Combat - Opponent positioning

[John Adams]

I briefly searched our archives here and didn't see anything of this exact nature posted before, so here's what I have discovered.

If I spawn (for arguments sake) 6 NPCs that are all KOS to another single NPC, those 6 NPCs run up to the single NPC and are all literally standing in the exact same x,y,z beating the single NPC down. From (my fading) memory, I do not recall EQ2 Live behaving in this manner. If I confront multiple NPCs, I swore they 'fanned out' around me in an arc, or surrounded me properly for ease of targeting and whatnot.

What are our options for adding coordinate checks to incoming combatants to make sure they spread out around their target vs all glomming onto them in a blob of unusable destruction? I know this involves math, so my head already hurts just thinking about it.

If this description makes no sense, I will attempt to get a screengrab or video put together this weekend.

[Ememjr]

nope your memory is fine they circle you (so you cant escape) this was close to release
and they stilll do it

EQ2_000001.jpg

[Ememjr]

although if you look close there are 1 or 2 stacked in a couple of those spots

[tyrbo]

I'm not sure if they specifically try to encircle you, or just if they spread out. If you were to pull three mobs, they don't try to get your back (that would be annoying for tanks!), but just fan out in front of you. The more mobs, the more they have to fan out.

Maybe once the mob is in position (or maybe before, during a calculation), we would check to see if there are any other mobs within the mob's collision radius. If so, then we want to shift along a path that's basically the player's circle (based off their collision radius). Maybe?

It's certainly doable.

Although, I'm thinking if you try to use that kind of logic with the server as it is now (and say, pull a bunch of mobs in a small room), then you'll get a lot of mobs running through walls until zone geo is fully implemented.