2009

Cognitive Controller Editor

Create panel > Helpers > Object Type rollout > Crowd > Setup rollout >

Cognitive Controllers

Select a Crowd object. > Modify panel > Setup rollout > Cognitive Controllers

The Cognitive Controller editor lets you combine behaviors into states. More

importantly, it lets you sequence different

behaviors on page 4772 and behavior

combinations using state diagrams, where conditionals written in MAXScript

impose changes in behavior. For example, you can specify that a character or

object is to wander aimlessly until it comes within a certain distance of another

object, whereupon it heads straight for that object. Or you can specify that

one character is to avoid another only when the second character is avoiding

the first.

NOTE The MAXScript conditionals used in the cognitive controller typically consist

of a single line of code. You can load and save them separately as .ms files, but

they are also stored within the .max scene file in which they reside.

The editor interface consists of an icon-based toolbar above a window that

contains the state diagram. When you first open the editor, no state diagrams

exist. Begin by clicking the New button to create a new state diagram.

TIP If you find yourself consistently assigning two or more behaviors to delegates

or teams, you can save time by combining the behaviors into a single-state

cognitive controller, or "behavior module," and assigning that instead. The only

disadvantage is that you can't animate the weights of behaviors used in the

cognitive controller, but you can work around that by using transitions.

NOTE Crowd doesn't let you use multiple cognitive controllers with a delegate.

You can assign them, but when you solve, the software notifies you that it will use

only the first assigned cognitive controller.