- I think your pheromone-based algorithm can work, but I'm afraid it will take
even more memory than the actual gradients. Could you do some estimation for
a typical map? It would be nice because it would make a starting point to
discuss the algorithm in more details and it would help us to be sure that we
have all understood it.
note: I haven't actually had a chance to look through the specifics of
the current wavefront but I mean there are only so many ways you can do
a wavefront
okay so lets see say a large map is 128x128 that is 16384 or 128^2
now each wavefront has one byte for it's value (i,e closeness of path)
and i'm assuming it uses another variable for type (so as not to have
to make many maps)
and three players say for your average map
every byte has 8 bits
so
128^2*8*2*3 = 786 432
0.8 mb
k now with pheramones we use same map 128^2
now we have say pheramones(short, 2 bytes),direction (1 byte) and type(1 byte) that comes to a total of 4
and we need one pheramone map per player so times 3
128^2*8*4*3 = 1 572 864
1.6 mb
so okay, it uses twice as much ram :S i guess lol. but I mean 1.6 mb
isn't all that much, i'm sure graphics and other things spend a lot
more. and gradients put a lot of load on the processors as you have to
recalculate them a few times a second and pheramoens don't really have
to ever be recalculated.
Like i could be all wrong about this whole calculation thing but I mean
it seems to make sense, anyways it's actually 03:30 so i'm just gonna
go to bed
- I've been working a bit with ant biologists those last two years. Of course,
ants uses pheromones, but:
- ant solve congestion (up to a certain extent of course) by climbing on each
others, they live in 3d not 2d.
unfortunatly i don't think we can't do that :(