Finite State Machine for Games

Mohammad Zikky, M.T

Ref: Chenney, CS679 lecturesAI Game Programming Wisdom 2

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Outline

AI and GameIntroduction/examplesDesign Intuition State-based

ImplementationExtending Stack-based Fuzzy-state machine

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What is AI? (and is NOT)

AI is the control of non-human entities in a game

The other cars in a car game The opponents and monsters in a shooter Your units, your enemy’s units and your enemy in a

RTS game

But, typically does not refer to passive things that just react to the player and never initiate action

That’s physics or game logic For example, the blocks in Tetris are not AI, nor is a

flag blowing in the wind

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AI in the Game Loop

AI is updated as part of the game loop, after user input, and before rendering

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AI Module

AI Update Step

The sensing phase determines the state of the world

May be very simple - state changes all come by messaging

Or complex - figure out what is visible, where your team is, etc

The thinking phase decides what to do given the world

The core of AI

The acting phase tells the animation what to do

Game Engine

Sensing

Thinking

Acting

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AI by Polling

Senses: looks to see what has been changed in the

world

then acts on it

Generally inefficient and complicated Different characters might require different

polling rate

AI gets called at a fixed rate

Event Driven AI

• Events triggered by a message • basically, a function gets called when

a message arrives, just like a user interface)

• Example messages: You have heard a sound Someone has entered your field of

view A certain amount of time has passed,

so update yourself

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does everything in response to events in the world

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AI Techniques in Games

Basic problem: Given the state of the world, what should I do?A wide range of solutions in games: Finite state machines, Decision trees, Rule

based systems, Neural networks, Fuzzy logic

A wider range of solutions in the academic world: Complex planning systems, logic

programming, genetic algorithms, Bayes-nets Typically, too slow for games

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Expressiveness

What behaviors can easily be defined, or defined at all?Propositional logic:

Statements about specific objects in the world – no variables

Jim is in room7, Jim has the rocket launcher, the rocket launcher does splash damage

Go to room8 if you are in room7 through door14Predicate Logic:

Allows general statement – using variables All rooms have doors All splash damage weapons can be used around corners All rocket launchers do splash damage Go to a room connected to the current room

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Finite State Machines (FSMs)

A set of states that the agent can be inConnected by transitions that are triggered by a change in the worldNormally represented as a directed graph, with the edges labeled with the transition eventUbiquitous in computer game AI

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Formal Definitions (N. Philips)

"An abstract machine consisting of a set of states (including the initial state), a set of input events, a set of output events, and a state transition function. The function takes the current state and an input event and returns the new set of output events and the next state. Some states may be designated as "terminal states".The state machine can also be viewed as a function which maps an ordered sequence of input events into a corresponding sequence of (sets of) output events.Finite State Automaton: the machine with no output

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FSM with Output: vending machines

OJ & AJ for 30 centsState table

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Vending Machine: state diagram

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FSM and Game

Game character behavior can be modeled (in most cases) as a sequence of different “mental state”, where change is driven by the actions of player/other characters, …Natural choice for defining AI in games

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FSM Examples

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PacMan State Machine

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PacMan eats a Power Pill

Timer <= 0

Collision with PacMan

Timer <= 0

Collision with GhostBox

Actions of States

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Roam;If PacMan gets close, PathTo (PacMan)

Timer--;PathAwayFrom (PacMan)

PathTo (GhostBox)Timer—Move back-and-forth

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Ex: predator vs. prey

Prey (laalaa)

Idle(stand,wave,…)

Flee(run)

Sees predator

No more threat

capturedDead

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Predator (Raptor)

Idle(stand)

Hungry(wander)

Pursuit(run)

Tidle > 5

Prey in sight

Tpursuit > 10

Dining

Prey captured

Tdining>5

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Idling LaaLaa

Stand

Wave

Wander(set random target)

50%

30%20%

Target arrived

Twave>2

RTstand>4

This page illustrates:hierarchical state,Non-deterministic state transition

This page illustrates:hierarchical state,Non-deterministic state transition

FSM Design

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Quake2 ExamplesQuake2 uses 9 different states:

standing, walking, running, dodging, attacking, melee, seeing the enemy, idle and searching.

