[RELEASED] Emerald AI 3.2 (New Sound Detection) - The Ultimate Universal AAA Quality AI Solution

Version 2.4.2.1 has been submitted and is awaiting approval. This update addresses some of the issues that the location based damage feature introduced as well as some general bug fixes and improvements.

The next main update, version 2.4.3, will add strafing to both ranged and melee AI.

Improvements

• Added Dynamic Waypoint Wander Layers LayerMask to the Emerald AI Editor (Located under Temperament>Wander Type Settings) to choose which layers will be detected when generating dynamic waypoints. By default, this is set to Everything.
• Added an error message that's displayed in the Unity Console if an AI has a Faction Relation of Enemy that is also their current Faction as this led to incorrect target detection.
• Added ChangeFaction to Emerald AI's API that can change an AI's faction, given that it exists in the Faction Manager.
• Added CheckForPlayerDetection to Emerald AI's API that returns true if the player is currently detected within the AI's detection radius.
• Added DebugLogMessage to Emerald AI's API that allows users to pass a message that's visible within the Unity Console.
• Added GetDistanceFromTarget to Emerald AI's API that gets the distance between the AI and its current target.
• Added EnableObject to Emerald AI's API that enables the passed gameobject.
  
• Added DisableObject to Emerald AI's API that disables the passed gameobject.
  
• Reworked the OnAttack event to be OnAttackStart event. This fires an event when the AI's attack animation starts playing. This event often lead to confusion. This rework, along with the addition of OnAttackEnd, should increase functionality and make the two events more clear with what they do.
• Added OnAttackEnd event. This fires an event when the AI's attack animation ends playing. Note: This event only works for Melee weapon types.
• Updated the Offline Documentation so the link to the Online Version goes to the Emerald AI Wiki and not the outdated online documentation.

Bug Fixes

• Stopped dynamic waypoints from detecting IsTrigger colliders as they often interfered with generating waypoints reliably.
• Fixed an error that would sometimes happen when using the LocationBasedDamage component.
• Fixed a bug that didn't allow an AI to take damage if it was the child of another object.
• Fixed an issue that would sometimes happen if there was a rigidbody attached to an AI and the AI was using LocationBasedDamage.
• Fixed a bug that would sometimes allow an AI's projectiles to collide with its own colliders, when using the LocationBasedDamage component.
• Fixed a bug that stopped brave AI to not reset their behavior back to brave when returning to their starting position.
• Updated the description of the Obstruction Ignore Layers setting.
• Updated the description of the OnStartCombat event.

 

For those who are interested, I’ve added two new sections to the Emerald AI Wiki.

A guide for using the Location Based Damage system: https://github.com/Black-Horizon-St...tion-Based-Damage#using-location-based-damage

A guide for using Emerald AI’s included Camera Shake System: https://github.com/Black-Horizon-St...stem#using-the-emerald-ai-camera-shake-system

 

It's good to have you back @BHS

 

Emerald AI version 2.4.2.1 has been accepted and is now available on the Asset Store.

Release notes for this update can be found here: https://forum.unity.com/threads/rel...lity-ai-solution.336521/page-113#post-7097854

 

This is a good idea. Please, however consider my other issue. When I place a trigger collider on an Emerald AI NPC, Emerald blocks its operation. How do I add a trigger collider to an Emerald NPC so that Emerald Does not conflict with it?

 

Very interested in this Asset, my project is built with the new Unity MLAPI for multiplayer support, I was wondering if I'd be able to integrate Emerald AI with that, basically everything will run server side and the clients will mostly get Transform and Animator updates among other things.

MLAPI has a NetworkTransform and a NetworkAnimator behaviors for doing the syncing.

Do you think that would be feasible ?

 

Line of site issue

Hi, so I set some AI behaviors via scripts. I have some scripts that make the AI passive. The AI starts off aggressive for context. When I set the ai to be passive while using Line of site it will still attack the player. If I change to trigger it works as intended.

