Navigation Mesh

The navigation mesh is a navigation area which is arranged above the surface of an arbitrary mesh. In fact, the navigation mesh is an area of the specified height above the mesh polygons, which is available for pathfinding.

In contrast to navigation sectors, the navigation mesh enables the following:

Only 2D routes can be calculated within the navigation mesh.
Pathfinding can be performed within 1 navigation mesh only. Pathfinding within the following areas is not supported:
- Within several intersecting navigation meshes.
- Within the intersecting navigation mesh and sector.

Example#

If you have a scene with different objects and need to calculate a 2D route among them, add the navigation mesh to this scene as follows:

Create a flat mesh with holes in places where the objects are positioned.

The scene

The mesh created for the navigation mesh
Specify this mesh as a base for a navigation mesh within which the route is calculated, and add the navigation mesh to the world. It will be highlighted in green:

A navigation mesh based on the flat mesh
Place the navigation mesh above the scene.

The navigation mesh positioned above the scene

Notice

In this case, you can also use a navigation sector with obstacles positioned inside it instead of the navigation mesh. However, the navigation mesh is preferred for more complex cases.

In the Node tab of the Parameters window, you can adjust the following parameters of the navigation mesh:

Navigation Mask	The navigation mask of the navigation mesh must match the navigation mask of the route that is calculated within it. Otherwise, the navigation mesh does not participate in pathfinding.
Quality	Quality of optimization for route calculation. This value specifies the number of iterations that are used to find the shortcut. The higher the value, the longer the route calculation takes.
Velocity	Scaling factor for velocity of the point that moves inside the navigation mesh.
Dangerous	Danger factor that indicates if a moving point should try to avoid the navigation mesh. Notice If the danger factor exceeds the maximum danger factor set for the route, the navigation mesh is excluded from pathfinding calculations.
Depth	Depth value. This value affects the quality of the route that is currently calculated. The more the depth value, the better control over accuracy and speed of route calculation is provided. The depth can take integer value in range [0;4]. By default, the depth is set to 0 for a new navigation mesh. The 2, 3, 4 values are used for deeper heuristics.
Height	Distance above the mesh polygons available for pathfinding. By default, the height is set to 1 for a new navigation mesh.

Loading a New Mesh#

To load a new mesh on which the navigation area is based:

On the Navigation tab, press .
In the file dialog window that opens, choose the required mesh and press Ok.

Saving the Current Mesh#

To save the current mesh on which the navigation area is based:

On the Navigation tab, press .
In the file dialog window that opens, specify a name for the mesh and press Ok.

In This Article:

See also#

Creating Navigation Mesh#

Example#

Editing Navigation Mesh#

Loading a New Mesh#

Saving the Current Mesh#