Heatsink - Bot/AI progress


I was able to get some very simple Bot mechanic to work for now, its something ill focus on in the upcoming weeks. Will be taking a break for a few days to go to a spa and have fun with friends ╰(▔∀▔)╯

Current Bot Roadmap:

  • Each map has a few varying tracks (Path2D), some more optimized and some basic slower ones
    • Easy Path - Slowest, easy bots wont boost much and tend to overheat
    • Medium Path - Average, but still slower than players, bots will boost occasionally and stop when needed
    • Fast Path - Sharp turns and corners, lots of swinging around corners, bots will boost a lot and use the breaks when near overheat or far away from the path followed by a boost
    • Bots can occasionally vary and change the path they are using to spice things up a bit and make the races more lively
    • In general once you master the movement and remember the map layouts the bots will feel generally weak-ish

  • Each vehicle now has a "brain", which interacts with the base of the vehicle
    •  Bot Brain: (WIP)
      • Selects one of the paths depending on its "difficulty"
      • Movement Direction: Calculates the closest offset point to the selected path (float) and adds 5% to it so the aimed direction is always a bit ahead from the vehicle (updates every .7~.12 seconds to save CPU)
      • Accelerates constantly unless some criteria are met, which is dependant on the bot "difficulty"
        • Uses the breaks and boost depending on its "difficulty", also tries to keep in line and will adapt depending on how far away the bot is from the intended path (they'll never follow paths perfectly, but that adds to their variety) 
    • Player Brain:
      • Takes player input, if its not working well its probably a skill issue
      • Spawns the player related UI when ready, bots dont have this
  • NOTE - Will be optimizing the code for the vehicles, since it was done very quickly its very unoptimized


Future Plans after finishing the Bots:

  • After im done with the bots ill have to work on adding the new vehicles, its an easy task which ive been ignoring since its not  that big of a core requirement
  • Adding Multiplayer - this will be a big challange and learning experience since i havent done anything Multiplayer until now, hopefully i can get it up and running and have some fun with friends
  • Highscore database - In the closer future i want to add a way for players to add their highscores in an online leaderboard, ill have to check the free DB options for this (im a cheapskate, + its a prototype)
  • Rework the Glacier, i made it in 30~ minutes, 0 thought about the layout, just wanted to have more than 1 map ready
  • Add more maps with new mechanics

Get HEATSINK (PROTOTYPE)

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