Is there a different way to pacify a Line of site enemy.

 

hi got a slight issue im using mixamos zombie animations with root animation when i use the walk animation solo on charactor it walks as expected but if i use the same animation in emerald ai its not useing root motion as i selected its acting like a navmesh sliding in between steps

 

hello , did you do that in to the pluging? i really need these feature, to make enemies follow player is make too much noise, or maybe if the player trown something to make noise in order to distract enemies

 

Do you have a sound slot that when the monster detects a player in its radius it makes a sound

like an aggro sound

where a bear growls when it starts to chase a player?

 

So, after almost a year using this, I've finally worked out all the self-inflicted bugs haha... But now I have a question that inspecting the code more closely doesn't seem to be able to answer- is it possible to delete an object and all it's clones from the object pool? I have an AI that isn't used after a certain point, and would like to dispose of all the inactive copies sitting in the object pool doing nothing.

 

I am having an issue where my bullet only travels so far before it "explodes". It is not hitting any collider. I've attached the video so maybe someone can shed some light.

 

Hi,Can AI walk or run randomly? Or by a certain rule. It looks like animals in nature.Thank you.

 

You can write your own script to do it

 

Hi! After latest update my AI dont attack. @BHS answer my email.. astralstormgames

 

How can I get the player gameobject that damaged the ai?

 

Rootmotion is broken! Still uses agent even if rootmotion is chosen. Look into this please

 

When you say Emerald AI blocks the collider's operation, do you mean the collider is disabled or it is not properly colliding? I have tested this and had no issues with a trigger collider detecting trigger collisions while attached to an AI. Was the setup for this with an AI using a trigger collider to cause damage to another AI when using the attack events?

 

I haven't tested Emerald AI myself with multiplayer, but I do know it's possible to add support as other users have made it work with PUN2 and Mirror. If the other two network systems work, everything should work fine with Unity MILAPI.

 

This is actually a bug.

To fix this, open the EmeraldAIDetection script and find the line:

Code (CSharp):

1. if (EmeraldComponent.DetectionTypeRef == EmeraldAISystem.DetectionType.LineOfSight && EmeraldComponent.OptimizedStateRef == EmeraldAISystem.OptimizedState.Inactive && EmeraldComponent.CombatStateRef == EmeraldAISystem.CombatState.NotActive)

Within this if statement, add the following line of code above LineOfSightDetection();. The Pet and Passive behaviors should not be using the Line of Sight feature.

Code (CSharp):

1. if (EmeraldComponent.BehaviorRef == EmeraldAISystem.CurrentBehavior.Passive || EmeraldComponent.BehaviorRef == EmeraldAISystem.CurrentBehavior.Pet)
2.    return;

 

Did you enable Root Motion through the Emerald AI editor as explained here? https://github.com/Black-Horizon-Studios/Emerald-AI/wiki/Setting-up-an-AI's-Animations#step-6

 

Yes, this is explained here: https://github.com/Black-Horizon-Studios/Emerald-AI/wiki/Using-Emerald-AI's-Built-in-Object-Pool

 

When is the strafing coming out

 

Enable Debug Log Projectile Collisions within Debugging Tools as explained here (if you don't already have it enabled): https://github.com/Black-Horizon-Studios/Emerald-AI/wiki/Enabling-an-AI's-Debug-Tools

This will display what the projectile may be colliding with to the Unity Console.

The projectiles towards the later part of the video look like they're exploding because the destroy seconds is only 2 seconds, which isn't allowing the projectile to reach its target. I'm not sure what's going on with the first series of collisions. Double check that it's not colliding with anything using Debug Log Projectile Collisions as explained above.

 

You can change the AI's movement state using the code below (given that you have a reference to the AI's EmeraldAISystem).

Code (CSharp):

1. //Run
2. EmeraldComponent.CurrentMovementState = EmeraldAISystem.MovementState.Run;
3.  
4. //Walk
5. EmeraldComponent.CurrentMovementState = EmeraldAISystem.MovementState.Walk;

 

Currently, the only way you can get the current attacker is by using the AttackerTransform variable within the Damage function within the EmeraldAISystem script.

