SF's Hammer Tutorials - NPC Navigation

[Halo4Follower]

Thank you very much :) You helped alot, especially with what kind of maps I create. I just want to say, I will most definitely, stay active and watch your future tutorials on Hammer :)

[Silwerfish]

@Halo4Follower Thanks! Unfortunately I don't make Hammer tutorials any longer, nowadays I make tutorials for a game called Overgrowth instead as my interest in the Source engine has faded.

[Halo4Follower]

@Silwerfish Ah yes, I saw on your Moddb account, sad. When I have time I'll be checking out the rest of your tutorials. Thanks for what you've done though xD

[Silwerfish]

@Halo4Follower I'm glad to see that people are still finding my tutorials useful! Thank you for appreciating them! :)

[Silwerfish]

@fumanchu3cp Awesome, thanks! :D

[LuiDeca]

i am making some machinimas on g-mod, some scenes require npcs, but most of the gmod maps dont have nodes. Is there any way i can save the map with the nodes i place with this developer menu thing?

[Silwerfish]

@LuiDeca Yeah that's the idea. What you need to do is have the editor open in the background with the map loaded in edit mode, your nodes will be transferred from the game to the editor when you exit the level in the game.

So to do this for an official map if you don't have access to the VMF file, is first decompile the level, then load it in Hammer, compile it, run the newly compiled level in edit mode, add nodes, quit level and they should be there in the editor for you to compile again.

[LuiDeca]

@Silwerfish do you have a tut for decompiling maps?

[Silwerfish]

@LuiDeca Yes I do, I can't link here, but just search for it in my videos.

[Muovivaha]

I was messing with the sound, and you said "If you are a slut, you like it to the butt"

[JakeSpringhorn]

What about floors with displacements? When I go to map_edit some of the links are red, and I assume that means the NPC cannot navigate them, but I can lift the connection or the node itself up or anything. The NPCs following me decide to take other routes instead of going straight to me.

[Silwerfish]

@JakeSpringhorn It should work pretty much the same way. Just make sure the displacement would be easy to navigate. I haven't had any trouble with nav meshes on displacements at least.

Did you try adding another node in between the two problematic nodes?

[JakeSpringhorn]

@Silwerfish Yes, I have tried that. It's a mess...if you have the time...do you think you can take a look at the vmf? I'll send it to you if you would like to.

[Silwerfish]

@JakeSpringhorn Sorry about the late reply, yeah just send it to me, I'll take a look.

[Steampr0x1m4]

Hey, i have a problem. I made a map, and when i follow your video after typing edit_map u see all info_nodes... when i type edit_map "mapname" I don't see any node. I also used reactions above like sv_cheats 1 and noclip. but still i don't see any node...

[Silwerfish]

@Steampr0x1m4 The command is actually map_edit, not edit_map. :)

[Silwerfish]

@Harrifalconer1 do sv_cheats 1 in console, then write noclip to toggle between flying and not flying.

[cafedormido]

do you think you could make a tutorial with jump/air nodes

[Silwerfish]

@cafedormido That's a good suggestion, thanks!

[Thelillfredde]

how you spawn npc/bots in map with hammer?

[Silwerfish]

@Thelillfredde You can use an npc_maker or an npc_template_maker to do that. Read more about those entities on the valve developer wiki (developer. valvesoftware. com).

[paintcan176]

@Thelillfredde click the little grey pawn icon in the toolbar on the left (4th down) and click again to place in your level. now select the red cursor tool from the left (1st icon) and double click the pawn (entity, if you want to get technical) and in the 'class' drop down box scroll down to find anything with npc_ in the name eg: npc_zombie is a zombie. click apply when you have selected one and the green guy will change into your chosen npc.

[thehumor]

Silwer a question.

How do you actually make NPC's go somewhere in the game?

If i want an npc to be walking right next to a door, how do I do that?

[Silwerfish]

@thehumor There are several ways, I'd say the easiest way is to use a scripted_sequence entity. See my tutorial called NPC Animation to learn how to do that (just ignore the actual animation part, because without an animation to do, the NPC will just move to the position).

