*BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

...and possibly even the official CS bots too!!

Noticed that today.

When you want to make your bot strafe, basically all you do is raising the "strafe_speed" parameter of RunPlayerMove() to the bot's max speed, right ?

Well have you noticed the effect ? The bots pass from a 0 velocity to full strafe speed in a fraction second ! Try to make your bots strafe left then right in a loop, to see, and try to do the same as a human player : human players can't strafe that fast !!!

Anyone to confirm this behaviour by looking in the engine source code (hint hint, Mike) ?

What to do ? How to fix that ?

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

Can't really test with a human since a human can't exactly press the two strafe keys at different times in 0.017 seconds :P

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

No, what I mean is, try strafing two steps on your left, then immediately strafe two steps on the right ; you'll notice that while your player was strafing on the left it will slow down until standing still and then progressively begin strafing on the right, increasing its speed. Bots don't do that, they begin strafing full speed as soon as they are asked to. This is unfair. Try it.

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

I've already noticed that on all bots I aready tested.

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

Are you limiting the sidemove speed to something less than or equal to cl_sidespeed?

Is this in Counter-Strike only or did you try other MODs (Half-Life deathmatch, TFC, etc.)?

I assume you are using valid msec values in pfnRunPlayerMove(), but make sure they are correct otherwise you get weird movement results.

botman

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

My strafe speed is the same float value that is passed in pfnSetClientMaxSpeed(), which is normally used for setting the client's FORWARD speed... and I believe all bot authors do that too

It affects every MOD for which the strafe speed increases gradually (i.e, when you press on the button, you don't begin to move instantly full speed). I think HLDM is one of the rare that are not concerned (because of no graduation).

Are client variables such as cl_sidespeed available on dedicated servers too ? If so, considering no bot author out there use this CVAR to my knowledge, no wonder our bots strafe the way they do !!!

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

My observations of bot movement agree with what PBM is saying. Bots tend to zig-zag from side to side much faster than a human can which makes them tough targets to hit, and very difficult to defeat at close range (if there's no skill penalty).

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

yes, i have noticed this too. We should probably somehow simulate this as HL does with real players?

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

and perhaps include it an the skill / personality system, since that reflects different type of users

Re: *BUGBUGBUG* affects all HL bots!!!
 

What I find curious is that the engine DOES filter the forward speed when you pass it in RunPlayerMove() ; if you change your bot's forward speed from 0 to its max speed, the bot's speed will raise PROGRESSIVELY. And it does not when it's the side speed. This is really weird. Do we need to emulate this ourselves or is there something we aren't doing right ?

[edit] and it is NOT the cl_sidespeed CVAR : this one is at 380, which is WAY too much already for a decent strafe speed