So today I worked on the “getting jumped on by too many monsters” problem that I mentioned yesterday.

First thing I did was to adjust the block used to represent PCs and monsters.  Those blocks were a really weird size;  I’ve fixed them to be approximately the dimensions of a standing human, so it’s easier to see scale and density.  Second, I made it so that monsters wouldn’t spot PCs until the PC came within 10 meters (previously, was 20 meters).  Third, I made it so that monsters wouldn’t chase a PC more than 30 meters from his spawn position (previously, was 80 meters).  Fourth, I adjusted the distances that players and monsters tried to stand from each other, in order to fight.  (They now try to stand between 1 and 3 meters apart, was previously 10 to 30 centimeters).

Finally, I fixed a bug in the PC AI.  Here’s what was happening:

1. PC is noticed by a monster.  PC decides to fight it, and moves toward it.
2. On his way to that monster, PC is noticed by a different monster.  PC decides to fight it, and moves toward this new monster.
3. On his way to that new monster, PC is noticed by yet another different monster.  PC decides to fight it, repeat ad infinitum.

This, as it turns out, was one of the big reasons why the PC was being jumped by five to ten monsters immediately upon entering a grinding area;  each time he attracted the attention of a new monster, he’d forget the monster he was already fighting, and charge toward the new monster, and this would inevitably snowball as more and more monsters noticed his headlong charge into the grinding zone.

All fixed now, though!  The PC no longer switches targets if he attracts an additional monster;  he stays where he is, and avoids attracting yet more monsters.  With this change, my single PC is now perfectly able to grind through the monsters in the grinding zone without being killed.