Creating bot nodes in DoomBot

[sparky]

I can't find any information about creating navigation nodes for the bots in DoomBot 4.0.

a) are there any instructions/tutorials available?

b) did the DoomBot HomePage resurface somewhere else after DoomNation died?

c) are there 'special' nodes for CTF so the bots can find the flag and touchdown areas, or are they normal nodes like all the others?

Any help on these matters would be greatly appreciated because the CTF nodes I've made are totally useless and not worth distributing.

BTW, I've already tried Captain Mellow's Bots Page and there's no technical info there :( and his batch files for creating nodes don't work at all.

[Wildman]

You cannot create nodes with version 4.0. You'll have to use version 3.0 since the node building was never implemented in version 4.0. The problem of course is that 3.0 is Legacy based and 4.0 is ZDoom based. So, in order to make a nodes file, the map has to be plain ole' Doom2. Build the nodes using version 3.0 and then add the ZDoom stuff. However, you cannot change the map once the nodes are built.

[sparky]

Thanks Rick, I know that, but you didn't address any of my questions. The bots in your Partheon CTF map seem to be much smarter than anything I've made creating the nodes with v3.0 and playing the map with v4.0. The ONLY instructions I can find anywhere are in your ZDoom tutorial, and that only covers the CTF maps but not the bot nodes :(

[Wildman]

Sorry, I misunderstood. The key is to put only enough nodes so that the Bots don't get confused. They work by line of sight, it appears, so you don't need nodes except at the areas that that they need to turn. The Bots needs a songle path from point A to point B. If you overlap nodes, they will get confused.

The best way to do this initially is to make sure you can make a complete circuit from flag to flag. Then run the path and adjustr for any obstacles. Once you get the pathing down, place your nodes at the areas that the bot needs to turn.

Once the nodes have been placed, then use the observer mode and follow your bot. Fix any areas that they get stuck. Watch the node counter: make sure the bot vists each node. It is easy for the bot to get stuck in a loop. Make sure you close the nodes path so that the bot can see the first node from the last node.