On the Web"Smart Moves: Intelligent Pathfinding"www.gamasutra.com/features/19970801/pathfinding.htm This article gives a brief rundown of all the major pathfinding algorithms, and then discusses A* in detail. I learned A* from a variety of articles, but this one helped me the most. Check out the downloadable demo; it contains an amazing little program that lets you design maps and perform any of about ten pathfinding searches. You can build a map and try pathfinding with A*, tracing, and more. Also, you can slow down the search and watch how it searches to better understand the algorithms. (You need to join the site to access the article; membership is free.) "Amit's Thoughts on Path-Finding"http://theory.stanford.edu/~amitp/GameProgramming/ This is another A* article. It comes highly recommended and appears to be very thorough. "A* Algorithm Tutorial"www.geocities.com/jheyesjones/astar.html Yet another A* article. "Toward More Realistic Pathfinding"www.gamasutra.com/features/20010314/pinter_01.htm
While A* always gives the path with the lowest score, it does not always look natural. This Gamasutra article provides a look into how you can make pathfinding paths look more realistic. "The Game AI Page"www.gameai.com This Web site is dedicated to AI in games. You can find information on a lot of AI topics, including links to other useful Web sites. "Scrabble Source Code"www.gtoal.com/wordgames/scrabble.html Yes, there is actually a Web site dedicated to the AI involved in computerized games of Scrabble. Check it out. BooksAI Game Programming WisdomEdited by Steve Rabin Charles River Media ISBN: 1584500778; $69.95; www.charlesmedia.com This book has proved to be one of my most valuable purchases. It is a collection of articles from expert game programmers. You will find great ideas on handling AI for enemy behavior, pathfinding, racing games, and many more interesting topics. |