[MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI

[Marc Hernandez]

On Sun, 6 Dec 1998, Eli Stevens (KiZurich) wrote:

<Nice description of Stack based AI snipped>

	That doesnt sound too bad.  What I wouldnt like about a pure stack
based system is that it doesnt take seem priorities into account too well.
One possible fix of that would be to change it to a priority queue driven
model.  
	
	Another idea Ive been tossing about would be to use techniques
Rodney Brooks has been using for real robots.  These robots learn to walk
(after flopping around a bit), use situations to their advantage (like
Herbert that wanders around collecting pop cans.  If someone puts one into
his hand he happily accepts it and puts it where it needs to go) and are
robust in the real world.  He does this using a combination of techniques
including subsumtion architecture (which I believe he invented.  Basically
every module is active but the only one actually doing stuff is the one
with the highest priority.  Modules or external stimulus can change
priorities of modules.) and a system using a virtual hormone system.  Pure
state based stuff also seems fairly brittle to rapidly changing system.

Marc Hernandez