Gameware Navigation from Autodesk

Published on 8 October 2012 by Mirja Fürst.

Autodesk has revealed details about its new Gameware Navigation AI middleware: The technology is intended to make it easier to create believable non-player characters.

Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 8, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.

Gameware Navigation is the successor to Kynapse AI Middleware; according to Autodesk, the technology was newly developed to give developers full access to the source code and a more accessible API.

The dynamic and user-customisable real-time NAVMesh is intended to enable the creation of AI characters that behave realistically in complex game action. Multi-sector streaming during runtime with previously generated NavMesh data is also intended to achieve predictable results with lower system resource consumption. Special NavMesh linking techniques are intended to make it possible to adapt AI characters to complex level designs. The Pathfollowing module supports avoidance responses and the movement of obstacles.

Autodesk AI Middleware is said to have already been used in more than 100 games for realistic non-player character behaviour. With this technology, developers are intended to be able to improve gameplay considerably while reducing development costs and processing time.

Autodesk already presented Gameware Navigation at the Vienna Game AI Conference in September.

Here you can ask Autodesk for the public beta version of Gameware Navigation: http://gameware.autodesk.com/navigation

You will also soon find a focus on this topic in one of our DP magazines.