Official Experimental AI Navigation Package

Will this also improve the DOTS NavMeshQuery api? Thats been experimental with 2018, and you have to jump through many hoops to get useful results out of it.

 

Glad to see that Navmesh Components are finally making the transition to a Unity Package!

We have been working with the navmesh components for quite a while now and I have a few things I want to address right away:

• Please expose the debug building & visualization features by default on the NavmeshSurface component. It helps a lot when trying to figure out why a specific corner of the navmesh doesn't come out the way you want it to. But not a lot of users know the debug data/views exist since it is hidden behind a few different APIs.
• Please take a look at the underlying NavMeshBuilder again, there are still issues to be solved there. I recently reported this issue regarding navmesh modifiers (detailed info in this forum post).
• Add the possibilty to use arbitrary meshes as volume modifiers, the current restriction to boxes only is severely limiting and caused us to use countless workarounds to block navmesh inside of pre-built geometry.
• If at all possible, please move the NavMeshBuilder out of black-box land into the package! It would go a long way to be able to see what is happening and being able to modify it if needed.

Thank you

 

Feature Request

Make MavMeshPath include offmesh links rather than just Vector3's that way offmeshlinks can be usable.

My last project I had to spatially search to try and match vector3's to offmesh links, its slow and unreliable

 

Do you plan to add some feature to get rid of disconnected NavMesh islands? Something what NavMesh Cleaner asset does in current system.

 

The Unity 2021.2 beta is available for feedback unity blog mentions:
"Editor: Scene View tool overlays, quality-of-life improvements, Editor performance optimizations, a beta of the Apple Silicon Editor, the AI Navigation experimental package, feature sets"
But still I cannot find the AI Navigation package in the package manage in Unity Registry list. Not even if I enable the experimental packages.
Does this means that we still have to add the AI Navigation package by name, as you suggested even in 2021.2 too?
But then why the blog mentions that it is available in the editor?

 

The part of the blog post you quoted says "the AI Navigation experimental package".
If I'm not wrong, experimental means "hidden and should be added by name", preview means "visible if preview packages are enabled".
It seems to me that it is normal to still not see the package in the package manager even though the blog post mentioned it.

 

I'm confused

 

Plus, please do not duplicate your post.

 

Do I understand correctly, that the current "AI Navigation Package" at current state is exactly the same like the NavMeshComponents Addon, available via Git? (https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/NavMeshComponents)

Which means: If I'm using the old NavMeshComponents - there is no need to update/change scripts for this "AI Navigation Package" at this point? (later, when the planned features will be implemented, then of course an update makes sense)

 

It takes forever to install. How much is the size of the package?

 

Nice, thanks for the link! There is indeed already some movement on the fixing area. Looking forward for future major steps towards new and improved functionality!

 

Do you plan to support 2D navmeshes any time soon...?

 

Is there anyway to add this package to the 2019.4 LTS Package Manager?

 

Is this package opensource? Or will it?

 

Hi @mplantady_unity. How about dots AI Navigation package? Will dots AI Navigation package be reimplemented in pure dots way or build on top of this AI Navigation Package?

 

Ya this package is highly misleading as to what it actually is and has confused a ton of people ever since it first hit on github. It's a high level api over existing lower level public api's.

That needs to just be clearly stated.

 

Do you have any ETA when it will arrive into a preview or released state? We're just beggining a new project in a studio and it would be great for our game but we're worried about it being an experimental package. We'd be considering it if it would get to at least preview state before we'd release the game.

 

I'm overjoyed to see movement on this!

On the roadmap page (https://unity.com/roadmap/unity-platform/navigation-game-ai) there is mention of reworking the entire baking process for performance. Will this involve making runtime baking async?

It hurts that BuildNavMesh() hangs a single frame.

 

I have an issue with the package though... When I use UpdateNavMesh() for my NavMesh I see the new NavMesh (or at least the changes since last recalculation). Unfortunately it seems that my NavMeshAgents are also considered as obstacles and create a not moveable area around them, leavng them on a small walkable island.

In the documentation is written, that neither NavMeshAgents nor NavMeshObstacles should be taken into consideration while updating the NavMeshSurface. So I'm a little bit confused at this point... Can you help me with that?

Perhaps there is something I didn't see...

 

I guess I am a bit confused about this package is bringing in. I added by name as instructed, I have UnityEngine.AI imported to the file I am working on. But when I do the most basic item, defining an array with

Code (CSharp):

1.     public NavMeshSurface[] surfaces;

Unity tells me it cannot find NavMeshSurface. Is there something else that needs to be added to my project other the item indicated?

 

Have you checked the OP and followed the installation instructions?

 

Yeah, as I mentioned I added it by name as instructed. Hence my confusion why it doesn't recognize it.

 

Sorry, just double check, a lot of people forget these things. Next one: are you using ASMDEF files? If the answer is yes, you need to add the package's ASMDEF as reference.

 

No worries, I understand. I can't say that I am using the ASMDEF files. I see them in this repo: https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/NavMeshComponents/tree/master/Assets/NavMeshComponents/Scripts but my understanding was using the package from the com file replaced the need to import these scripts? Maybe I am incorrect and actually still need them? None of the tutorials I was watching brought them in, hence the reason I had not yet.

 

Just downloaded the package real quick, it works for me. Could you please share the file where you're experiencing the problem and the exact error message?

No, you don't need the github repo if you downloaded and installed the package version.

