Wise Feline influence maps allows you to answer these sorts of questions efficiently and is compatible with Wise Feline Utility AI as well.
You store the effect of an agent/object/action on a map as a stamp and then can search for map parts with high values, low values, averages and … You can combine different maps with each other and then query them for specific values around a point or check a point’s value. Maps can have any resolution you desire and operations like normalizing, multiplying and adding maps to each other is supported by default. In addition to these you get access to the raw arrays if need be.
Influence maps allow you to make spatial queries and make decisions based on them. Unlike EQS they allow you to get data about the whole environment and not only the current place of things but also what happend where.
This version allows you to fine tune your searches by allowing you to multiply an interest template/curve with the map you are searching. It also allows you to remove the template of the actor which is searching from the map.
V1.4 is released with a better WFInfluencerAgent UI in the details panel which shows the relevant parameters for the template mode selected.
Also a critical bug in template baking which was introduced in 1.3 is fixed. You are only affected if your template’s curve at X=1 did not have a 0 value of Y for range units and such. In most cases your X=1 has a Y = 0.
Also the demo is a pure blueprint project now which does not require C++ to run.
Hi everyone v1.5 of Influence maps for unreal is released
It allows you to clamp the values of a map when adding values to it using AddInfluence or when using the WFInfluencerAgent component.
This is useful for searches which give you the highest and lowest cells.
If you don’t do this then due to floating point inaccuracies, sometimes one cell has a value of -0.0000001 and is always chosen by all agents.
Normalizing the map could fix this but normalizing is more expensive than clamping. In many situations you know that clamping is enough because the map is always at a certain range.
We have released v1.6 of influence maps for unreal.
This version adds a component visualizer which shows the map dimensions when you edit width, height and cellsize without entering a PIE session.
Two updates are out for Wise Feline Influence Maps, so I thought I’d share what’s changed.
The plugin gives you spatial maps that your AI can query when deciding where to go. You can use them to track threats, resources or friendly units, then search for positions that suit the agent’s current needs.
Most of the work in 3.0 went into map operations. Adding maps, normalization and stamping influence templates now use SIMD to process multiple cells together. The min/max scan was updated as well, and UE 5.8 support was added alongside the existing 5.6 and 5.7 packages.
I also fixed several runtime issues. Converting a world position to a map position now consistently returns the cell containing that point. Small maps are handled safely during min/max scans, and map operations check their inputs and cell counts. Other fixes address baked templates being collected during gameplay and crashes when maps unregister during cleanup.
In 3.1, I revisited the highest and lowest value searches, including the versions that find the best cell nearest a specified point. They now use a two-pass SIMD implementation, which also corrects a slowdown introduced in the 3.0 highest-value search.
The map tick had some unnecessary logging work too: it walked through every cell even when the Visual Logger wasn’t recording. That work is now skipped unless recording is active. While recording, cell colors come from a lookup table.
There’s also a new optional editor toolset in 3.1. An AI agent connected through Unreal’s MCP server can create influence templates, change their falloff curves and read their settings. Curve changes automatically rebake the template. The toolset requires UE 5.8, while the runtime changes are included for UE 5.6 and 5.7 too.
Returned world positions to the center of each cell. Previously, map searches returned the cell’s corner, which could leave a character offset from the location the map was describing.
The Visual Logger and gameplay debugger now draw their cell markers at those same centers.
Alongside 3.2, I’ve refreshed the standalone Simple and Complex Blueprint demos for UE 5.8.
Simple shows chase and avoidance using separate citizen and enemy influence maps. Complex has escorts protecting a blue transport core while raiders look for weaker approaches.
You can switch floor heatmaps and select an agent to inspect its state and destination. The project uses Influence Maps with ordinary Blueprints and Unreal navigation; it does not require Wise Feline Utility AI.
For projects combining both products, the free WFIntegrations pack also adds highest-value and lowest-value search modes to its influence map consideration.
One upgrade detail: if your Blueprint or C++ code already adds half a cell to a returned world position, remove that offset when updating to 3.2.
I have updated the free UE 5.8 sample project for Wise Feline Influence Maps. It has two levels you can open and edit. Simple shows a small chase and avoidance setup. Complex has defenders protecting a moving core while raiders attack and a floor heatmap shows where each side has influence.
The earlier Complex demo could look stuttery when an agent kept choosing a different destination from a changing map. The updated Blueprint scores its current goal again before comparing new points. It switches only when a candidate is at least 150 units away and improves the score by more than 120 points. Invalid or unreachable goals can still be replaced immediately. Defenders also avoid treating their own influence and their teammates’ committed destinations as uncovered space.
Press Tab to inspect an agent and watch its gold destination marker. In Complex, use WASD to move the core’s guide and keys 1, 2 and 3 to compare the heatmaps. The project needs Influence Maps 3.2 or later; Utility AI is not required.