Incomplete design

Intuitive thinking: model the events and state changes

Intuitive thinking: model the events and state changes

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Quake: Rocket

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Shambler monster

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FSM Advantages

Very fast – one array accessExpressive enough for simple behaviors or characters that are intended to be “dumb”

Can be compiled into compact data structure Dynamic memory: current state Static memory: state diagram – array implementation

Can create tools so non-programmer can build behaviorNon-deterministic FSM can make behavior unpredictable

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FSM Disadvantages

Number of states can grow very fast Exponentially with number of events: s=2e

Number of arcs can grow even faster: a=s2

Propositional representation Difficult to put in “pick up the better powerup”,

“attack the closest enemy” Expensive to count: Wait until the third time I see

enemy, then attack Need extra events: First time seen, second time seen,

and extra states to take care of counting

FSM Control System Implementation

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FSM Implementation

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Previous Example

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Code 1 Ad hoc implementation

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Code 1p

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Code 2Structure, Readable, maintainable

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Hierarchical …

FSM Extensions

Advanced Issues

Hierarchical FSMNon-deterministic FSMSwapping FSM

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Hierarchical FSMs

What if there is no simple action for a state?Expand a state into its own FSM, which explains what to do if in that stateSome events move you around the same level in the hierarchy, some move you up a levelWhen entering a state, have to choose a state for its child in the hierarchy

Set a default, and always go to that Or, random choice Depends on the nature of the behavior

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Stack-based FSM

History stack: Remember previous state; create characters with a memory …

Pushdown automaton(PDA)

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Goal-based vs. State-based

There is also a slight derivative to the state-based engine, but it used in more complicated games like flight simulators and games like MechWarrior. They use goal -based engines - each entity within the game is assigned a certain goal, be it 'protect base', 'attack bridge', 'fly in circles'. As the game world changes, so do the goals of the various entities.

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Processing Models

Polling FSM update

frequency Easy to implement

and debug Inefficiency (Little

Red example)

Event-driven Publish-subscribe

messaging system Game engine sends

event messages to individual FSMs

An FSM subscribes only to the events that have the potential to change the current state

Higher efficiency, non-trivial implementation

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Efficiency and Optimization

In AI, FSM is the most efficient technology availableYet, there is always room for improvement Level of Detail: depending on the

condition (e.g., distance with player), use different FSM, or different update frequency

An Example FSM in Football Game

Class : Sepakbola

LapanganJadwal Pertandingan (Liga, Tournament, 2x45 mnt)Skuad Pemain (11 di lapangan + cadangan)Taktik & Strategi (4-4-2 Menyerang / Bertahan)LatihanStaff Pemain (Pelatih , Ass Pelatih, Dokter)Keuangan Transfer Pemain

Object : Pemain Bola

TechnicalsIntellegentsPhysicalsTemperaments

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Cetak Gol, Giring Bola, Tangkap Bola (penjaga Gawang), Control Bola, Tackling Bola, Tendang Jarak Jauh, Marking, dll

FSM Secara Global dlm S.Bola

Class : Sepakbola

Object : Penjaga Gawang

Tangkap

Umpan

Pendek

Umpan

Lambung

Tendangan Gawa

ng

Mental

Bertahan

Dekati Bola

~M, K~M, K

~M, K

M, K M, K~M,K

Object : Penjaga Gawang

M = Musuh Mendekat~M = Musuh MenjauhK = Teman Mendekat~K = Teman Menjauh

Object : Pemain Bertahan (Tengah)

Umpan

Lambung

Tackling : Kera

s

Umpan

Pendek

Marking=Zona

Mental :

Bertahan

Jemput

Bola

Dapat

Bola

M

M

M,~M,K,~K

Object : Pemain Bertahan (SAYAP)

Umpan

LambungTakli

ng : Norm

al

Menggiring Bola

Maju

Umpan

Pendek

Mental :

Normal

Jemput

Bola

Dapat

Bola

Object : Gelandang Bertahan

Umpan

Lambung

Takling :

Normal Menggiri

ng Bola Maju

Umpan

Pendek

Jemput

Bola

Dapat

Bola

Tendangan Jrk

Jauh

Object : Gelandang SerangUmpan

Lambung

Takling : Ringan Menggiri

ng Bola Maju

Umpan

Pendek

Dapat

Bola

Tendangan Jrk

Jauh

Jemput

Bola

Object : Sayap Kanan / KiriUmpan

Silang

Tackling : Ringan

Umpan

Pendek

Jemput

Bola

Dapat

Bola

Umpan

Lambung

Menggiring Bola

Maju

Object : Penyerang (Striker)

Jemput

BolaDapa

t Bola

Umpan

Silang

Umpan

Pendek

Tendangan Jrk

Jauh

Cetak GOL

Giring

Bola

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References

Web references: www.gamasutra.com/features/19970601/build_brain

s_into_games.htm csr.uvic.ca/~mmania/machines/intro.htm www.erlang/se/documentation/doc-4.7.3/doc/design_

principles/fsm.html www.microconsultants.com/tips/fsm/fsmartcl.htm http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/letstry/tutorials/dfa/

Game Programming Gems Sections 3.0 & 3.1

It’s very very detailed, but also some cute programming