A* Pathfinding Project  4.3.7
The A* Pathfinding Project for Unity 3D
RandomPath Class Reference

Finds a path in a random direction from the start node. More...

Detailed Description

Finds a path in a random direction from the start node.

Terminates and returns when G >= length (passed to the constructor) + RandomPath.spread or when there are no more nodes left to search.

// Call a RandomPath call like this, assumes that a Seeker is attached to the GameObject
// The path will be returned when the path is over a specified length (or more accurately when the traversal cost is greater than a specified value).
// A score of 1000 is approximately equal to the cost of moving one world unit.
int theGScoreToStopAt = 50000;
// Create a path object
RandomPath path = RandomPath.Construct(transform.position, theGScoreToStopAt);
// Determines the variation in path length that is allowed
path.spread = 5000;
// Get the Seeker component which must be attached to this GameObject
Seeker seeker = GetComponent<Seeker>();
// Start the path and return the result to MyCompleteFunction (which is a function you have to define, the name can of course be changed)
seeker.StartPath(path, MyCompleteFunction);

A* Pro Feature:
This is an A* Pathfinding Project Pro feature only. This function/class/variable might not exist in the Free version of the A* Pathfinding Project or the functionality might be limited
The Pro version can be bought here

Public Member Functions

 RandomPath ()
 
- Public Member Functions inherited from ABPath
 ABPath ()
 Default constructor. More...
 
- Public Member Functions inherited from Path
void BlockUntilCalculated ()
 Blocks until this path has been calculated and returned. More...
 
void Claim (System.Object o)
 Claim this path (pooling). More...
 
void Error ()
 Aborts the path because of an error. More...
 
PathState GetState ()
 Returns the state of the path in the pathfinding pipeline. More...
 
uint GetTagPenalty (int tag)
 Returns penalty for the given tag. More...
 
float GetTotalLength ()
 Total Length of the path. More...
 
bool IsDone ()
 Returns if this path is done calculating. More...
 
void Release (System.Object o, bool silent=false)
 Releases a path claim (pooling). More...
 
IEnumerator WaitForPath ()
 Waits until this path has been calculated and returned. More...
 

Static Public Member Functions

static RandomPath Construct (Vector3 start, int length, OnPathDelegate callback=null)
 
- Static Public Member Functions inherited from ABPath
static ABPath Construct (Vector3 start, Vector3 end, OnPathDelegate callback=null)
 Construct a path with a start and end point. More...
 
static ABPath FakePath (List< Vector3 > vectorPath, List< GraphNode > nodePath=null)
 Creates a fake path. More...
 

Public Attributes

Vector3 aim
 An aim can be used to guide the pathfinder to not take totally random paths. More...
 
float aimStrength
 If an aim is set, the higher this value is, the more it will try to reach aim. More...
 
int searchLength
 G score to stop searching at. More...
 
int spread = 5000
 All G scores between searchLength and searchLength+spread are valid end points, a random one of them is chosen as the final point. More...
 
- Public Attributes inherited from ABPath
bool calculatePartial
 Calculate partial path if the target node cannot be reached. More...
 
GraphNode endNode
 End node of the path. More...
 
Vector3 endPoint
 End point of the path. More...
 
Vector3 originalEndPoint
 End Point exactly as in the path request. More...
 
Vector3 originalStartPoint
 Start Point exactly as in the path request. More...
 
Int3 startIntPoint
 Start point in integer coordinates. More...
 
GraphNode startNode
 Start node of the path. More...
 
Vector3 startPoint
 Start point of the path. More...
 
- Public Attributes inherited from Path
OnPathDelegate callback
 Callback to call when the path is complete. More...
 
float duration
 How long it took to calculate this path in milliseconds. More...
 
int enabledTags = -1
 Which graph tags are traversable. More...
 
Heuristic heuristic
 Determines which heuristic to use. More...
 
float heuristicScale = 1F
 Scale of the heuristic values. More...
 
OnPathDelegate immediateCallback
 Immediate callback to call when the path is complete. More...
 
NNConstraint nnConstraint = PathNNConstraint.Default
 Constraint for how to search for nodes. More...
 
List< GraphNodepath
 Holds the path as a Node array. More...
 
ITraversalProvider traversalProvider
 Provides additional traversal information to a path request. More...
 
List< Vector3 > vectorPath
 Holds the (possibly post processed) path as a Vector3 list. More...
 

