mirror of https://github.com/TTimo/GtkRadiant.git
654 lines
24 KiB
HTML
654 lines
24 KiB
HTML
<html>
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<head>
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<title>Q3Radiant Editor Manual: Appendix C</title>
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<link rel = "stylesheet" type = "text/css" href = "../styles/q3rad.css">
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1 class = "MsoTitle">Q3Radiant Editor Manual</h1>
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<hr>
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<h1>Appendix C: Bot Navigation Files</h1>
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(Original Document Title: BSP Converter)
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<br><table>
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<tr>
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<td>Version:</td>
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<td width = 60%>= 1.8</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Date:</td>
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<td width = 60%>= 2000-01-11</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>Author:</td>
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<td width = 60%>= Mr. Elusive</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<h2><a name = "intro">Introduction</a></h2>
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This appendix is based on documentation that has been released
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and updated by Mr. Elusive. It deals with the Navigation file that
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must be created in order for the <i>Quake III Arena</i> bots to be
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able to navigate and play in game maps. It is not a manual for the
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creation of bots.
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<h2><a name = "desc">Description</a></h2>
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The BSPC tool is used to create AAS files from BSP files. An AAS
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file is a file with areas used by the Quake III Arena bot in order
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to navigate and understand a map.
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<h2><a name = "install">Installation</a></h2>
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Place the BSPC program in your Quake III Arena folder.
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<h2><a name = "usage">Usage</a></h2>
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Unless you are using a front-end utility, which gives you
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check-button access to compiler functions, you will need to run
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this program from the command line of your DOS Command Prompt
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program. If the command line is not already pointing the <i>Quake
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III Arena</i> directory, change directories (cd\quake III
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arena).
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<p>The command line should be formatted as follows:
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<ul class = "type">bspc [-<switch> [-<switch> ...]]</ul>
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<p><strong>Example 1:</strong> <span class = "type">bspc -bsp2aas d:\quake3\baseq3\maps\mymap?.bsp</span>
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<br><strong>Example 2:</strong> <span class = "type">bspc -bsp2aas
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d:\quake3\baseq3\pak0.pk3\maps/q3dm*.bsp</span>
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<p>In the first example a "?" is used as a metacharacter variable
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to indicate any single keyboard character. This allows you to
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compile the latest version of a map ("mymap1" or "mymapb").
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<p>In the second example a "*" is used as a metacharacter variable
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to indicate any string of keyboard characters. This allows you to
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compile the latest version of a map ("mymap1" or "mymapb").
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<p>The bot navigation compile process can be further modified by
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the use of "switches" that change some of the parmeters used in
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compilation. Some of these can be used to compile only
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certain features, such as reachability. Others allow the compiler
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to use more than a single processor, as is the case with
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"threads."
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<p>Switches:
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<br><table>
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<tr>
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<td>bsp2aas <[pakfilter/]filter.bsp></td>
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<td width = 60%>= convert BSP to AAS</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>reach <filter.bsp></td>
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<td width = 60%>= compute reachability & clusters</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>cluster <filter.aas></td>
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<td width = 60%>= compute clusters</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>aasopt <filter.aas> </td>
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<td width = 60%>= optimize aas file</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>output <output path> </td>
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<td width = 60%>= set output path</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>threads <X> </td>
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<td width = 60%>= set number of threads to X</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>cfg <filename> </td>
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<td width = 60%>= use this cfg file</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>optimize </td>
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<td width = 60%>= enable optimization</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>noverbose </td>
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<td width = 60%>= disable verbose output</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>breathfirst </td>
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<td width = 60%>= breath first bsp building</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>nobrushmerge </td>
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<td width = 60%>= don't merge brushes</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>freetree </td>
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<td width = 60%>= free the bsp tree</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>nocsg </td>
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<td width = 60%>= disables brush chopping</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>forcesidesvisible </td>
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<td width = 60%>= force all sides to be visible</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>grapplereach </td>
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<td width = 60%>= calculate grapple reachabilities</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p>Several metacharacters may be used in the filter and
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pakfilter.
