LuaAPI/wesnoth/paths

The wesnoth.paths module contains functions for calculating paths and reach on the map.

Functions

wesnoth.paths.find_path

♟⌖ wesnoth.paths.find_path(start location, end location, [path_options]) → path, cost

Returns the shortest path from one location to another. There must be a unit at the source location when using the standard path calculator. A unit can also be used as the locations, but you should not use a unit as the end location unless you are ignoring units, as it will cause no path to be found. The last argument is an optional table that can be used to parameterize the pathfinder. This argument is required in the map generation context, but optional in the game context.

In the game context, the path options are:

max_cost: if set, the pathfinder will ignore paths longer than its value
ignore_units: if set, the path will go through units and ignore zones of control. Note: hidden enemies are always ignored, whether this parameter is set or not, unless viewing_side (below) is set to an invalid side.
ignore_teleport: if set, the teleport ability of the unit is ignored
viewing_side: if set to a valid side number, fog and shroud for this side will be taken into account; if set to an invalid number (e.g. 0), fog and shroud will be ignored and hidden units will be taken into account as well; if left unset, the viewing side will be the unit side
calculate: a cost function to be passed to the pathfinder (see below).

In the map generation context, the path options are:

width, height: specify the size of the map. Pathfinding in the mapgen kernel is done without reference to a map, so this is needed to prevent paths from going off the map.
include_borders: an optional boolean indicating whether map borders should be included. If true, (0,0) and (width+1,height+1) are considered valid locations.
calculate: a cost function to be passed to the pathfinder (see below).

The path is returned as a table of coordinate pairs. It contains both the source and destination tile if a path was found. The total cost of the path is also available as a second return value, if needed.

-- Display some items along the path from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2).
local u = wesnoth.units.get(x1, y1)
local path, cost = wesnoth.paths.find_path(u, x2, y2, { ignore_units = true, viewing_side = 0 })
if cost > u.moves then
    wesnoth.interface.add_chat_message("That's too far!")
else
    for i, loc in ipairs(path) do
        wml.fire("item", { x = loc[1], y = loc[2], image = "items/buckler.png" })
    end
end

cost_function(x, y, current cost) → cost to enter

As part of the parameter table, a cost function can be passed to the pathfinder. It is called for all the tiles the computed path may possibly go through. It receives three arguments. The first two are the coordinates of the tile, the last one is the current cost for reaching that tile. The function should return a floating-point value that is the cost for entering the given tile. This cost should be greater or equal to one.

-- Count how many turns it would take, assuming the worst case (3 movement points per tile)
local max_moves = wesnoth.units.get(x1, y1).max_moves
local path, cost = wesnoth.paths.find_path(x1, y2, x2, y2, {
    calculate = function(x, y, current_cost)
        local remaining_moves = max_moves - (current_cost % max_moves)
        if remaining_moves < 3 then current_cost = current_cost + remaining_moves end
        return current_cost + 3
    end })
wesnoth.interface.add_chat_message(string.format("It would take %d turns.", math.ceil(cost / 3)))

wesnoth.paths.find_vacant_hex

♟ wesnoth.paths.find_vacant_hex(x, y, [unit]) → x, y

Returns the two coordinates of an empty hex the closest to the hex passed by coordinates. An optional unit (either a WML table or a proxy object) can be passed as a third argument; if so, the returned tile has terrain which is passable for the passed unit. Note: hidden units are always seen by this function, no matter whether they are visible to the side of the passed unit.

function teleport(src_x, src_y, dst_x, dst_y)
  local u = wesnoth.units.get(src_x, src_y)
  dst_x, dst_y = wesnoth.paths.find_vacant_hex(dst_x, dst_y, u)
  u:to_map(dst_x, dst_y)
end

wesnoth.paths.find_reach

♟ wesnoth.paths.find_reach(unit, [path_options]) → array of locations

Returns all the locations reachable by a unit. The unit is given either by its coordinates or by a proxy object. The last argument is an optional table that can be used to parameterize the pathfinder. Its options are:

additional_turns: if set to an integer n, the pathfinder will consider tiles that can be reached in n+1 turns
ignore_units: if set, the paths will go through units and ignore zones of control. Note: hidden enemies are always ignored, whether this parameter is set or not, unless viewing_side (below) is set to an invalid side.
ignore_teleport: if set, the teleport ability of the unit is ignored, as well as any tunnels on the map
viewing_side: if set to a valid side number, fog and shroud for this side will be taken into account; if set to an invalid number (e.g. 0), fog and shroud will be ignored and hidden units will be taken into account as well; if left unset, the viewing side will be the unit side

The locations are stored as triples in an array, with members x and y that hold the coordinates of a reachable tile, and moves_left which is the number of movement points left when reaching the tile.

-- overlay the number of turns needed to reach each tile
local t = wesnoth.paths.find_reach(u, { additional_turns = 8 })
local m = u.max_moves
for i,l in ipairs(t) do
  wml.fire("label", { x = l.x, y = l.y, text = math.ceil(9 - l.moves_left / m) })
end

wesnoth.paths.find_vision_range

♟ wesnoth.paths.find_vision_range(unit) → array of locations

Returns the hexes visible to that unit according to the unit's vision costs and vision points combined with any nearby units with jamming costs and points. The returned hexes include border hexes that would not be considered reachable if the unit's move points and vision points are the same.

wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map

♟ wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map(unit) → cost map

Builds a cost map for one unit, multiple units and/or one or multiple unit types. In a cost map each hex is mapped to two values: a) The summed cost to reach this hex for all input units b) A value which indicates how many units can reach this hex The caller can divide a) with b) to get a average cost to reach this hex for the input units. The costs consider movement lost during turn changes.

Input arguments:

1. The unit(s) for which to calculate the cost map. This can be
- a proxy unit
- or a unit filter
- or a unit's coordinates (in this case this is actually 2 arguments)
2. (optional) The unit type(s) for which to calculate the cost map. This argument must be an array of quadruples, each with the following elements:
- 1. + 2.: coordinates from which to calculate the cost map
- 3.: side of the unit
- 4.: unit type as a string
- Note: If the array of unit types is given the units will be added to the first parameter. Use an empty filter or an invalid location for the first argument to add only unit types.
3. (optional) A table with options: ignore_units, ignore_teleport, viewing_side, debug, use_max_moves
- Note: unlike most other Wesnoth Lua functions, ignore_units defaults to true.
4. (optional) A Standard Location Filter. If given, the cost map will be calculated only for the locations satisfying this SLF.

Return value: A array of quadruples (coordinates + summed cost + reach count). The cost is set to -1 if no unit can reach the hex.

local leader = wesnoth.units.find{ side = wesnoth.current.side, canrecruit = 'yes' }[1]
local cost_map = wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map(leader)
local cost_map = wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map(19, 4)
local cost_map = wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map({ side = wesnoth.current.side, canrecruit = 'yes' })
local cost_map = wesnoth.paths.find_cost_map({ side = 999 }, { { 24, 7, wesnoth.current.side, "Vampire Bat" } })