In the last chapter, we covered the Animation Blueprint system, which we can use to create robust systems for our characters and other animated objects. In this chapter, we will take a look at the behavior tree and blackboard systems that we can use to create complex AI for our enemies and other computer controlled characters.
In the past, creating AI with Unreal Engine involved a lot of complex code. Even when using state machines, the code was often difficult to keep organized, and even harder to debug. With Unreal Engine 4, we have an alternative in the behavior tree system, which lets us easily set up and modify AI behavior, as well as see the tree in action in real time to make debugging easier.
The following topics will be covered in this chapter:
- Creating a simple AI
- Behavior Trees
- Setting up a Blackboard
- Using sequences, selectors...