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<p><table>
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<tr>
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<td>*</td>
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<td width - 90%>Match any string of zero or more characters</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>?</td>
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<td width = 90%>Match any single character</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>[abc...]</td>
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<td>Match any of the enclosed characters; a hyphen can be used to specify a range (e.g. a-z, A-Z, 0-9)</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p>.pk3 files are accessed as if they are normal folders (whether
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they are compressed or not).
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<p>For instance, use "d:\quake3\baseq3\pak0.pk3\maps/q3dm1.bsp" to
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access the map q3dm1.bsp from the pak0.pk3 file.
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<p>Multiple files may be listed after the switches bsp2map,
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bsp2aas, reach, cluster and aasopt.
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<p>If a BSP file is being converted to an AAS file and no output
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path is entered on the command line then the AAS file will
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automatically be stored in the same folder as the BSP file. However
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if the BSP file was stored in a .pk3 file then the AAS file will be
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stored in a folder with the name 'maps' outside the .pk3 file.
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<h2><a name = "update">Updating the Entity Lump</a></h2>
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If an AAS file is already available for a BSP file and you ONLY
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change the entities inside this BSP file then you only have to
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recalculate the reachabilities. This way you can move items,
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platforms etc. around without the need to recalculate the whole AAS
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file -- which can save quite some compile time. You can recalculate
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the reachabilities as follows:
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<ul class = "type">bspc -reach mymap.bsp</ul>
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<p>Where mymap.bsp is the BSP file. The mymap.aas file has to be in
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the same folder as mymap.bsp or should be in the output folder
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specified with the -output option.
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<p>Keep in mind that as soon as ANY geometry in the map changes
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(including b_models and trigger brushes) the whole AAS file HAS to
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be recalculated in order to play with bots.
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<h2><a name="leaks">Leaks</a></h2>
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Just like there can be vis "leaks" in a map there can also be
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clipping leaks. Two things can be wrong when the BSPC tool outputs
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that a map leaks.
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<ol><li>
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There are no entities in the map at all, or all entities that are
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actually in the map are placed in solid locations (see Test Solid
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below). In this case the BSPC tool outputs: "WARNING: no entities
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inside." The map must contain at least one player start entity to
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load in the game.
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<li>
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There is a spot in the map where players can go outside the map
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into the void. This is bad, players should never be able to fall
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out of a level. In this case the BSPC tool outputs: "WARNING:
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entity reached from outside." The BSPC tool also writes a mymap.lin
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file that can be loaded in the Q3Radiant editor to show lines that
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go through the actual leak.</ol>
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<p>Make sure the .lin file is stored in the same folder as where
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q3radiant stores the .bsp file. Load the map in q3radiant and use
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the menu > File > Pointfile... to load the .lin file.
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A thick red line will be shown in the map. Follow this line to find
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the leak.
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<h2><a name="mapinfo">Useful Map Information</a></h2>
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The following information is given as a reference for bot
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capabilities. The area file information is used by bots. It tells
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them when and where they can make jumps. Human players don't have
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this information readily available to them, so you may want to be
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more forgiving when designing tricky jumps.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Map Boundaries</div>
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Currently all the contained area of a <i>Quake III Arena</i> map
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should fall within the bounds (8192, 8192, 8192) - (-8192, -8192,
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-8192) for the bspc tool to compile. These are the same bounds as
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the Q3Map compilers.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Game Physics</div>
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<strong>Player Dimensions</strong>
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<br><b>Model size:</b> The player model's actual size is a bounding
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box 30 units by 30 units square with a height of 56 units. In the
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game world, eight units roughly equal one foot (30.5 cm). From
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this, we deduce that the characters are a heroic 7 feet tall (2.13
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meters).
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<p><strong>Step Heights</strong>
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<br>For scale purposes, "normal" steps should be no higher than 8
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units. However, the maximum value that a player may step up is 18
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units (just keep steps 16 units or lower).
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<p><strong>Normal Jumps</strong>
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<br>The maximum height for barriers the bots will jump on is 32
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units.