Protected Member Functions

override void CalculateStep (long targetTick)
 Calculates the path until completed or until the time has passed targetTick. More...
 
override void Initialize ()
 Initializes the path. More...
 
override void Prepare ()
 Prepares the path. More...
 
override void Reset ()
 Reset all values to their default values. More...
 
override void ReturnPath ()
 Calls callback to return the calculated path. More...
 
RandomPath Setup (Vector3 start, int length, OnPathDelegate callback)
 
- Protected Member Functions inherited from ABPath
override void Cleanup ()
 Always called after the path has been calculated. More...
 
virtual void CompletePathIfStartIsValidTarget ()
 Checks if the start node is the target and complete the path if that is the case. More...
 
virtual bool EndPointGridGraphSpecialCase (GraphNode closestWalkableEndNode)
 Applies a special case for grid nodes. More...
 
void UpdateStartEnd (Vector3 start, Vector3 end)
 Sets the start and end points. More...
 
void Setup (Vector3 start, Vector3 end, OnPathDelegate callbackDelegate)
 
- Protected Member Functions inherited from Path
void DebugStringPrefix (PathLog logMode, System.Text.StringBuilder text)
 Writes text shared for all overrides of DebugString to the string builder. More...
 
void DebugStringSuffix (PathLog logMode, System.Text.StringBuilder text)
 Writes text shared for all overrides of DebugString to the string builder. More...
 
virtual void OnEnterPool ()
 Called when the path enters the pool. More...
 
void PrepareBase (PathHandler pathHandler)
 Prepares low level path variables for calculation. More...
 
virtual void Trace (PathNode from)
 Traces the calculated path from the end node to the start. More...
 

Properties

override bool FloodingPath [get]
 
override bool hasEndPoint [get]
 
- Properties inherited from ABPath
virtual bool hasEndPoint [get]
 Determines if a search for an end node should be done. More...
 
- Properties inherited from Path
PathCompleteState CompleteState [get, protected set]
 Current state of the path. More...
 
bool error [get]
 If the path failed, this is true. More...
 
string errorLog [get, private set]
 Additional info on why a path failed. More...
 
virtual bool FloodingPath [get]
 True for paths that want to search all nodes and not jump over nodes as optimizations. More...
 
PathHandler IPathInternals. PathHandler [get]
 
ushort pathID [get, private set]
 ID of this path. More...
 
PathState PipelineState [get, private set]
 Returns the state of the path in the pathfinding pipeline. More...
 
bool IPathInternals. Pooled [get, set]
 True if the path is currently pooled. More...
 
bool recycled [get]
 True if the path is currently recycled (i.e in the path pool). More...
 
int [] tagPenalties [get, set]
 Penalties for each tag. More...
 
- Properties inherited from IPathInternals
PathHandler PathHandler [get]
 
bool Pooled [get, set]
 

Private Attributes

PathNode chosenNodeR
 Currently chosen end node. More...
 
int maxGScore
 The G score of maxGScoreNodeR. More...
 
PathNode maxGScoreNodeR
 The node with the highest G score which is still lower than searchLength. More...
 
int nodesEvaluatedRep
 
readonly System.Random rnd = new System.Random()
 Random number generator. More...
 

Additional Inherited Members

- Protected Attributes inherited from ABPath
int [] endNodeCosts
 Saved original costs for the end node. More...
 
PathNode partialBestTarget
 Current best target for the partial path. More...
 
- Protected Attributes inherited from Path
PathCompleteState completeState
 Backing field for CompleteState. More...
 
PathNode currentR
 The node currently being processed. More...
 
bool hasBeenReset
 True if the Reset function has been called. More...
 
Int3 hTarget
 Target to use for H score calculations. More...
 
GraphNode hTargetNode
 Target to use for H score calculation. More...
 
int [] internalTagPenalties
 The tag penalties that are actually used. More...
 
int [] manualTagPenalties
 Tag penalties set by other scripts. More...
 
PathHandler pathHandler
 Data for the thread calculating this path. More...
 
- Package Functions inherited from ABPath
override string DebugString (PathLog logMode)
 Returns a debug string for this path. More...
 
override uint GetConnectionSpecialCost (GraphNode a, GraphNode b, uint currentCost)
 May be called by graph nodes to get a special cost for some connections. More...
 
