ModernUO/Projects/UOContent/Mobiles
Kamron Batman cff9fbda29
fix(ai): creatures pathfind around concave obstacles instead of oscillating (#2461)
## Summary

Creatures (pets following, monsters chasing, NPCs approaching) would **oscillate — "pace back and forth really fast"** at concave obstacles (reported at the Britain Inn L-desk: a pet at `(1493,1614,20)` never reaching its master at `(1494,1605,21)`) instead of routing around them.

**Root cause** (the A* pathfinder itself was correct): all goal-seeking funnels through `MoveTo` and `WalkMobileRange` → `MoveTowardsOrAwayFrom`, which step greedily via `DoMove(dir, badStateOk:true)`. `DoMove` returns `true` even when the direct step was blocked and the creature merely **auto-turned and sidestepped** (`MoveResult.SuccessAutoTurn`), and the caller then set `Path = null`, discarding the `PathFollower`. So at a concave obstacle a non-progressing sidestep was mistaken for progress and the creature never committed to a route. (AOS pet-follow runs at `CurrentSpeed = 0.1`, hence the "really fast" shuffle.)

## What changed

- **New centralized `BaseAI.ApproachTarget(target, run, range)` primitive.** A greedy step is committed only when it **fully succeeds (`MoveResult.Success`) and actually gets closer**; otherwise the creature commits to a **persistent `PathFollower`** that routes around the obstacle and is never discarded by a greedy step. The open-terrain fast path (one greedy step, no pathfinding) is preserved. `MoveTo`, `MoveTowardsOrAwayFrom`, and `MoveToWithCollisionAvoidance` all delegate to it — public signatures unchanged, so no AI-class call site changes.
- **Best-distance give-up + idle.** A creature that cannot reach a **stationary** in-range goal stops shuffling and idles after `ApproachGiveUpTicks` (40) ticks without lowering its closest-ever distance; a **moving** goal (active chase) never gives up. It resumes the moment the goal moves.
- **Pathfinder fix (required):** `BitmapAStarAlgorithm.IsBlockedByDynamic` now skips the dynamic mobile-block check **at the goal cell only** (`MoveImpl.Goal`). Previously A* returned `null` whenever the target mobile stood on the goal cell, so creatures could never pathfind *toward* another mobile — only toward empty ground. The follower stops within `range` short of it. Static/item blocking and all non-goal mobile blocking are unchanged.

## Tests

New AI-loop integration tests in `ApproachTargetTests.cs` drive the real `BaseAI` primitives against live Britain Inn map statics: exact-repro pet follow, open-terrain (asserts zero pathfinding), `MoveTo` chase (static + walking-away target), route-around-a-dynamic-wall, and walled-off give-up-and-idle.

- Pathfinding + AI subset: **52/52** pass.
- Full `UOContent.Tests`: **301/301** pass. (Note: the test host lingers on shutdown — a pre-existing infra quirk unrelated to this change; all tests complete and pass.)
- Full solution build: clean (0 warnings / 0 errors).

## Notes

- Branched off `main`; independent of the in-flight step-cache work.
- Out of scope (future work): proactive "SmartAI" look-ahead pathfinding so clever creatures plan a route before walking into the obstacle, rather than reacting after they hit it.

## Test Plan

- [X] In-game: order a pet to `follow`/`come` across the Britain Inn L-desk; confirm it routes around and reaches you instead of pacing.
- [X] Aggro a monster and kite it around a building/treeline; confirm it chases around obstacles.
- [X] Confirm open-terrain following/chasing feels unchanged (no extra latency).
- [X] Confirm a creature with a genuinely unreachable target idles rather than shuffling forever.
2026-06-06 10:20:52 -07:00
..
Abilities fix: Adds guard for monster ability recursion (#2363) 2026-03-12 19:26:49 -07:00
AI fix(ai): creatures pathfind around concave obstacles instead of oscillating (#2461) 2026-06-06 10:20:52 -07:00
Animals chore: Fixes variable types for possible performance issues (#2172) 2025-05-01 21:54:41 -07:00
Familiars fix: Fixes container enumeration not recycling pooled arrays (#2341) 2026-02-17 09:54:32 -08:00
Guards feat: Adjusts fame and karma system with era gates for OSI accuracy (#2389) 2026-04-25 11:19:57 -07:00
Healers feat: Adds Mobile.Murderer virtual property, consolidates kill-threshold checks (#2355) 2026-03-06 08:36:41 -08:00
Hireables chore: Use var everywhere (#2294) 2025-12-27 16:47:28 -08:00
Monsters perf(messages): restructure format-string call sites (#2437) 2026-05-03 18:29:11 -07:00
Special feat: Adds Mobile.Murderer virtual property, consolidates kill-threshold checks (#2355) 2026-03-06 08:36:41 -08:00
Townfolk perf: Migrate NPC and Skill UI gumps to DynamicGump/StaticGump (#2414) 2026-04-25 19:51:42 -07:00
Vendors perf: Migrate vendor management gumps to DynamicGump/StaticGump (#2431) 2026-05-03 10:19:12 -07:00
BaseCreature.cs perf: Eliminates allocations in Container searching. (#2409) 2026-04-25 13:40:21 -07:00
NPCSpeeds.cs feat: Overhauls AI (Speech/Movement) (#2232) 2025-07-18 22:39:57 -07:00
PlayerMobile.cs feat: add young_player_system feature flag to disable Young player system (#2445) 2026-05-05 20:09:49 -07:00
VirtualMountItem.cs fix: Fixes mount stamina, adds Pub46+ Ethereal stamina (#1716) 2024-04-05 21:05:16 -07:00