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<p><strong>Water Jump Heights (or "Everyone, out of the pool!")</strong>
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<br>The maximum distance that a bot may jump to exit water is 18
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units. This is the height difference between the water surface and
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the adjacent floor that the bot is jumping onto. If the water jump
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height is made higher, human players will have a hard time getting
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out of the water.
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<p><strong>Rocket Jumps</strong>
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<br>With normal gravity and without the quad, the maximum rocket
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jump height is around 280 units (you can sometimes jump a few units
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higher but this is a safe value for reference). In practice, except
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for especially tricky jumps, this value should be substantially
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lower. Test rocket jumps repeatedly before settling on a
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final height.
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<p><strong>Math for Map Makers</strong>
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<br>Here's some math to calculate some other values of interest:
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<p><b>Gravity</b> = 800;
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<br><b>Jump velocity</b> = 270;
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<br><b>Max vertical rocketjump velocity</b> = 670;
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<br><b>Max run velocity</b> = 320;
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<br><b>Max step height</b> = 18;
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<br><b>Max jump height</b> = 0.5 * gravity *
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(jumpvelocity/gravity)*(jumpvelocity/gravity);
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<br><b>Max normal jump height</b> = 45 units
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<br><b>NOTE:</b> even
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though this is the mathematical maximum jump height always keep the
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the 32 units maximum barrier height for bots in mind when building
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maps.
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<br><b>Maximum horizontal jump distance</b> over a gap from one spot
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to another when both are at the same height:
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<ul>t = sqrt((maxjumpheight + maxstep) / (0.5 * gravity));
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<br>t = 0.3986 seconds;
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<br>dist = maxrunvelocity * (t + jumpvelocity / gravity);
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<br>dist = 235 units;</ul>
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<p>Because players use a bounding box we can jump a full bounding
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box width further in the ideal case. (15 units at the jump starting
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position and 15 at the landing place).
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<ul>235 + 15 + 15 = 265 units.</ul>
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<p>Again, remember that this is the mathematical maximum which
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players can only reach under ideal circumstances.
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<h2><a name = "optimise">Optimizing a Map for bspc Compiling</a></h2>
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The area file is the tool that the bots use to understand the
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map. If it is overly complex, it can cause navigation problems.
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With careful attention to detail, many of these problems can be
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eliminated, or avoided altogether.
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<p>First, understand that hint brushes, which are of great use to
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the bsp compiler, have no effect on the bspc tool that creates area
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files. Only solid, clip and liquid brushes and curve patches are
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used by the bspc tool. Using these mapcomponents, the bspc tool
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outputs how many "areas" will be created for a map. Having fewer
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areas in a map is better than having more.
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<p>Quite often, map trim and detail create many of these small
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areas. For the most part, these small areas are too small to enter
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and are thus useless to the bots. Brushes that project out into the
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map's floor cut it up and create additional areas. Often the number
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of areas can be greatly reduced by adding additional clip brushes.
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Take a look at Q3DM7 in the map editor, and you will see the walls
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are literally covered with clip brushes. This not only
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smooths out passage for human players, but also has the added
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benefit of eliminating unnecesary navigation areas. This is
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also why, as many "camping style" players have found, many areas
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above door and window trim have also been clipped off.
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<p>Another way to reduce complexity is to use clip brushes to
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simplify the collision area around complex objects. For exmple, the
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map maker can add clip brushes with simple shapes (axial or
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"square" brushes are prefered) around (small) detail brushes.
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Simple shaped clip brushes can also be added around curves to
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reduce the collision complexity (for instance, place an axial clip
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brush around a small cylinder). It is better to place the clip
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brushes around the whole curve (not just part of the curve). The
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map maker should also use shader scripts to make the textures on
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brushes or curve patches non-solid (surfaceparm nonsolid) when they
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are enclosed by (full) clip brushes. This will also speed up bspc
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calculations.
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<p>Always try to align your geometry to the grids. Always use the
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largest grid possible for alignment of your geometry. Also try to
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align the backsides of brushes which may not be visible. The more
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brush sides are aligned the better. This will also speed up bspc
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calculations.
