Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Steering algorithms are simple to implement, but instead of coding something from
scratch, we will use Unity plugins. The two plugins we will be focusing on, the Fame
Crowd Simulation API and ANT-Op, are not general-purpose AI systems like RAIN;
instead, they are focused just on crowd management. This is a popular trend in
the AI world. Sometimes, instead of a large AI system, it's best to look for specific
tools for specific AI tasks. Don't worry about combining multiple AI subsystems while
designing the AI for your games, as this can often give you the best result.
The Fame Crowd Simulation API focuses, as you might expect, on crowds with a
system design similar to Boids. It allows you to customize different values for the
various steering behaviors and has a GUI interface that makes forming and directing
crowds very straightforward. ANT-Op is based on simulating ants. Looking at ants
might sound strange, but ant simulation is actually a popular topic in the AI world,
since ants work really well as a group. Both of these plugins are useful when creat-
ing controlled crowds.
Note
More details about Craig Reynolds' original flocking and steering systems can be
found in his papers online:
•
Steering Behaviors for Autonomous Characters
:
http://www.red3d.com/cwr/pa-
•
Flocks,
Herds,
and
Schools:
A
Distributed
Behavioral
Model
:
ht-
