i have a square room. in this room i will have many people walking around, controlled by the computer. if they hit a wall or another person, they should slow down and turn to avoid collision. my problem here is how do i know which way to turn? lets say i colide with a wall and turn left, but theres another person there turning right? i have been told to look into path finding algorithms, like A*, but i cant see how i would apply this to a world of constantly moving obstacles, as if the obstacles dont stay still, a path cannot be calculated as it wont be there after all the other charachters move. also, im using directX and c# and i have no idea what heuristic i would use, how i would apply it to the world or anything. I briefly looked at A* before but its quite complicated. anyone had this problem before and could they help me with a solution? thanks all

I would look into flocking, not A*. Anyone has good links?

thank you. il put a post up for flocking info and google it

All you really do, is you apply four forces:

1st force: Random motion, just wanting to go anywhere.
2nd force: Repulsive force, it repells everything away from anything else with a force that gets exponentially stronger as you get closer.
3rd force: Group force, it attracts all the same sort of creatures to come together, but with a weak force That gets stronger as the creatures get weaker.
4th force: A movement force: Its a force attracting them all to a path. It doesn't exist when there is no path.


With those forces, you can end up with hepas of relitively complex patterns, for little effort. you simply give them a path to follow, and they'll all follow it.
(even A*, its pretty simple, and it won't hit anything)

It makes it easier.

Use as you see fit.
From,
Nice coder