Visibility waypoint flags

[Hot-Doc]

Sorry if this has allready been mentioned, I remember that POXBot should have a feature which forbidded a bot to look through func_illusanary entities (like the doors in cs_747). Has this allready been implemented into the new podbot2.6_mm version?

And regarding the "vision" of the bots, can they evaluate the lightning of a certain place in a map and then adapting their reaction time and aiming to the light conditions (the darker the worse)?

Or would they need the help of a waypoint flag which would tell them how light a certain area is? And if so, could this be implemented right now even if it wouldn't be used by the bot just for not having to adapt all waypoint files all over again and again?

Just an idea, though. What do you think?

[SoUlFaThEr]

i can only comment on the entities thing

the func_illusionaries were a problem with waypointing.....i had suggested that func_illusionaries be
KNOWN as solid......so that the auto pathwaypoint connections would not automatically connect THROUGH a func_illusionary, thus making less poaths to erase because func_illusionaries often have "clip brushes" on them to block player/bot movement.

this was also an issue with bots not shooting through railings(which are illusionaries if the mapper knows what hes doing). staircase railings that dont break but block player movement and are see through.

the idea about lighting is interesting......i dont know if that can be implemented......but a NEW feature like this would not be backwards compatible with an older bot......(i think) because pod2.5 for example, or other compatibles, would not know what to do with a "darkness flag".

[>BKA< T Wrecks]

Yes, the idea is nice. Me & my friends also talked about that, but that was at a time when none of us even dreamt of being in a position to post suggestions and actively contribute to the development of a bot... 9_9

If it were somehow possible to add this feature without introducing new waypoint flags, that would be just great...

Concerning that func_illusionary thing: I'm not a mapper, but if you say the curtains in cs_747 are func_illusionaries and SoUlFatHer says that many railings are func_illusionaries, then we have some f_i's that block your passage and some that don't. Besides, some don't block your passage, only your view (cs_747), whereas with railings it's the other way round - they block your passage, but you can see through them... o_O
I have no idea how bots could be told which one is actually transparent and which isn't.

[SoUlFaThEr]

well the difference is this T Wrecks:
the railing are an Alpha texture. the railing is in it but the rest is 255 blue.......and when turn it into a func_illusionary, you set render amount to 255 and then you cant see the blue part ingame.

func_illusionaries are ALWAYS passable, hence "illusionary"

the curtains are a normal texture, func_illusionary with no special attributes.

what makes the railings not passable is a brush made to the same size as the railing which is invisible to the player, but blocks his movement through it...its a "clip brush"

a railing could also be a func_wall with render amount of 255...but then your bullet decals will be placed in the "air" between the railings. with illusionaries the bullets go through......see......you cant shoot through a func_wall, unless its thin.....but you still see the bullet decals(even blood in this case

i hope you get my point.

i dont think you can do anything with bots on this curtain because we just solved an issue where bots cant SEE through some things......and this curtain thing is falling into that fix.....i think

i also cannot answer the light/dark issue either

[>BKA< T Wrecks]

Awww, thanks for the explanations on func_illusionaries and func_walls and stuff. I think I understood you, cause once when I fiddled around with the hammer editor (just curiosity), I wondered how to build a railing, and as the n00b that I was I wondered why these damned bulletholes appeared in thin air - of course, I had made a func_wall instead of a func_illusionary. Clip brushes, tsk, tsk... a science for itself! But many mappers actually release such n00b stuff! Happens with ladders as well, doesn't it? Well, something that looks similar at least - bulletholes in the air.
Ok, so I guess there's no way around that problem - unless you explicitly tell the bots that they can't see from node x to node y, but that would require even more WP flags...
It's not that bad, though. How many maps do you know that feature such curtains? Not many, I'd guess...