Simplistic AI movement (pong++) help!!

[soranz]

Hi! I'm working with Visual Studio 6.0 and I can't figure out how to make an AI character move around. This is for an RPG type game. I want my character to walk around in a rectangular area and pick up things (seashells on a beach). She has to recognize the seashells and stop for a second to pick it up. Then, after a few more seconds, she should continue on in the direction she was going in until she reaches the edge of the area and starts to walk back.

Where I am at:
I've recently written a working version of the game pong so I understand the basic programming involved making the ball move. My problem is when the character stops to pick up a seashell. How does she know where she is going?

I'm using TIMERS too which can be confusing. Can I use two of them for this?

In general: Can TIMER_ONE initialize TIMER_TWO at a certain time and then at some point I kill TIMER_TWO and start it all over again?

I know I'm asking a lot of questions...
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Desolation]

If the destination is known you can use the A* algorithm to compute the most efficient path and if it is not you can define patterns (e.g. down all the way, move one step to the right then all the way up ...)

[tabstop]

How did she know which direction she was going in the first place? You should be able to separate out "is this character moving" from "which direction is this character moving in".

[soranz]

Hi, thanks for the replies!

I think I got it. I wasn't asking myself the right question 'tabstop'.