Pathfinder Pro vs Unity4 Pro navMesh?

General
#1

Hi,
I’m running Unity4 iOS pro with Playmaker.

Are there any distinct advantages running A* Pathfinding Pro compared to Unity4’ Pros navmesh system.

note: I recently purchased A* Pathfinder Pro ( before realising Unity4 comes loaded with a navmesh… hhmm )

Mick

#2

Gotta start somewhere right… :slight_smile: Let me try an drop an image of my A.R T.D game in here
here’s a screen grab from my ipad of my little AR game with navmesh applied.

I simply used the Unity4 mecanim sample & then played around with the navmesh to suit my scene…

Once I get A* P.P running I’ll post a few pics with nav mesh exposed. Runs quite well so far on ipad2. I’ll drop Target Pro turrets in later tonight & blow the crap out of those houses.

#3

Thx for the quick reply,
I guess since I now own both I can do a simple comparison check on a navmesh once I understand how to create a navmesh with A* P.P

As for grids & graphs I’m not sure I’ll be making much use of them as all my apps are A.R apps coded in PlayMaker… but hey, to be honest this whole area of graphs and navmeshes etc… are new grounds for me.

Perhaps there’s loads of situations I’m unaware of where I should be utilising graphs instead of a navmesh. note: most of the apps I created are targeting iPhone/ iPad so draw calls, atlases & general optimisation are at the top of my list.

#4

I cannot say anything about performance or memory myself since I do not own Unity Pro. But regarding the features, the A* Pathfinding Project comes with more graph types possible, for example grid graphs, point graphs and if you want, your own custom written graphs. Regarding memory, I have heard it is lighter on ram compared to Unity Pro, but don’t take my word on that. Also check out the comparison page: http://arongranberg.com/astar/freevspro (note, this is a link to a page under construction, the other pages linked from it are still under construction).

#5

note: The A.R target (a book) the little bear is standing on. I had to blur the title since I’m under an NDA in regarding another app I’m building utilising the children’s book.

Basic Game Scenario: my little bear will wander around harvesting mushrooms… critters come out stealing them… Player navigates around bear searching for tools to fend of critters.

I have the bear fully animated via Maya, Playmaker & Mechanim… looks great. he farts and stuff… kids love that stuff :slight_smile:

#6

I’m looking into using Walker Bros "Ai Made Easy " in conjunction with A*P.P I hope this will be a solid starting point to get my agents reacting to triggers I place throughout the scenes.