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<p>Align adjacent brushes as much as possible. Make sure that badly
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aligned brushes create no tiny faces.
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<p>Quite often there are also places in a map that are visible to
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players but where players can never go (even determined,
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rocket-jumping players). If a player could reach that area, they
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would be able to walk around upon it. If the mapmaker decides not
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to allow that, he or she should use large clip brushes to enclose
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the entire unreachable space. This will also speed up bspc
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calculations and reduce the number of areas created by the bspc
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tool.
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<p><b>Note:</b> the number of areas relative to the map size tells
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something about the navigation complexity for players in general
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(also human players). Reducing the collision complexity for bots
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also makes the map easier to navigate for human players
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<h2><a name = "entnav">Entities & the Navigation File</a></h2>
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There are specific rules and guidelines for using a number of
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entities and entity-like textures with the bspc tool.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Func_plat and Func_bobbing</div>
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When func_plat or func_bobbing entities are placed in a map, the
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bots will use them if possible. The bots assume they can stand on
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top of the bounding box (xy extents of all components used to
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create the entity) of the model used for the func_plat or
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func_bobbing entity. As a result, creating complex-shaped func_plat
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or func_bobbing models is mostly a bad idea. You have to make sure
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the bots (and players) can actually stand everywhere on top of the
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bounding box of the model. The basic rule: If a bot is going to use
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a func_plat or a func_bobbing, make sure the top surface is a
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solid, rectilinear rectangle or square.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Cluster Portals</div>
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Cluster portals are one of the several "texture entities" used
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by the game engine. These are textures, which as used by the game
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engine, function like entities. The bspc tool divides the map into
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many, much smaller areas, which are essentially the surfaces a bot
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can move upon during play. Several of these areas can be grouped
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together to create a cluster. The clusters are seperated by cluster
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portals, which are also areas themselves. One of the things the bot
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uses these clusters for is to create a multi-level routing
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algorithm. When a map is efficiently divided up into clusters bot
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calculations (in run time) will be faster.
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<p><strong>Guidelines to Consider When Placing Cluster Portals:</strong>
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<ul><li>The BSPC tool creates cluster portals automatically, but placing
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"clusterportal" brushes can create additional cluster portals.
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<li>Placing "clusterportal" brushes inside the map manually creates
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cluster portals.
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<li>The "clusterportal" brushes should not be used outside the world
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hull.
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<li>The cluster portals do not have any effect on map vis.
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<li>If a door is already sealed with an areaportal brush, a
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clusterportal is not necessary there. (areaportals are used by the
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bspc tool as if they were cluster portals).
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<li>Just like the areaportals, the cluster portals must seal a space
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off entirely from other areas.
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<li>The cluster portal areas should seal off a cluster in a way that
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the only path towards another cluster is through a cluster portal
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area.
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<li>Only create cluster portals where people can walk or swim
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through.
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<li>Don't create cluster portals in gaps in the floor. (people would
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fall through)
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<li>Cluster portals must separate no more and no less than two (2)
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clusters.
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<li>Try to create clusters with all the same number of
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"reachability" areas. For instance if the map has 5,400 areas try
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to create 10 clusters with 540 areas each, or 12 clusters with 450
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areas each, etc. The BSPC tool lists the number of reachability
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areas in each cluster.
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<li>Avoid creating clusters with only a few (less than 10)
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areas.
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<li>When adding "cluster portal" brushes, try to place them in
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places with minimal geometric complexity. For instance place them
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inside convex door openings or small hallways (not in front of door
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openings). Ideally, the shape of the face through which a player
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walks or swims into the cluster portal is the same as the shape of
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the face through which a player leaves the cluster portal. Also
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ideally, the open space inside the cluster portal brush is
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convex.
