Title: Beyond A*: Implementing the 'Traveling Salesman' in a Travel Simulation Game
When we started building GeoQuest, a travel logistics simulation, we realized that the core 'fun' wasn't just the travel—it was the optimization. Most pathfinding tutorials focus on simple A* for movement, but when you introduce a limited budget, specific arrival windows, and varying transport speeds, it becomes a complex variation of the Traveling Salesman Problem.
I’ve been experimenting with heuristic approaches to keep the simulation responsive while ensuring the 'optimal' route remains a challenge for the player to find. How do you all handle multi-constraint optimization in game logic? I'd love to discuss whether keeping the math 100% accurate is better than 'faking' it for the sake of gameplay flow. GeoQuest is our attempt to find that balance, and I'm curious if any other devs here have tackled real-world logistics in their projects.
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