A* Pathfinding vs Apex Path | Behavior designer vs Playmaker. Which pack should I pick?

I have some budget to get some add-ons, but I'm a newbie and I'm not sure about which ones should I pick. I already bought Realistic FPS Prefab and later this week I'll be picking UFPS so the controller and weapon system will be covered. I also got Gaia so terrain is also covered. I got EasyRoads so if I'm clever placing side object, cities are also covered. I even got some free zombies from Mixamo who's giving them for free for a limited time because Adobe bought the company so enemies are covered.

What is not covered is the AI, map/level building and the game logic. I'll take care of the level building later (probably will get Pro Core Bundle later). I need help to choose between some packages that I've been considering, but I would like to hear members opinions before I get them.

AI packages that I've been considering:

A* Pathfinding Project Pro
AI Behavior
Apex Path
Advanced AI Pro
Paragon Shooter AI

I would like to hear member's opinions about which one of those is the best and why.

Visual scripting packages that I've been considering:

Playmaker
Behavior designer
Node canvas

I also would like to hear your opinions first about these.

I'm almost convinced to get UFPS, Apex Path and Behavior Designer, but I would like to hear your opinion first. Thanks in advance!

 

Good that you are careful ^^

I got Third Person Controller and Behavior Designer and i am very happy with it

but also cant finally decide between apex path and pathfinding project pro
ppp has in its pro version has recast navmeshes with seem to be pretty nice
(basically unity navmesh but can be used/calculated during runtime)

apex path seems to need portals for grids on different heights (the connections must be marked with portals)
apex path is of course on sale this week ^^

if you get behavior designer there is probably no need for AI Behavior, Advanced AI Pro and
Paragon Shooter AI. At least make sure if this packages can be integrated easily with the other packages.
Else you teleport right into integration hell XD

Make sure to read all of their forums as you cant be sure if projects abandoned (happens to often)

If you are halfway proficient in c# or js i would not get playmaker.

 

Thanks for your reply. I wish to be proficient with C# but, it'll not be possible soon tho, maybe I'll decide to learn it in a few months. For now what I want to do is to program my first two games with minimal programming and the help of the asset store.

I would like the first one to be a Last Stand type game with the player in the center inside an octagon made of steel barricades and razor wire. Zombies will come from the surroundings to destroy the barricades and kill the player inside the barricades. I want it to be a mobile game.

The second one will probably be a survival game on an island infested with zombies and the player investigating the cause of the infection and a way to get out of the island. I want the second game to be a PC game.

Those two will put most of the assets I already have to good use. How do you think that Behavior designer will help me to complete those projects? Will Behavior Designer be able to program such things as mines, doors, weapons and spawners, or is it limited to enemy AI? Thanks in advance.

 

Behavior Designer dev here. Thanks for helping @Arganth

Behavior Designer is a behavior tree implementation which is generally used for AI. I have seen some people use it for general visual scripting and it has worked really well for them. However, for a new Unity user, Playmaker is probably a better choice for general visual programming. That's not to say that you can't create a mine, door, or weapon with behavior trees, they just generally are not used for that. I'm all about using the right tool for the job

When you start to add AI to your game, without a doubt behavior trees (Behavior Designer) are a better choice compared to finite state machines (Playmaker). One of the more common questions that I get is what is the difference between a behavior tree and finite state machine. I've written a short doc on that here. Behavior Designer can definitely be used in the two projects that you listed.

 

Nice, the developer himself answered my question. I just finished reading your document and decided to buy UFPS, Apex Path and Behavior designer. I was also looking at the RTS sample and it seems similar to what I need with the barricades and the zombies. In my case the zombies need to attack the barricade instead of the tower and then the player instead of the power plant. That was a decisive factor to take my decision to buy your product. Opsive always looks very informative, helpful and knowledgeable and always are willing to help their customers so I'm glad that I got Behavior Designer. In a not so distant future I'll also get the third person controller. I plan to use your products for many years to come. Thanks!

I read that you're giving an add-on pack for free with the purchase of Behavior Designer, may I ask what do I need to do to get it?

 

Awesome!

Just send me a PM or email with your invoice number

 

PM sent!