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<li>Make cluster portals about 16 or 32 units thick.</ul>
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<p><div class = "subheading">"Do Not Enter" Areas</div>
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The Do Not Enter texture is another one of the "texture
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entities" that the game engine uses as if they were entities. In
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some regards, it is like a clip brush, intended to prevent a bot
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from moving into or through it. However, this works more as a
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"strong suggestion" and is, in reality, not a physical barrier to
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the bot. A simple example of how a bot may enter a "Do Not Enter"
|
|
area is knockback. If an explosion tosses a bot about, it may end
|
|
up inside a prohibited area. Bots may pass out of such areas, but
|
|
they will not actively try to enter them.
|
|
|
|
<p>When bot navigation problems show up or you want to make sure a
|
|
bot never tries to go to a certain place use a "do not enter"
|
|
brush.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Guidelines to consider when placing "Do Not Enter"
|
|
brushes:</strong>
|
|
|
|
<ul><li>The "do not enter" brushes should not be used outside the world
|
|
hull.
|
|
|
|
<li>The "do not enter" brush is Not a clip brush for the bot.
|
|
|
|
<li>The "do not enter" brush is a tool of last resort. Do not use it
|
|
unless there are serious navigation problems.
|
|
|
|
<li>The number of "do not enter" brushes should be minimized because
|
|
these brushes create additional areas for the bots.
|
|
|
|
<li>The "do not enter" brush will create a new area that the bot
|
|
will try to avoid. However if the bot somehow ends up inside a "do
|
|
not enter" area or there is a valid goal (game entity or
|
|
item_botroam entity) inside the "do not enter" area then the bot is
|
|
allowed to go into and out of that area. So if the bot somehow gets
|
|
in a "do not enter" area the bot will be able to get out.</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p><div class = "subheading">Bot Control Entities</div>
|
|
|
|
These entities encourage a bot to move about and use more parts
|
|
of the map.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Item_botroam</strong>
|
|
<br>The item_botroam entity can be used when a bot does not roam the
|
|
whole level or prefers to go to only specific areas. This
|
|
(invisible) item can be placed in a map just like regular items.
|
|
Nobody can actually pick up the item. It's only used to attract
|
|
bots to certain places of the map.
|
|
|
|
<p>The item_botroam has a key "origin" that is set by Q3Radiant
|
|
automatically.
|
|
|
|
<p>The item_botroam also has a key "weight." The value is the
|
|
weight of the roam item and is relative to the weight of other
|
|
items in the map, which are individual to each bot. The bot
|
|
character-specific item weights are stored with the bot characters
|
|
in the botfiles/bots/ sub-folder in the .pk3 file. The value of the
|
|
weight is a non-zero floating-point value, most often in the range
|
|
0 to 400. Higher values are allowed but keep in mind that the bot
|
|
should also still go for normal items, so don't make the
|
|
item_botroam weight too high.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>"Notbot" Means "Don't Touch"</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>When a bot should <i>never</i> go for a specific item, the key
|
|
"notbot" with a value of "1" can be used for that item. This
|
|
notbot key and its value can be used for every available item in
|
|
<i>Quake III Arena.<o:p><i></i></o:p></i>
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Info_Camp</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>This entity suggests locations where the bot can wait for
|
|
enemies to come into view.
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Suspended</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>The suspended checkbox flag can be used on all items
|
|
(item_botroam included). However keep in mind that when a suspended
|
|
item is not anywhere near the ground the bot will ONLY try to go
|
|
for this suspended item using jump pads.
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name = "testaas">Testing .AAS files</a></h2>
|
|
|
|
<div class = "subheading">Solid Areas</div>
|
|
|
|
A solid area in the map is an area that looks empty to the human
|
|
player, but is solid, like a wall, to a bot player. One of the
|
|
easiest ways to test the AAS file for solid areas is to load the
|
|
map in <i>Quake III Arena</i> in teamplay mode (type /set
|
|
g_gametype 3 on the console before loading the map). Enter a team
|
|
and add a bot to your team. Use the team order menu (by default
|
|
bound to the F3 key) to command the bot to follow you. Walk around
|
|
the map and see if the bot is able to follow you everywhere. If a
|
|
bot stops at any point, it may have encountered an area of the map
|
|
that appears to be unblocked to you, but to the bot, it is like it
|
|
has encountered a solid wall.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Test Solid</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>In most cases, solid areas are the result of careless design.
