A* Documentation and Sources

Hello,
so pretty straight forward, I’ve read many papers and books on OpenGL and am programming my game engine(s) since approximately two years. By now, I feel like I have ‘mastered’ (rather figured out) most of the aspects of an OpenGL game engine and feel very comfortable. One topic I haven’t touched yet though is pathfinding and artificial intelligence in general. Usually, I would learn from books coordinated at C++ OpenGL programmers and expand my knowledge by different book-sources. Since a few months, I have started to go more in-depth with reading academic papers and it has been very successful. But in shock, I had to realise that sources regarding artificial intelligence and pathfinding are VERY RARE and almost non-existant. I have found no book that puts focus on pathfinding (where my biggest issues lie) in OpenGL and only a few academic papers which with I would not be able to do much.

So, my question is dedicated to all the people who have successfully written an OpenGL Game Engine in C++ that features 3D navigation with a navmesh. Asking here is kind-of my last resort, as I’m eager to learn the topic but can not find any documentation on it. Where did you pull your knowledge and information regarding this topic out? Where did you learn A* impementation with NavMeshes in OpenGL?

Sincerely,
James

That isn’t often touched on in OpenGL because… it has nothing to do with OpenGL or rendering in general. Outside of using GPGPU techniques to implement pathfinding/AI, there’s no such thing as “pathfinding (…) in OpenGL”. Just as there’s no such thing as “audio in OpenGL”

This question would be better suited for a general game development forum.

Yes, I guess you are right. But AI algorithms can’t be written the same way in OpenGL as they can in DirectX, and vice versa. And people that wrote their game engines inside of OpenGL must have had sources on that, and that’s all I’m asking for.

Yes, they can. The AI in DotA 2, for example, does not change based on what renderer you use. You could be using the Vulkan renderer or the D3D one; the game will play the same. AI does not care about graphics; AI makes decisions based on the contents of an abstract world of your invention. And that invention only relates to your visuals to the degree you would like it to.

A “navmesh” for example does not have to be the same mesh that gets rendered for some terrain. It may very well be the case, but it doesn’t have to be. And indeed, it rarely is, since the purpose of a navmesh is distinct from the purpose of a mesh meant for rendering.

To OP - FYI
One of the better software resource , in my opinion.
The link should put you in AI forum info.