Bartenders and Patrons

“Coming right up”

Bartender AI has been in constant development at Cloud Imperium Games, long enough even to frustrate some of Star Citizen’s fans.

The reason? Star Citizens bars are meant to be a focal point of Role Playing in the game’s “final form”, and Bartender NPC’s set the “gold standard” of what the game hopes to achieve in terms of Social AI.

Just getting these NPC’s to the minimal iterations found in the current release required building out some of the engine’s most robust AI systems:

• Querying navigable areas for what drinks are available or could be created

• “Item Provider” actors which can spawn other actors when requirements are met

• Event queuing and task prioritization

• “Secondary Activities,” allowing conversation with players and taking new orders while fulfilling a primary task

• IK-Driven grabbing, pouring, and placement animations

• Animation driven attachment and detachment of live actors in the environment

• Much, much, more.