I've added a function within the EmeraldAIEventsManager that will return the transform of the last attacker for the next update though to make things easier.

 

I wasn't aware Root Motion isn't working, I'll look into it.

 

I don't quite have an ETA for it yet

 

I was wondering if there was a way that this can be done?

 

ETA on update?

 

Thank you ! Also look at my email, im getting nowhere atm with this game .

 

This don't fix the skating issue, when using rootmotion, if I change the navmesh speed when using rootmotion like the way you said, the animation also changes speed, and the ai behaves slowly. I want to say that I use rootmotion and it's set to rootmotion and it works fine if I set acceleration to 0 but then ai don't evade objects..no pathfinder.

 

Also, when using rootmotion , when the AI sees the player nav agent speed goes from 0.1 to 1 ... Why? even if I use rootmotion and speed is the lowest 0.5 on non combat and combat and run also on 0.5.....?

 

When assigning both combat types (so melee and ranged), you can't assign combat animations.

Also I have prefabs that have 3 head objects that get activated randomly at the start. So for 1 instantiated prefab it's headA another instantiated one will use headB. But the head assigned to the HeadTransform in de the inspector might be turned inactive. Do you have a solution for this? Or will this not work for that model?

 

1. The trigger collider shows active in the Unity inspector.
2. No. The trigger is not set up for Ai to Ai damage. I use it only for Ai to Player damage. It uses a system separate and distinct from Emerald. So far it works with everything in my project not parented to an Emerald Ai NPC,( test cubes, campfire, Invector stuff, etc.). It does work on an Emerald arrow, I imagine because the arrow is not attached to an Emerald Ai NPC, but flys free.

 

You need to manually re-enable the collider when your AI activates in the scene, because Emerald automatically deactivates all other colliders when the object is activated.

 

Tried it days ago. No effect. It does not matter whether the collider is enabled or not. But thank you for taking the time to make the suggestion.

 

Game trailer that use 100% Emerald AI with some modifications here and there:

 

Umm... No it's not... That's an explanation on how to spawn and despawn. I want to know how to completely remove an object that I will never use again in the scene, and all its copies from the object pool.

Additionally, I keep getting a null reference exception on line 1843 of EmeraldAISystem (in Create Emerald Projectile). I'm 99% sure everything is assigned, but what's the best way to figure out what exactly is missing and why?

 

Yes , i stopped coding it and moved on to other things , But here is the short logic of what i did (i don't have the code with me right now this is from 8 month old memory) :.
on the player script i added values of detection , i was working on a shooter game so here are the things that makes noise :
Armor have noise value , the lighter the less noise it makes
Guns are loud in general unless you have a suppressor , plus subsonic ammo
foot steps , depends on the foot wear you have and if he is running or sneaking slowly
and health , when health is low player is in agony mode , so makes loud hurting noise
an more stuff like when crouching
----------
all of those values contribute to the final noise value of the player that is represented with a triggered collider Sphere
the larger the value the bigger is the collider diameter .

on the other side the Ai script have a collider of hearing , depending on the settings the collider will be bigger or smaller.
a simple on trigger enter , will change the Ai target to the player or other Ai rivals .

so to simplify 2 trigger Sphere colliders
with on on trigger enter on the Ai , when that even happens you just change the target to the player and the state to aggressive i think ... the chasing will be done by the original Ai script as it's perfect .
there is more to this i remember adding cones for directional noise with guns and melee
and when crouching it's a circle collider ... and alot more stuff .
good luck , i might get back to toying with it as this AI have a lot of expanding potential.

 

I have a problem with Emerald AI 2.4.2. The line of sight option does not seem to be functioning correctly.

