Finite State Machines. Finite State Machines (FSMs) An abstract machine that can exist in one of...
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Transcript of Finite State Machines. Finite State Machines (FSMs) An abstract machine that can exist in one of...
Finite State Machines
Finite State Machines (FSMs)An abstract machine that can
exist in one of several different and predefined states
Defines a set of conditions that determine when the state should change
State defines the behaviors to be executed
Finite State Machines (FSMs)Long history of involvement in
game AI◦Ghosts in Pac Man are FSMs
Ghosts can roam freely, chase player, evade player
The transition between these behaviors are determined by the player’s actions
Even today, FSMs are still very commonly used◦Easy to understand, implement,
debug◦Lightweight and efficient
Basic State Machine Model
A generic FSM diagram:◦‘S’ nodes are states, ‘t’ arrows are
transitionsEach FSM typically models a set of
behaviors for a character or group of characters
Basic State Machine Model
4 possible states {Si, S1, S2, S3}Transition functions {t1,t2, t3,t4, t5}Initial state Si , remains in this
state until t1 provides a stimulus to switch to S1
‘Pac Man Ghost’ FSM
3 possible states: Roam, Chase, Evade
Transitions include conditions for remaining in a same state
‘Pac Man Ghost’ FSM
Finite State Machine DesignPrevious sample implementation
may not be the most efficient design
Efficient design Encourage re-usability
Two main components in design1. Data structures used to store the
data associated with the game AI entity
2. Functions for operating transition between states
Finite State Machine DesignStructures and
Classes◦Typical to store
all game AI-related data in a structure or class
◦You can also store the current AI state (for FSM)
class AIEntity
{
public:
int type;
int state;
int row;
int column;
int health;
int strength;
int intelligence;
int magic;
};
Finite State Machine DesignUse some global
constants to define the states (which are in integers)
#define kRoam 1
#define kEvade 2
#define kAttack 3
#define kHide 4
Finite State Machine Design
Transition functions◦Add additional
functions that determine how the AI entity should behave
class AIEntity
{
public:
int type;
int state;
int row;
int column;
int health;
int strength;
int intelligence;
int magic;
Boolean playerInRange();
int checkHealth();
};
Finite State Machine DesignIn your main game loop, constant
checking should be done to determine when to change statesif ((checkHealth()<kPoorHealth) && (playerInRange()==false))
state=kHide;
else if (checkHealth()<kPoorHealth) state=kEvade;
else if (playerInRange())
state=kAttack;
else
state=kRoam;
Finite State Machine DesignHow would the original FSM
diagram looked like for this example behavior?
if ((checkHealth()<kPoorHealth) && (playerInRange()==false))
state=kHide;
else if (checkHealth()<kPoorHealth) state=kEvade;
else if (playerInRange())
state=kAttack;
else
state=kRoam;
Example: Ant FSMDescription of Ant AI
◦ First, the ants will move randomly in their environment in an attempt to locate a piece of food. Once an ant finds a piece of food, it will return to its home position. When it arrives home, it will drop its food and then start a new search for water rather than food. The thirsty ants will roam randomly in search of water. Once an ant finds water, it will resume its search for more food.
◦ Returning food to the home position also will result in a new ant emerging from the home position. The ant population will continue to grow so long as more food is returned to the home position. Of course, the ants will encounter obstacles along the way. In addition to the randomly placed food will be randomly placed poison. Naturally, the poison has a fatal effect on the ants.
Can you summarize the behavior in an FSM?
Example: Ant FSM
AI Design-to-ImplementationStoryboarding Character
Design AI Design (FSM) AI Implementation
FSMs can model behaviors very easily, but much more work needs to be done earlier for character design
Can we use one generic FSM to model the behavior of a few types of AI characters?
Re-using one generic FSM?No, if your AI characters require
different set of states and transitionsYes, if they have the same set of
states and transitions, but different condition variables◦E.g. A stronger and matured ant and a
junior ant might have the same behaviors (states, transitions) but different requirements for finding food/water, or different resistance levels towards poison.
Limitations of a single FSMA single FSM can have limitations
in expressing some behaviors. ◦A common source of difficulty is
“alarm behaviors”, or behaviors that require the AI character to do something urgently at any given state, and to resume back the state later
Can you think of a scenario where this might happen?
Example: Cleaning Robot AI
Single FSM operates with no problemsHowever, the robot can run low on power
and requires rechargingAlarm mechanism: Interrupting the normal
behavior to respond to something else important
Example: Cleaning Robot AI
Adding “Get Power” state to accommodate the alarm mechanism is not difficult but number of states increase about x2
What if we have a “Hide” alarm that is another alarm behavior?
Example: Cleaning Robot AI
So, rather than combining all the logic into a single FSM, we can separate into several FSMs, arranged in a hierarchy
Higher levels of hierarchy can respond to alarm behaviors
Hierarchical State Machine
Higher level: Operates the alarm behavior (to get power)
Lower level (within the Clean Up mother state): Operates the cleaning up behavior
Hierarchical State Machine
H* state: “History state” that indicates which sub-state (in lower level) should be entered (initially) or resumed (if just returned from the higher level)
Hierarchical State Machine
It is possible to implement both FSMs separately, but a lot of switching between the two is required implementation inefficiency
Nested hierarchy: We are in more than one state at a time (on different levels), just keep track of multiple levels of states
Cross Hierarchical Transition
If the robot has no objects to collect (of found nothing useful), makes sense to go back to charging bay rather than wasting power
Transition from lower level state to a higher level state – Lower level FSM is reset, with no history record
Weaknesses of FSMs1. Rigid modeling of behaviors
◦Each character can only have one state at a time – straightforward but limited
2. Complex transition conditions can affect efficiency
◦…if many conditions need to be checked
3. Behaviors are deterministic◦Designer pre-determines the actions and
behaviors of the character, unlikely for it to respond out side what it was designed to
Addressing them…
1. Rigid modeling of behaviors ◦Modeling multiple states in a nested
hierarchy might help to construct more complex behaviors
2. Complex transition conditions can affect efficiency
◦Use decision trees in the transitions
3. Behaviors are deterministic◦Apply fuzzy logic to the transitions