a new one Obtained two patents It has been discovered that intelligence and navigation functions based on improved AI have emerged.
Although the actual document was originally submitted by Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two in October 2020, the patent has been registered for “System and Method for Virtual Navigation in Game Environment” and has been published on Reddit in recent days on.
In the simplest terms, the patent aims to make the artificial intelligence of non-player characters (NPCs for short) smarter and more organic, in an attempt to get rid of AI solutions that are beginning to feel a little deadlocked. Outdated.
The patent states that “conventional systems only provide limited resources” for developers who want to fill their world with active elements. Think about the pedestrians you see on the street, the cars you see on the road, and even the vehicles flying overhead. They run on scripts, which can only allow a limited number of instances to be active in the game at a time. NPCs usually drive at the same speed, follow the same route and perform the same operations.
Rockstar believes that these current systems are “insufficient” and hope to enable systems that can produce “real and virtual worlds that are not limited by hardware or software.”
Therefore, the system proposed in the patent points to an NPC solution that gives characters different personalities. Maybe the NPC in a certain car will deliberately walk on the small road to avoid traffic jams. Perhaps another driver who is less confident will drive much slower once the sun goes down at night.
Of course, at the time of writing, there is no hint that this is definitely related to GTA 6. Rockstar hardly even acknowledged the existence of the game. But mentioning “high-speed chase”, “environmental flow” and so on, shows that we are looking for something more modern here. Not-for reasons of controversy-Red Dead Redemption 3 or something similar.
The patent was filed under the parent company, but the names of the “inventors” attached to the patent are David Hynd, technical director of Rockstar North, and Simon Parr, head of AI. So when it comes to next-generation open world games, this is definitely something the studio is paying attention to.
Although Rockstar remains silent on its next step, it is reported that the next-generation GTA is in an early stage of development, and its scale will be reduced compared with previous Rockstar games.
Elsewhere, the “World War II” marketing budget seems to imply that GTA 6 may be launched in 2023, and the GTA online competition seems to point to Vice City’s launch of GTA 6 in 2020.
Remember, officially, GTA 6 doesn’t even exist yet.