[BUG-233116] Pathfinding Update

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How would you like the feature to work?

The pathfinding options which are currently scattered between different floaters need to be moved into its own tab in the build menu for users to actually take advantage of pathfinding. When a objects pathfinding settings are changed from the build menu it should auto refresh the navmesh for the region automatically without the need for user intervention.

(Please see attached photos and xml files.) I used the floater_tools.xml from this version of the LL client. Second Life Project GLTF PBR Materials 7.0.0.577410 (64bit)

Line 2718: <panel          label="AI"          help_topic="toolbox_Pathfinding_tab"          name="Pathfinding"          filename="pathfinding_tab.xml">        

Why is this feature important to you? How would it benefit the community?

Currently the pathfinding options are located in 3 separate floaters.  These pathfinding features need to be moved to a single tab inside the build menu so users can see the options on the selected object and be able to take full advantage of pathfinding.

Pathfinding bots and animesh PVE creatures in pathfindings current state are not marketable objects because the owner of the object needs to both be able to enable pathfinding in the region and also setup pathfinding for these products to work.

Putting the pathfinding feature set inside the build menu gives users a quick and easy way to edit the navmesh settings for the selection.

The region currently requires a user to manually refresh the navmesh for the region anytime an objects navmesh settings are updated.  This needs to be setup so when the region detects a change to a navmesh or its been applied to an object the region should auto refresh the navmesh without the user’s intervention.

This would greatly improve the quality of life for users trying to use pathfinding.

Attachments

• buildmenu.png 2022-12-22 23:32:26
• floater_tools.xml 2022-12-22 23:06:47
• pathfinding_tab.xml 2022-12-22 23:01:16
• Pathfinding.png 2022-12-22 22:51:43
• refresh navmesh.png 2022-12-22 23:32:52

Original Jira Fields

| Field | Value | | ------------- | ------------- | | Issue | BUG-233116 | | Summary | Pathfinding Update | | Type | New Feature Request | | Priority | Unset | | Status | Accepted | | Resolution | Accepted | | Reporter | dantia Gothly (dantia.gothly) | | Created at | 2022-12-23T04:07:03Z | | Updated at | 2023-01-04T19:22:53Z | ``` { 'Build Id': 'unset', 'Business Unit': ['Platform'], 'Date of First Response': '2022-12-22T23:00:20.955-0600', 'How would you like the feature to work?': 'The pathinfing options which are currentrly scattered between different floaters need to be moved into its own tab in the build menu for users to actually take advantage of pathfinding.\r\n\r\nWhen a objects pathfinding settings are changed from the build menu it should auto refresh the navmesh for the region automaticlly without the need for user intervention.\r\n (Please see attached photos and xml files.)', 'ReOpened Count': 0.0, 'Severity': 'Unset', 'Target Viewer Version': 'viewer-development', 'Why is this feature important to you? How would it benefit the community?': 'Currently the pathfinding options are located in 3 seperate floaters. \r\nThese pathfinding features need to be moved to a single tab inside the build menu so users can see the options on the selected object and be able to take full advantage of pathfinding. \r\n\r\nPathfinding bots and animesh PVE creatures in pathfindings current state are not marketable objects because the owner of the object needs to both be able to enable pathfinding in the region and also setup pathfinding for these products to work. \r\n\r\nPutting the pathfinding feature set inside the build menu gives users a quick and easy way to edit the navmesh settings for the selection.\r\n\r\nThe region currently requires a user to manually refresh the nav mesh for the region anytime an objects navmesh settings are updated. \r\nThis needs to be setup so when the region detects a change to a navmesh or its been applied to an object the region should auto refresh the navmesh without the users intervention.\r\n\r\nThis would greatly improve the quality of life for users trying to use pathfinding. ', } ```

[sl-service-account]

Darksider Alex commented at 2022-12-23T05:00:21Z

This would be really helpful with my PVE/NPC projects. I scripted a combat robot that utilizes a custom-made pathfinding system, but I had to create one from scratch due to LSL pathfinding being unable to change navmeshes between levels. It's a less efficient alternative to the problem, and it would honestly be much nicer to have the builtin pathfinding system be capable of changing/refreshing navmeshes. 

I'm not sure why pathfinding isn't immediately accessible from the build menu, it would be sensible to be able to mark objects as walk-able, or as obstacles. Improvements to the system would be genuinely helpful.

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Vincent Nacon commented at 2022-12-23T14:01:35Z

Maybe put AI button next to the terraforming button (Ctrl+6) so it could have its own window instead of being grouped up with others in the build tab? I don't think we need to make the current build window more cluttered, but I am in favor of better access to the Pathfinding tool.

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dantia Gothly commented at 2022-12-23T14:13:32Z

No more nested menus, The pathfinding options need to be visible to the user in one location in the build menu not hidden in yet another nested menu.

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Whirly Fizzle commented at 2022-12-23T14:36:22Z

This needs to be setup so when the region detects a change to a navmesh or its been applied to an object the region should auto refresh the navmesh without the user’s intervention.

The navmesh does get auto-refreshed if it is dirty, but not immediately. I can't remember how often the auto-refresh runs - about once per hour I think? I would be wary of auto-refreshing the navmesh too frequently until the memeory leak is fixed - see BUG-772

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dantia Gothly commented at 2022-12-23T14:55:59Z

Thats fine if there is a short few second delay between when an objects pathfinding is updated to when the navmesh is refreshed but an hour is far to long. It shouldn't require user intervention.

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Extrude Ragu commented at 2022-12-23T15:52:07Z

If I could add my own two cents:

Aside from simple practical reasons outlined above, another reason is very much the bigger picture - Keep in mind the state of the world we're in now, where Artificial intelligence etc is on the rise - It's important from a marketing perspective that SL appears to be keeping up with the times, for attracting users.

I think there is going to be a new wave of interest in AI in coming years that SL should probably be capitalizing on. Especially conversational AI like ChatGPT etc that bring almost human-like intelligence to the table. I think the location of the Pathfinding tools and how it's marketed are important to how users perceive SL's direction.

I very much like the idea of calling it the 'AI' tab for this reason - Even if it just has pathfinding options for now, as it sends the message that yes, SL is a place where we support and do all the cool new AI stuff.

Also, having the settings in the build menu would mean that creators are more likely to configure their objects with appropriate pathfinding attributes which is always a plus.

[sl-service-account]

Vir Linden commented at 2023-01-04T19:22:48Z

We know pathfinding needs work. Will add this as possible future work related to that.