ModernUO/Projects/UOContent/Engines
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
..
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BuffIcons feat: Standardizes South/East selection gumps (#1839) 2025-02-14 00:15:14 -08:00
Bulk Orders feat: Adds Feature Flag System (#2328) 2026-02-07 12:02:57 -08:00
CannedEvil feat: Adds Mobile.Murderer virtual property, consolidates kill-threshold checks (#2355) 2026-03-06 08:36:41 -08:00
Character Creation fix: Fixes bug with non blessed starter spellbooks (#2368) 2026-03-13 00:20:23 -07:00
Chat fix: Bumps deps. Updates copyrights (#2353) 2026-03-05 19:36:54 -08:00
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Doom chore: Use var everywhere (#2294) 2025-12-27 16:47:28 -08:00
Ethics feat: Add zero-alloc interpolation handler to ValueStringBuilder, replace all StringBuilder usage (#2387) 2026-03-22 14:23:44 -07:00
Events fix: Streamlines event scheduler API. Adds months to weekly recurrence (#2178) 2025-05-07 22:42:44 -07:00
Factions perf(messages): mechanical interpolation cleanups (#2436) 2026-05-03 18:26:49 -07:00
FeatureFlags feat: expand cache to nearly all mobiles + dynamic-obstacle pass (#2447) 2026-05-06 00:14:08 -07:00
Harvest chore: Use var everywhere (#2294) 2025-12-27 16:47:28 -08:00
Help feat: Add zero-alloc interpolation handler to ValueStringBuilder, replace all StringBuilder usage (#2387) 2026-03-22 14:23:44 -07:00
Khaldun feat: Converts PuzzleChest to generator, optimizes (#2318) 2026-01-26 21:20:01 -06:00
ML Quests perf: Zero-alloc interpolation for SendMessage/Overhead APIs (#2434) 2026-05-03 18:04:02 -07:00
Party fix: Bumps deps. Updates copyrights (#2353) 2026-03-05 19:36:54 -08:00
Pathing fix(ai): creatures pathfind around concave obstacles instead of oscillating (#2461) 2026-06-06 10:20:52 -07:00
Plants perf: Migrate Plant gumps to DynamicGump/StaticGump (#2411) 2026-04-25 16:46:37 -07:00
Player Murder System feat: Adjusts fame and karma system with era gates for OSI accuracy (#2389) 2026-04-25 11:19:57 -07:00
Quests perf: Migrate Quest gumps to DynamicGump (#2416) 2026-04-25 20:23:13 -07:00
Spawners feat: Consolidates staff gump layouts (#2404) 2026-04-08 11:42:46 -06:00
Stealables fix: Consolidates Color/Center html (#1762) 2024-05-07 23:56:32 -07:00
Treasures of Tokuno fix: Optimizes items to use default weights. (Part 1) (#2240) 2025-07-24 14:44:39 -07:00
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Veteran Rewards perf: Migrate Veteran Reward gumps to DynamicGump/StaticGump (#2415) 2026-04-25 20:09:27 -07:00
Virtues perf: Migrates Virtue gumps from legacy Gump to DynamicGump/StaticGump. (#2410) 2026-04-25 16:40:07 -07:00