[Soulslayerzx]

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I have no sound on my cpu currently. The info_nodes seem to make of no use, is your mod based on ep2?

[Silwerfish]

@Soulslayerzx Your sound shouldn't make a difference. I'm using ep2 yes.

[Willsuitt1]

@Soulslayerzx the Ai nodes do alot. without them npc's use a basic script, but it sucks. Ai nodes do alot more.

[NH2Contents]

when i compile the map and run it without the map_edit, will it automatically walk in the nodes???

[Silwerfish]

@NH2Contents Yeah the nodes are there when you run the map normally, you just can't see them.

[Theyallfloatdownhere]

You could make a strategy game with this!

[Theyallfloatdownhere]

Your tutorials are very fine indeed.

[Silwerfish]

@Theyallfloatdownhere Thanks!

If you have a tutorial suggestion, submit it in the moderator module on my channel page, or vote on other's suggestions there!

[TakeBackTheWorld]

Thumbs, bro.  Thumbs.

[tikkumanne]

Thanks man! I finally know how to control npc:s :) <3

[thevideoguy666]

Europeans do the best Hammer tutorials. =P

[kabobularproductions]

i tried this

it was fun playing god with a combine

[kabobularproductions]

the nodes automatically are above the ground in 3d if anyone didnt kno =)

[Carmine377700]

great tutorial, would an npc made in garry's mod follow the nodes or just stand there like in gm_flatgrass, I know they move around in gm_construct though

[Silwerfish]

@Carmine377700 they would move around, I'm pretty sure.

[kabobularproductions]

@Carmine377700 i decompiled flatgrass and there were no nodes

[RickRay9]

@Carmine377700 yeah garry's mod automaticly creates nodes :)

[IXIArblargIXI]

I know theres a way to link path_corner to an NPC, I can do that without a problem. I just want my zombies to wander freely among my map after they spawn, yet they ignore all nodes I place :|

[Silwerfish]

@IXIArblargIXI It's not that they ignore them (the nodes are just for enabling your NPCs to navigate your level, it doesn't force them to do so), it's just that they are not programmed to start wandering around when they spawn. You could add an aiscripted_schedule that you trigger when a zombie spawns that tell the zombie to go towards the player and attack him for example, but I don't think there is a good way to just make them wander aimlessly.

[IXIArblargIXI]

Is there a way to link specific nodes to a specific NPC?

[Silwerfish]

@IXIArblargIXI I _think_ that's possible but I can't remember how to do it.

[Tabe112]

Your voice is so clear and i understand every word.

Och jag hör att du är svensk, försök inte dölja det!

[Silwerfish]

@Tabe112 Hehe, tack så mycket! ;D

[idonthatethissite]

what distance the nodes can be from each one to be ''connected''?

[Silwerfish]

@idonthatethissite I don't know actually, you can place them pretty far away though.

[Th3Jugg3rn4ugh7]

hi, i used map_edit on my map to mess around w/ nodes, but now ea time i compile it doesn't update the map and it plays an older version of it. do you know how to fix this? i also can't use map_edit on that map anymore

[Silwerfish]

@Th3Jugg3rn4ugh7 When you do map_edit you lock the editor, you'll need to exit the map to unlock it. Are you entirely sure you did that?

[Th3Jugg3rn4ugh7]

@Silwerfish i got it fixed, thx

[Th3Jugg3rn4ugh7]

i did that map_edit thing in my map to mess around with the nodes and now i can't update my map. each time i compile and play it loads an older version of the map. do you know how to fix this?

[zerm95]

I like your tutorials.

[Silwerfish]

@zerm95 Thanks man, I'm glad you do!

[fourrecoil]

is it possiple to do this with HL2 deathmatch?

[Silwerfish]

I don't think that's possible, I have seen servers with NPCs though, but I don't have any idea about how they achieved that.

It's not supported, I can tell you that much.

