssselent!

[Springheel]

Can't alert idle path nodes do the same thing?

[Sotha]

Can't alert idle path nodes do the same thing?

Possibly. I've not tested it. The path method, I think, would require the AI to get up occasionally, so that they get back to the crossroad where they choose idle only or alert only path.

 

I think one could use path_waitfortrigger instead of adding targets, but the alert catching would work the same way.

 

AI alert can also be catched with the objectives system, but this is unreliable (the objective does not always fire). I reported it a while ago.

 

The effect can be achieved with a multiple way, this is one of them I know that works.

[Springheel]

Possibly. I've not tested it. The path method, I think, would require the AI to get up occasionally, so that they get back to the crossroad where they choose idle only or alert only path.

 

 

In your example above, you would put an "idle_only" spawnarg on the sitting path, and then "alert_only" (or whatever the correct syntax is) on the pathnodes you want them to use when alerted. As soon as they're alerted and calm back down, they'll ignore the sitting and go to the first "alert_only". The only thing I'm not sure of is whether alert_only kicks in at alert level 3 or 4. It might only kick in once they hit 4. It would be cool to have control over that.

 

For reference, the wiki:

 

There are now two new spawnargs, "alert_idle_only" and "idle_only" that can be set on path nodes. The nodes are then only chosen when the AI is in that state. For example, if you set a path_corner as "idle_only", then the AI will no longer go to that path node when it has been alerted. This allows the mapper to set a complete set of alternate patrols and actions for AI who have been alerted (like sending them to guard important areas).