2ba69d8b54
* basic mobs & co no longer indiscriminately perform close-range actions in the presence of obstacles. (#75687) ## About The Pull Request Currently, we don't have any such thing as a general ai_behavior flag for behaviors that need a check for if the current_movement_target is within reach or not. We could fix it case by case by slapping a `CanReach()` check in the `performBehavior()` definition of every `ai_behavior` datum that warrants it, the general issue will keep resurfacing as long as new behaviors are added to the game anyhow, while there's a lot less copypasta involved easier to apply solution to current and future instances of such issue. Worth mentioning not all ai_behaviors with required_range of 1 have this flag. Some are fairly innocuous, such as the follow command, some others kind of handle it already in a more peculiar or complex way, which is also an argument against making it a hardcoded heck for when the required_range is 1 or 0. This has been tested, though there are some rough edges and oddities also unrelated to his PR that might have evaded scrutiny. ## Why It's Good For The Game This should fix #74823, fix #69254, and fix #74713 (I guess? it could have been phrased better). ## Changelog 🆑 fix: basic mobs & co no longer indiscriminately perform close-range actions in the presence of obstacles such as directional windows between them and their target. fix: Doggos should look at you with longing eyes once again if you dare pick up an edible they are trying to eat. /🆑 * basic mobs & co no longer indiscriminately perform close-range actions in the presence of obstacles. --------- Co-authored-by: Ghom <42542238+Ghommie@users.noreply.github.com>
AI controllers
Introduction
Our AI controller system is an attempt at making it possible to create modularized AI that stores its behavior in datums, while keeping state and decision making in a controller. This allows a more versatile way of creating AI that doesn't rely on OOP as much, and doesn't clutter up the Life() code in Mobs.
AI Controllers
A datum that can be added to any atom in the game. Similarly to components, they might only support a given subtype (e.g. /mob/living), but the idea is that theoretically, you could apply a specific AI controller to a big a group of different types as possible and it would still work.
These datums handle both the normal movement of mobs, but also their decision making, deciding which actions they will take based on the checks you put into their SelectBehaviors proc.
If behaviors are selected, and the AI is in range, it will try to perform them. It runs all the behaviors it currently has in parallel; allowing for it to for example screech at someone while trying to attack them. As long as it has behaviors running, it will not try to generate new plans, making it not waste CPU when it already has an active goal.
They also hold data for any of the actions they might need to use, such as cooldowns, whether or not they're currently fighting, etcetera this is stored in the blackboard, more information on that below.
Blackboard
The blackboard is an associated list keyed with strings and with values of whatever you want. These store information the mob has such as "Am I attacking someone", "Do I have a weapon". By using an associated list like this, no data needs to be stored on the actions themselves, and you could make actions that work on multiple ai controllers if you so pleased by making the key to use a variable.
AI Behavior
AI behaviors are the actions an AI can take. These can range from "Do an emote" to "Attack this target until he is dead". They are singletons and should contain nothing but static data. Any dynamic data should be stored in the blackboard, to allow different controllers to use the same behaviors.
Guides:
Making Your AI: Quickly runs through how to make an ai controller for anything with a step by step development of one.