See screenshots. I want to play the interact sound with ID 0 (Sounds > Interact Sounds) when the player comes into the line of sight cone. To do this, I call EmeraldAIEventsManager.PlayRandomSoundEffect() on the Player Detection Event in AI's Settings > Events > General. When I approach the NPC from the front, the sound is played. But when I approach the NPC from behind, outside of the line of sight cone, the sound is also played. This leads me to conclude that the line of sight cone is broken or does not function in combination with my configuration.

What am I doing wrong?

A second question: If I have multiple actions on Player Detection Event (), will they be executed from top to bottom or in a different order?

 

Don't worry, line of sight does work. However, detection radius is a separate thing and your player actually counts as detected just by entering this radius. If you want to do stuff when entering line of sight, do it on OnStartCombat event instead (if it is an enemy of course. If it is a "normal" or friendly npc then I'm not sure how to go about that).

 

For the last two days I have been trying to set up a simple Melee/Ranged attack AI using Emerald. Emerald version 2.4.2.1 Uniuty 2019.4.25. I have followed the documentation word for word and have attempted a setup from scratch approx 10 times now and every time I get the same outcome. The AI works fine when AI is in Melee attack mode but when it tried to do a ranged attack it gets stuck in a idle loop and never actually starts the shoot animation I have setup or fire the projectile I have setup using the ability function. I'm beyond frustarted. I have aksed for help in the discord but no one was able to help and have reported a bug to the developer. I'm now here as I have no where else to turn and I need to get an AI prototype out quickly for a project. Can anybody help please? Here is a screen shot of the debug. The only nav mesh I have setup is a flat plane for testing, no obstructions.

 

Update
- It now looks like our Physics VR player controller is what is causing the AI from shooting because of the colliders we have set up on the hands for physics/force grab. Maybe useful for anyone else having issues trying to use Emerald in a similar environment. I'll keep updating this post as we work to fix the issue.

 

Btw, this is using a generic avatar (because it's a tank)- the headlook option is turned off, but I'm guessing that may be a factor...

 

@BHS Any news on the next update?

 

I plan on submitting a small update sometime next week that will fix a few bugs, add a few improvements, and add some new API to the EmeraldAIEventsManager, including the GetAttacker function.

 

I'm not sure what you mean as Combat Animations for both weapon types are working fine on my end. Can you please provide a screenshot of what's happening?

As for the head transform, you should be able to change this as needed by assigning a transform to the HeadTransform directly with:

Code (CSharp):

1. EmeraldComponent.HeadTransform = YourHeadTransform;

 

I've tested this and I was able to get an AI to damage the player using a trigger collider located within an AI on its weapon. When not using Location Based Damage, all internal colliders are disabled. You can override this by using the script below. There is an option to grab all colliders automatically or you can just assign them manually (which is most likely what you want). This will re-enable the specified colliders after Emerald AI has disabled them.

Code (CSharp):

1. using System.Collections;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using UnityEngine;
4.  
5. public class EmeraldColliderOverride : MonoBehaviour
6. {
7.     public bool AutoGetColliders = false;
8.     public List<Collider> ColliderList = new List<Collider>();
9.  
10.     private void Start()
11.     {
12.         Invoke("OverrideEmeraldColliders", 0.01f);
13.     }
14.  
15.     /// <summary>
16.     /// Enables the colliders from the ColliderList that Emerald AI disables.
17.     /// </summary>
18.     void OverrideEmeraldColliders ()
19.     {
20.         if (AutoGetColliders)
21.             ColliderList = new List<Collider>(GetComponentsInChildren<Collider>());
22.  
23.         for (int i = 0; i < ColliderList.Count; i++)
24.         {
25.             ColliderList[i].enabled = true;
26.         }
27.     }
28. }

 

If you want to completely remove an object never to be used again, even when using Emerald AI's Object Pooling, then just destroy it with Destroy(YourGOToDestroy); . You will need to keep track of the objects you've spawned and then want destroyed. Simply storing them to a List should be enough. When you are ready to remove them, use a for loop to go through the list and destroy all objects within that list.

The error seems like you may be missing an ability within your Offensive Abilities list.