[fourrecoil]

@Silwerfish okay, thanks !

[lilfupa]

Do the nodes work on Counter Strike Source? I tried doing them and the NPCs kept jumping up against a wall.

[Silwerfish]

There is a difference between how bots and NPCs work. The short answer would be that no, info_node entities won't work for the bots in CSS.

Bots use navigation meshes instead, I'll PM you a link to more info about these.

[FanTazTiCxD]

@Silwerfish You know how to navigate the bots? Well teach me then :O I really need to know!

[Silwerfish]

@FanTazTiCxD Go to developer (dot) valvesoftware (dot) com and search for it.

I might make a tut on it in the future.

[elementbamiscool]

thanks

[Niklasdiver123]

Can you tell me the difference between just typing nav_generate or adding nodes? Is it the same and what is bettèr?

[Silwerfish]

I'm pretty sure that nav_generate is something for bots (like for TF2 and CS:S for example) while nodes are for AI (NPCs).

[scruga]

some great tuts you got here :) But i have a problem, is it possible to have an npc jump up to something? I have this really small ledge (10-20 hammer units) but they won't climb up it. It's easily jumpable.

[Silwerfish]

Thank you.

The limit for them to be able to walk up it is 16 units, if you can't lower it to that you can use info_node_hint entities to enable them to jump up or down from there. You will need to place one at the top and one at the bottom of the jump (I don't have my good computer so I can't give you the specifics), just experiment with the settings.

[scruga]

@Silwerfish ok thank you i'll try :)

[GangstahFlowah]

So can I use this system to direct NPC's over a distance to a specific area? Will they follow these on there own, or will they just wander around (this is what happened when I tried.)

[Silwerfish]

This does not have anything to do with ordering NPCs around. It's just about giving the NPCs knowledge about where it can go.

[GangstahFlowah]

So how would I order a zombie towards a specific spot?

[Silwerfish]

Using an aiscripted_schedule for example.

[123ilikecheese456]

do one were you make them combine not attack you

[Silwerfish]

Actually, I uploaded a tutorial showing how to do this just about an hour ago or so!

go to my channel page to check it out! (It's called NPC Relationships)

[Silwerfish]

I have already made a tutorial on NPC animation, wich would be how the pressing of the button would be created.

The talking part would be choreography though, so I've added that to the tutorial list.

Thanks!

[Bekey2nd]

as always you show me something new although i thought that i knew it already ^^

[Silwerfish]

Just give me a request if you would like to see a tutorial on a specific subject, thanks! :)

[123ilikecheese456]

yeah i saw it thx

[YOUnoobGER]

cool

great tuto

[Silwerfish]

Thank you!

[bocca882]

Very nice man. What do you have next on the tuto- list?

[Silwerfish]

Thanks!

I haven't actually decided yet, so give me requests to help me make up my mind! ;D

[Silwerfish]

Please give me tutorial requests! :D

[trav10854]

Excellent video, very well made! I am envious of your computer when it comes to compiling, it takes at least 2 minutes to get the game running to test out a map and on your system it is more like 10 seconds.

But I have a question, I am looking for a way to script AIs to go to a certain place, I mean, without giving them an option to "think" but instead I set up a route for them to work around.

Is there a simple or direct way to do this?

[Silwerfish]

Thank you! :)

I have the game running in the background though.

See my tutorial called "NPC Animations", use the scripted_sequence, but give no animation information. The NPC will walk to the scripted_sequence and then consider himself to be done.

You can then set "Next Script" to the name of another scripted_sequence and then you can tie the last scripted_sequence to the first one and your NPC will be in an endless loop.

Just don't forget to check the "Override AI" flag!

I hope this helps.

[gsp1995]

Oh dude, you rule. Very helpful tutorial, since I like to work more with NPCs and scripted sequences other than brushwork lol. But I really needed to understand the info_node thank you very much.

[Silwerfish]

I'm very glad you found it useful! NPCs and AI is something I love playing around with.

Thank you! :D