 

So when I import the scripts from that Github package into my project I get the following warnings:


However if I remove those files and only have the com package I get an error that says this:


The file at the moment is pretty empty. I have the imports at the top, some boilerplate and defining the array.

Code (CSharp):

1. using System.Collections;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using System.Linq;
4. using UnityEngine;
5. using UnityEngine.AI;
6. using UnityEngine.SceneManagement;
7.  
8. public class ModularDungeonGeneration : MonoBehaviour {
9.     public NavMeshSurface[] surfaces;
10.     private Module[] Modules;
11.     public int Iterations = 5;
12.     public bool logBuildMessages = true;

and some more variable definitions. I'll check back tomorrow, gotta crash for the night. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

 

Hello to Unity friends at AI Navigation.

We have developed Free Form Generative AI that produces entire Unity 1st and 3rd Person games with infinitely variational landscape and Addressable assets.

I like to say hello and introduce us to the AI Navigation team. We are a subscribed customer and already in multiple stores and UDP.

With great pleasure I need to announce that our first usage of AI Navigation on Unity 2021.2.0b15 was instantly successful, rewarding and most impressive! Congrats to all of you at this team!

In our computing ream the player or the game designer could simply specify an image:

http://64.60.141.195/photos/72jpegs/207913N2.jpg

and our generative AI constructs a 3D Embossed and textured structure with multiple-NavMesh within 12-20s!

The assets then Streams from our computational cloud or from CCD buckets as Addressables ... you can imagine the rest.

What you see in the attached scenes, are based upon multiple Shortest Tour Graph Theoretic algorithms

FindShortestTour
https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/FindShortestTour.html

If need be
SortestPath
https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/FindShortestPath.html

The 3D structure has multiple layer, Top, Middle and Bottom, Top and Bottom have NavMesh and the Points for the Patrol are obtained from the above algorithms in Wolfram Cloud.

The shortest tours are JSON transported into the Unity live-running game and are used for Patrol and Attack navigations.

We have 100s of examples as such, and most important feature of these examples is that they are NOCODE with Free Form English interface which I provide examples if interested at a later date.

Within 20s or less, fully variational 3D game is generated by the Free Form Generative AI, with applicable part-Unit-NavMesh at run-time and part of Graph-Tours from our graph algorithms!

I wrote, because we need to take this to new heights at Unity and my support director asked me to contact the forums and here we are

Dara

 

From an old embroidery book's pencil drawn images, our generative AI can synthesizes games!

 

Players and designers could add Tubular Knots, from Knot Theory, and the AI computes run-time Navmesh...

 

Players and designers could simply enter a few rules for a fractal and the 3D game generated with NavMesh at run-time... Amazing and much gratitude to the team here.
D

 

Stumbled upon the problem when my mesh was not properly runtime-baked on Android devices (all good in editor).
Found out that the reason were mesh colliders. Switching my prefabs to the box colliders solved the problem

 

Greate,and what about DOTS AI Package?Is there any plan for this ?

 

I was wondering if there is a better solution for discluding triggers in the navmesh surface bake that having to add a NavMeshModifier component to them? I love being able to use the colliders for the navmesh baking, but now my triggers volumes are being included. I think an option on the navmesh surface bake to ignore triggers would be swell.

Separately, the driving factor behind me adopting this new navigation package is the NavMeshModifierVolume, because it is super useful to be able to micromanage the navmesh areas in order to encourage believable/normal pathfinding from npcs. I would also love some other volume shapes beside the rectangular prism. Namely something round like a cylinder or a sphere.

Thanks so much!

 

Hello! I was wondering if we could get an update on the status of this package?

• The roadmap hasn't been updated since March 2021
• The last change listed on the changelog was Mid-July 2021
• The last response to any feedback here was Mid-August 2021

I'd be particularly interested to know how the planned HeightMesh generation is coming along, but any news at all would be welcome, thank you!

 

the namespace is Unity.AI;

Basically you need three namespaces

using Unity.AI;
using UnityEngine.AI;
using Unity.AI.Navigation;

Hope this helps.

Also, what is going on with this package?

 

I too would very much like to know where Unity is with Navigation!

Having used it for the last five years it really does feel like the AI/Navmesh stuff is all on life support, or close enough. It's not alone in that regard, the move to DOTS and the engineering that has required has really rocked a lot of important bits of Unity, and I don't blame them. But it's hard to take the posted roadmap seriously as anything other than wishful thinking when it's so clearly been in stasis/maintenance for years.

 

Looks like Unity just (April 17th) added stuff to the roadmap in the Animation and 3D characters section (for some reason).
You can vote for AI and Navigation here to improve the chance of it happening! Board Link

 

This package does seem to be dead. What's everyone using as a replacement?

 

I have workflows that depend on NavMesh.CalculateTriangulation(); and baking with modifier. I don't consider this API dead at all. In fact I'm looking for some kind of guarantee that if it's deprecated there will be functionally equivalent replacements.

 

@hippocoder hello again, could you share some of your code? I have had very little trouble with this amazing package at high FPS but need to gain more experience from a Unity developer. Thanx

I do not wish to be here, if possible email me with some of your code if you decide to do so, not here.

Disclaimer: None of the presented materials by any stretch of imagination were meant to Advertise nor Spam any Unity organization. Nor meant to solicit business from anyone at Unity nor its customer base. Materials are solely meant for non-commercial Work-In-Progress presentation.

 

Nope, sorry.