|
|
But, if you insist on making maps that are not axial in layout
|
|
(say, your average cave), they can result from brushes meeting at
|
|
non-axial angles. These "map bugs" can sometimes cause certain
|
|
places in the map to show up solid in the AAS file. To test for
|
|
these solid places set the cvar bot_testsolid to "1" on the
|
|
console. (type /set bot_testsolid 1)
|
|
|
|
<p>As you walk through the map, either "empty area" or "SOLID area"
|
|
will be printed on the screen while traveling through a map.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>The Culprits: What May Cause Map Bugs</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>Several map bugs can cause these solid places in the AAS
|
|
file.
|
|
|
|
<ul><li>Sometimes microscopic brushes are created by CSG subtraction on
|
|
one or more brushes. Search for such brushes in the problem area
|
|
and delete them.
|
|
|
|
<li>Tiny brush faces (not curves) can also cause problems. Due to
|
|
vertex snapping in the q3map tool, those tiny brush faces can be
|
|
snapped out of existence. Such faces will not show up in <i>Quake
|
|
III Arena</i> and you'll see tiny peek holes or slits where you can
|
|
view through the geometry (often into other rooms). Align vertexes
|
|
of adjacent brushes to remove and avoid such tiny faces. Placing a
|
|
clip brush in front of the face that is snapped out of existence
|
|
will also remove the "solid area" but of course it's preferred to
|
|
remove the peek hole or slit. Another cause could be a brush with a
|
|
collapsed side. Check how many sides a brush has and how many sides
|
|
actually have a surface. Rebuild brushes with collapsed sides.
|
|
|
|
<li>Lava creates a solid area. All faces contained within liquid
|
|
brushes using a shader without "surfaceparm trans" set will be
|
|
removed (this includes some lava textures). Those contained
|
|
surfaces will not be visible and can cause the liquid to appear
|
|
"solid" in the aas file.</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Hacking Away the Problem</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>If you insist creating an .AAS file for a map with bugs, then
|
|
the BSPC compile option <b>-forcesidesvisible</b> can be used. This
|
|
should fix all the problems with areas showing up solid in the .AAS
|
|
file. However creating an .AAS file with this option takes a lot
|
|
longer (often more than twice the normal compile time). This is not
|
|
recommended as a default option for compiling.
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>Testing Jump and Launch Pads</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>Jumppads can also be tested. Type the following on the <i>Quake
|
|
III Arena</i> console, before loading your map:
|
|
|
|
<p>/set bot_maxdebugpolys 1024
|
|
|
|
<br>/set bot_visualizejumppads 1
|
|
|
|
<br>/set bot_forcereachability 1
|
|
|
|
<p>Now load the map. A counter will be shown and goes from 0% to
|
|
100%. When the counter has reached 100% type /set r_debugSurface 2
|
|
on the console. For every jumppad the default arc of travel
|
|
(without using air control) will be visualized.
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name = "version">Version Changes</a></h2>
|
|
|
|
<strong>1.8 (2000-01-08)</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>- increased max points on winding
|
|
|
|
<br>- made "HashVec: point x y z outside valid range" non-fatal
|
|
|
|
<br>- fixed rocket jump reachabilities
|
|
|
|
<br>- added force sides visible option
|
|
|
|
<br>- increased simulated stack size for area traces
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>1.7 (1999-12-22)</strong>
|
|
|
|
<br>- fixed ducked bounding box size
|
|
|
|
<br>- fixed sv_maxsteepness being zero in aas configuration
|
|
|
|
<br>- AAS files are now automatically stored in BSP file folder
|
|
|
|
<br>- fixed crash bug caused by overflow of a simulated stack
|
|
|
|
<p align = "center"><a href = "appn_b_9.htm">Back</a> | <a href = "../index.htm">Home</a> | <a href = "appn_d.htm">Next</a>
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