Table of contents

AAS File Format.

The settings section defines general parameters for the AI navigation mesh:

  • bboxes: Bounding boxes for navigation areas.
  • usePatches: Determines whether patches (curved surfaces) are considered in navigation.
  • writeBrushMap: Indicates whether a brush map is written.
  • playerFlood: A flag to enable flooding from the player’s area.
  • fileExtension: The extension used for the AAS file, here it is "aas48".
  • gravity: The gravity vector applied in the game world.
  • maxStepHeight, maxBarrierHeight, maxWaterJumpHeight, maxFallHeight: Parameters defining movement constraints for AI.
  • minFloorCos: The minimum cosine of the angle for a surface to be considered walkable.
  • tt_*: Various time-to-travel parameters for different movement actions.

Example: 

settings {
    bboxes { (-24 -24 0)-(24 24 82) }
    usePatches = 0
    writeBrushMap = 0
    playerFlood = 1
    fileExtension = "aas48"
    gravity = (0 0 -1050)
    maxStepHeight = 16
    maxBarrierHeight = 32
    maxWaterJumpHeight = 20
    maxFallHeight = 64
    minFloorCos = 0.6999999881
    tt_barrierJump = 100
    tt_startCrouching = 100
    tt_waterJump = 100
    tt_startWalkOffLedge = 100
}

Planes

Planes are defined by their normal vector and a distance from the origin. The format for each plane is:

planes <count> {
    <index> ( <normal x> <normal y> <normal z> <distance> )
    ...
}

Vertices

Vertices are points in 3D space used to define the geometry of the navigation mesh:

vertices <count> {
    <index> ( <x> <y> <z> )
    ...
}

Edges

Edges connect two vertices, defining the boundaries of faces:

edges <count> {
    <index> ( <vertex index 1> <vertex index 2> )
    ...
}

EdgeIndex

The edge index is a list that indexes the edges for quick lookup:

edgeIndex <count> {
    <edge index>
    ...
}

Faces

Faces are polygons (usually triangles) that make up the surfaces of the navigation mesh:

faces <count> {
    <index> ( <plane index> <edge index list...> )
    ...
}

FaceIndex

Indexes the faces, similar to how edgeIndex works for edges:

faceIndex <count> {
    <face index>
    ...
}

Areas

Areas represent navigable spaces within the navigation mesh:

areas <count> {
    <index> ( <attribute values...> ) <node index> {
        // Area-specific data
    }
    ...
}

Nodes

Nodes are part of the BSP tree structure for organizing the navigation mesh spatially:

nodes <count> {
    <index> ( <plane index> <front node index> <back node index> )
    ...
}

Portals

Portals represent connections between areas, allowing for the passage of AI:

portals <count> {
    <index> ( <area 1 index> <area 2 index> <vertices...> )
    ...
}

PortalIndex

Similar to edgeIndex and faceIndex, portalIndex provides quick lookup for portals:

portalIndex <count> {
    <portal index>
    ...
}

Clusters

Clusters group multiple areas for efficient pathfinding and spatial organization:

clusters <count> {
    <index> ( <cluster attributes...> )
    ...
}

Features

This feature is only avaliable in Quake IV!

Features tells the AI do something specifict in a section of the map (Take Cover/Look Left or Rigth), or tell the AI that sertain part of the map needs some special behavior (Pinch Area, Vantage Point):

 features <count> {
     <index> ( <feature flags> <size_x> <size_y> <size_z> <x> <y> <z> )
     ...
 }