Enhanced AI Movement

This is a set of tools designed to make your AI movements smoother and more natural.

It generates customizable splines (instead of straight lines) for AI trajectories, making their movements more realistic. The Quadruped and Biped IK control rigs ensure your AIs maintains a contact with the ground, preventing them from floating in the air on slopes. Additionally, the plugin contains another control rig that bends spines and tails while turning, enhancing the fluidity of movements. A real-time avoidance system, based on simulated sensors, is also included. It allows to smoothly move around other AIs and dynamic obstacles, such as moving platforms or vehicles, without relying on dynamic navmesh.

Features

• A spline path-following component extends Unreal’s default path following component by creating customizable spline trajectories instead of linear segments. The parameters allow you to adjust the shape and size of the turn radius or add zig-zags of varying sizes and frequencies while still using the default pathfinding on navmesh.

• AI Push System : An AI push system has been introduced in v1.4.0, allowing AIs to push each other to prevent them from getting stuck in crowded spaces. The system also transfers forces between AIs, making their movement more natural and crowd-like.

• Sphere AI Push Component : An actor component that you can add to your player (Standalone mode only) to push AIs while moving whether the AIs are moving or not.

• Dynamic obstacles real-time avoidance : Uses simulated sensors to make AIs smoothly avoid most dynamic obstacles, such as physics objects moved by the player, moving platforms, or vehicles without them being on the Navmesh.

• Avoidance System for pawns : the plugin has a custom implementation for Pawn avoidance reusing the sensors (which replaces RVO or the Detour Crowd Manager) allowing AIs to avoid each other smoothly. Each AI is assigned a random priority so that some slow down to let other AIs pass.

• Navmesh validation: The generated splines are checked and modified before being finalized to ensure they always stay on the navmesh. The plugin includes checks to verify that all spline points remain connected.

• Quadruped IK Control Rig : Applies a full-body rotation pass before the full-body IK to ensure animals maintain a natural posture on slopes and don’t appear to float.

• Biped IK Control Rig : Ensures bipeds stay on the ground on slopes and dynamically bends the spine forward or backward, simulating balance adjustments.

• Spine & Tail Control Rig : Bends the animal AI’s spine and tail procedurally while turning. Simplify your animals AI animation blueprint, by replacing most of your turning animations with one or two control rig nodes.

• Dynamic Speed : AI speed changes based on terrain slope (faster when going downard and slower upward) , slow down during turns, and random variations.

• Dynamic Rotation Rate : AI rotates slower when moving slow and faster when moving fast to look more natural.

• Root Motion 1D Support: Option to use root motion animations, where forward movement is controlled by the animation and rotation is handled by the plugin’s spline path component.

• Root Motion 2D Support: Option to control the AI using root motion animations only (rotation included).

• Predefined AI Controller Presets :

  • Humanoids

  • Small Quadrupeds (e.g., rabbits, squirrels, rats, etc.)

  • Medium Quadrupeds (e.g., foxes, dogs, cats, wolves, deer, etc.)

  • Large Quadrupeds (e.g., bears, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, etc.)

• Custom Data Asset Presets : Allow AI controller parameters to be shared between different AI types, even if they don’t have a common parent class and makes presets compatible with C++ AI Controllers.

• Smart Spline Regeneration : Splines regenerate only when necessary to improve AI tracking of moving targets.

• Optimizations :

  • Sensors and IK traces running at a low frequency rate.

  • The spline path system switching to default path following at a distance or when not rendered (standalone only).

  • Sensors deactivating when not rendered or at a distance (standalone only).

• Compatibility : Works with ALS, EQS, and the Game Animation Sample Project. While future versions of the Game Animation Sample Project may introduce changes, the plugin has been tested with versions 5.4 and 5.5.

• Coded in C++ : The plugin is coded in C++ (except for control rigs) but is not required to use the plugin, most parameters are commented and accessible in blueprints.

• Non-Destructive Integration : Works by replacing the AI Controller, ensuring most of your previous AI-related code remains functional.

Technical Details

Features (Details in product description):

• A spline path-following component

• AI Push System

• Sphere AI Push Component (Not replicated)

• Dynamic obstacles real-time avoidance

• Avoidance System for pawns

• Quadruped IK Control Rig

• Biped IK Control Rig

• Spine & Tail Control Rig

• Dynamic Speed

• Dynamic Rotation Rate

• Navmesh validation

• Root Motion Support

• Predefined AI Controller Presets

• Custom Data Asset Presets

• Smart Spline Regeneration

• Multiple Optimization Options

• Coded in C++

• Non-Destructive Integration

Code Modules:

• EnhancedAIMovement (Runtime)

   

Number of Blueprints (AI Controllers presets) : 9

Number of Control Rig: 3

Number of C++ Classes: 6

Network Replicated: Path following seems to be replicated by default (tests were limited to Listen Server only). To replicate Control rig spine bending and use root motion animations please follow the written documentation.

Supported Development Platforms: Win64

Supported Target Build Platforms: Win64

Documentation Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d4cTmd3-Bd7egs17ffTPYcKbmQ_daeFI-kz_gNe8wF8/edit?tab=t.0

Important/Additional Notes:

• This plugin assumes basic knowledge of AI in Unreal engine and blueprints (no C++ is needed).

• None of the 3d models and animations in the showcase videos, demo, images and documentation are included with the plugin.