[Bug] Quirk in pathfinding
Gallowglass
Member Posts: 3,356
Ever since EE pathfinding was tweaked (last patch? one before?) I've occasionally seen some pretty odd behaviours, but one has occurred numerous times:-
Observed: seeing an enemy, order the party to attack (this is under manual control, AI Off). Melee fighters rush towards enemy ... but then (sometimes) will turn back and run towards the party.
Expected: when melee fighters are ordered to attack, they should move towards the enemy, not run away.
Note: this is nothing to do with obstacle avoidance, it happens even in open fields with no obstructions. Nor am I talking about fighters who have lost morale or been struck by fear magic, this is happening right at the start of combat.
Cause: after observing this numerous times, I think I've figured out what's happening. Pathfinding gives the melee fighters a route towards the enemy and the fighters start moving, but the enemy hasn't yet targetted a member of the party. When the enemy picks a target in the party a second or so later, the pathfinding routine recalculates to allow for expected enemy movement, but (erroneously) jumps straight into finding a path to where the enemy is eventually going (which may be a target back in the rest of the party) instead of calculating an interception point only a fraction away from their current location. Therefore the fighter turns and runs back towards the enemy's target, instead of continuing towards the enemy's current location.
Observed: seeing an enemy, order the party to attack (this is under manual control, AI Off). Melee fighters rush towards enemy ... but then (sometimes) will turn back and run towards the party.
Expected: when melee fighters are ordered to attack, they should move towards the enemy, not run away.
Note: this is nothing to do with obstacle avoidance, it happens even in open fields with no obstructions. Nor am I talking about fighters who have lost morale or been struck by fear magic, this is happening right at the start of combat.
Cause: after observing this numerous times, I think I've figured out what's happening. Pathfinding gives the melee fighters a route towards the enemy and the fighters start moving, but the enemy hasn't yet targetted a member of the party. When the enemy picks a target in the party a second or so later, the pathfinding routine recalculates to allow for expected enemy movement, but (erroneously) jumps straight into finding a path to where the enemy is eventually going (which may be a target back in the rest of the party) instead of calculating an interception point only a fraction away from their current location. Therefore the fighter turns and runs back towards the enemy's target, instead of continuing towards the enemy's current location.
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Yes, I knew the two weren't currently in line on this, but I had thought there had been some earlier pathfinding tweak a couple of patches ago ... if not, then I guess I must have been dreaming.
Although that's odd, because I'm sure this occasional behaviour to which I'm referring hadn't always been the case, it's something I've noticed over the last year or two, not something I remember from way back when.
If you do see it in BGII:EE, though, definitely let us know.