Godot Behavior Tree & Navigation Tutorial (P2 - Tile sets collision + nav mesh)

Introduction

In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up a tileset with collision and navigation mesh in the Godot engine, using behavior trees for game AI development. This guide will help you create a more interactive environment for your game by implementing tile collisions and navigation features effectively.

Step 1: Create a New Tilemap and Tileset

1. Open your Godot project.
2. Create a new TileMap node:
   • Right-click on the scene tree and select "Add Child Node."
   • Choose "TileMap."
3. Create a new tileset:
   • In the TileMap properties, find the "Tile Set" property.
   • Click on "New TileSet" to create a new tileset resource.

Step 2: Add Tiles to the Scene

1. Select the newly created tileset.
2. Import your downloaded asset from Kenney:
   • Go to the "TileSet" tab.
   • Drag and drop your tile images into the tileset.
3. Configure the tiles:
   • Adjust the tile size according to your asset dimensions.
   • Define the collision shapes for each tile if needed.

Step 3: Make Player Children Unselectable

1. To avoid selecting player children nodes in the scene:
   • Select the player node in the scene tree.
   • In the Inspector panel, enable the "Editable Children" property.
   • This prevents child nodes from being selected inadvertently during editing.

Step 4: Update Project Resolution

1. To ensure your game scales correctly:
   • Open "Project" → "Project Settings."
   • Under "Display," adjust the "Window Size" to your desired resolution.
   • Check the "Stretch Mode" and set it to "2D."

Step 5: Add Collision to Tileset

1. Go back to the tileset editor:
   • Select each tile and define collision shapes.
   • Use the "Polygon" or "Rectangle" shape tools to create collision areas.
2. Save the tileset after adding collision shapes.

Step 6: Test Collision

1. To test the collision:
   • Add a player character to your scene.
   • Run the game and navigate the player through the tileset.
   • Check for any collision issues and adjust collision shapes if necessary.

Step 7: Add Navigation Mesh 2D to Tileset

1. In the tileset editor, add a Navigation Polygon:
   • Select the "NavigationPolygon" option.
   • Draw the navigation areas where the AI should be able to traverse.
2. Save your changes.

Step 8: Test Navigation Mesh 2D

1. Add an AI character to your scene.
2. Run the game and observe the AI pathfinding:
   • Ensure the AI can navigate through the defined navigation areas.
   • Make adjustments if the AI encounters any navigation issues.

Step 9: Add Navigation2D Node

1. To finalize your navigation setup:
   • Create a new "Navigation2D" node in your scene.
   • Link your NavigationPolygon to this node.
2. Adjust properties as needed to optimize navigation.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to set up a tileset with collision and navigation mesh in Godot. These features are essential for creating a functional game environment where AI can navigate and interact with the world. Next, you can explore integrating behavior trees for advanced AI behaviors or expand your game with additional features. Happy developing!