3D Grid Connectivity Caching for Game Object Movement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing 3D game engines face inefficiencies in moving objects between locations due to high computational costs of real-time connectivity calculations, particularly in massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs), leading to reduced game performance and player experience.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus for moving objects in a 3D application by pre-caching connectivity information between three-dimensional grids, allowing for efficient determination of connectivity and reducing the need for real-time calculations, thereby improving object movement efficiency and game performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If real-time dynamic connectivity algorithms are used to determine whether two locations are connected, then the object movement can be dynamically adapted to the current scene, but the calculation amount is large and efficiency is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedynamic connectivity determinationVSAvoidobject movement efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates and stores connectivity information between adjacent grids in a three-dimensional map before runtime. This preliminary action allows the system to avoid performing complex connectivity calculations during actual object movement operations, thereby resolving the contradiction between dynamic adaptability and movement efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If polygon mesh is used to describe 3D scenes with high precision, then model details can be very precise, but a large quantity of floating point number operations are required causing performance loss to server

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel detail precisionVSAvoidserver computational resources
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the continuous three-dimensional space into discrete grid cells, transforming the complex polygon mesh representation into a simplified grid-based structure. This segmentation maintains sufficient spatial precision for movement determination while dramatically reducing the computational complexity from floating-point polygon operations to integer grid operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces expensive polygon mesh data structures with cheaper grid cell representations. While grids are simpler and less precise than polygon meshes, they provide adequate precision for connectivity determination and significantly reduce server computational burden, effectively trading minor precision loss for major performance gains.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If a game server bears most kernel calculations and data maintenance functions to prevent cheating, then security is improved, but the server capacity to handle 3D scene management and collision is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanti-cheating securityVSAvoidserver processing capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the computationally intensive connectivity determination logic from the server's real-time processing requirements and replaces it with pre-computed grid data that can be stored and quickly queried. This extraction allows the server to maintain security by controlling the game logic while reducing its computational burden, thereby increasing server capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3575958B1Object moving method and device, storage medium, and electronic device
Publication Date: 2023.04.26 TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) CO LTD
  • EP3575958B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3575958B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3575958B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The present invention discloses an object moving method and apparatus, a storage medium, and an electronic apparatus. The method includes: obtaining, by a client, an operation instruction, the operation instruction being used to request for moving a target object from a first grid to a second grid in a three-dimensional map, the three-dimensional map being divided into a plurality of three-dimensional grids, each of the grids being used to indicate a three-dimensional space; obtaining target connectivity information between every two adjacent target grids in a target moving path, the target moving path being a moving path from the first grid to the second grid, the target connectivity information being used to indicate whether the every two adjacent target grids are connected, and the target connectivity information being pre-cached information; determining whether the first grid and the second grid are connected based on the target connectivity information; and moving the target object from the first grid to the second grid in the three-dimensional map based on determining that the first grid and the second grid are connected. The present invention resolves a technical problem of low efficiency of moving an object from a location to another location in the related technology.