- Package Functions inherited from Path
uint CalculateHScore (GraphNode node)
 Estimated cost from the specified node to the target. More...
 
bool CanTraverse (GraphNode node)
 Returns if the node can be traversed. More...
 
void FailWithError (string msg)
 Causes the path to fail and sets errorLog to msg. More...
 
Int3 GetHTarget ()
 
uint GetTraversalCost (GraphNode node)
 
void Log (string msg)
 Appends a message to the errorLog. More...
 
void LogError (string msg)
 Logs an error. More...
 
void ReleaseSilent (System.Object o)
 Releases the path silently (pooling). More...
 
- Package Attributes inherited from Path
Path next
 Internal linked list implementation. More...
 
int searchedNodes
 Number of nodes this path has searched. More...
 
- Static Package Attributes inherited from Path
static readonly int [] ZeroTagPenalties = new int[32]
 List of zeroes to use as default tag penalties. More...
 

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

◆ RandomPath()

Member Function Documentation

◆ CalculateStep()

override void CalculateStep ( long  targetTick)
protectedvirtual

Calculates the path until completed or until the time has passed targetTick.

Usually a check is only done every 500 nodes if the time has passed targetTick. Time/Ticks are got from System.DateTime.UtcNow.Ticks.

Basic outline of what the function does for the standard path (Pathfinding.ABPath).

while the end has not been found and no error has occurred
check if we have reached the end
if so, exit and return the path
open the current node, i.e loop through its neighbours, mark them as visited and put them on a heap
check if there are still nodes left to process (or have we searched the whole graph)
if there are none, flag error and exit
pop the next node of the heap and set it as current
check if the function has exceeded the time limit
if so, return and wait for the function to get called again

Reimplemented from ABPath.

◆ Construct()

static RandomPath Construct ( Vector3  start,
int  length,
OnPathDelegate  callback = null 
)
static

◆ Initialize()

override void Initialize ( )
protectedvirtual

Initializes the path.

Sets up the open list and adds the first node to it

Reimplemented from ABPath.

◆ Prepare()

override void Prepare ( )
protectedvirtual

Prepares the path.

Searches for start and end nodes and does some simple checking if a path is at all possible

Reimplemented from ABPath.

◆ Reset()

override void Reset ( )
protectedvirtual

Reset all values to their default values.

All inheriting path types must implement this function, resetting ALL their variables to enable recycling of paths. Call this base function in inheriting types with base.Reset ();

Reimplemented from ABPath.

◆ ReturnPath()

override void ReturnPath ( )
protectedvirtual

Calls callback to return the calculated path.

See also
callback

Reimplemented from Path.

◆ Setup()

RandomPath Setup ( Vector3  start,
int  length,
OnPathDelegate  callback 
)
protected

Member Data Documentation

◆ aim

Vector3 aim

An aim can be used to guide the pathfinder to not take totally random paths.

For example you might want your AI to continue in generally the same direction as before, then you can specify aim to be transform.postion + transform.forward*10 which will make it more often take paths nearer that point

See also
aimStrength

◆ aimStrength

float aimStrength

If an aim is set, the higher this value is, the more it will try to reach aim.

◆ chosenNodeR

PathNode chosenNodeR
private

Currently chosen end node.

◆ maxGScore

int maxGScore
private

The G score of maxGScoreNodeR.

◆ maxGScoreNodeR

PathNode maxGScoreNodeR
private

The node with the highest G score which is still lower than searchLength.

Used as a backup if a node with a G score higher than searchLength could not be found

◆ nodesEvaluatedRep

int nodesEvaluatedRep
private

◆ rnd

readonly System.Random rnd = new System.Random()
private

Random number generator.

◆ searchLength

int searchLength

G score to stop searching at.

The G score is rougly the distance to get from the start node to a node multiplied by 1000 (per default, see Pathfinding.Int3.Precision), plus any penalties

◆ spread

int spread = 5000

All G scores between searchLength and searchLength+spread are valid end points, a random one of them is chosen as the final point.

On grid graphs a low spread usually works (but keep it higher than nodeSize*1000 since that it the default cost of moving between two nodes), on NavMesh graphs I would recommend a higher spread so it can evaluate more nodes

Property Documentation

◆ FloodingPath

override bool FloodingPath
getpackage

◆ hasEndPoint

override bool hasEndPoint
getprotected

The documentation for this class was generated from the following file: