Testing the Dynamic AI navigation system is going generally well.
There are a few issues that I found with edge cases, but most of these are rare, and I am in the process of fixing them.
There is quite a lot of testing left to do, but I am making good progress.
The most difficult parts will be the city AI, since this involves many AI entities being loaded at the same time.
The issue with AI navigation within complex structures is fixed.
The issue was that the AI nav path is normally smoothed, to produce a more natural looking path. This is fine out doors, but within complex interiors with very tight paths, the smoothing can make the path less accurate, causing the AI to get stuck, etc.
The next goal is to test the dynamic AI navigation system in all of the different scenarios in which is can be used.
I am still working on the AI improvements and testing.
There is an issue with pathfinding when the AI is inside a very complex structure (Such as a structure with a complex set of staircases,etc). I am currently working on fixing this.
I have also made various improvements to the performance of the AI system, as well as many minor bug fixes.
I have been focusing on the games AI for a few days now.
In addition to improvements to the random Creatures, I have also made improvements to the Companion AI.
These were minor, and just fixed an issue with the AI sliding slightly when they stopped on uneven ground.
I have also added some more user-feedback messages to tell them when an item cannot be used or combined, etc. The game currently does not have enough tutorials and help messages, I am working on adding more of these.
The next goal is to continue working on the AI, including the AI within cities and buildings, which is a lot more complex.
I am continuing to work on debugging and playtesting the game.
I have fixed an issue with the grass rendering system which causes the grass to render more than once on the same area of ground, significantly decreasing performance.
This was caused by higher level terrain chunks still having their grass rendering when the chunk itself was paged out, in some cases.
This is now fixed.
I have fixed some issues with the scale of ground cover objects. Some objects, like trees, should have a semi-random scale, so that they don’t all look the same. However, other objects, such as man-made objects like cabins, escape pods, etc, should have a fixed scale otherwise they don’t look right.
I also made some minor improvements to the life simulation variables.
I have been working on improving the AI in the game, starting with the AI for random Creatures.
They were sometimes floating above the terrain, and sometimes appearing below it, these issues have now been fixed.
I also made some improvements to the guis that allow the user to scan for different types of items.
In addition, I fixed a major bug with the day/night cycle, which was in the project for some time. I am not 100% if the fix works in all cases, but it seems to.
I have fixed a few minor bugs and made some minor improvements to the project.
These improvements were mostly related to the AI systems and item spawning.
I have also been working on some concept art for some new items for the project.
Vendors in the game now sell more items, and their stock is randomised, so they don’t all sell the same thing.
The fishing action is now done.
It is simple, but it worked out very well in the end.
I have balanced the chances of catching large and small fish with the time that the user is performing the action, etc.
Fishing now provides a realistic alternative to hunting for survival based life-paths.
I have also added the “Morale” stat to the game.
This was in place before, but the logic behind it was not wired up.
This is now done.
I have also fixed quite a few minor bugs, and made some minor cosmetic improvements to the guis, etc.
The art for the fishing rods and fish items is now basically done.
There is a simple, craftable, fishing rod, which can be made from items in the world, as well as a higher-quality fishing rod that can be manufactured (Or, eventually, bought).
There are also some fish types, that can be caught, and eaten raw (with a risk of contamination) or cooked.
I have also added in new traits, etc, for the fishing action.
The next step is to actually implement the logic for the fishing action.
I have used the recent changes to the water detection algorithm to improve the NPC ai in the the game.
AI will now not be spawned on water, even shallow water, and will avoid it when pathing.
There are some minor conditions where this causes issues (For example, if there are many puddles of water on the terrain, they can get stuck) but in general, this massively improves the AI behaviour near shorelines.
The AI used to run into water when moving, this no longer happens.
I am also planning to add a “fishing” action, to supplement the hunting actions that are already in the game. I am working on some art assets to support this now.