SRB - Salco's Roaming Bots

SRB is a resource-conscious roaming layer for SPT 4.1.x. It sends eligible bots to dynamically sampled, complete NavMesh destinations instead of keeping them around a small set of fixed patrol spots.

Current development target

• SPT 4.1.2
• BigBrain 1.5.0 (required)
• Waypoints 1.9.0 (required)
• .NET Standard 2.1 client plugin

Current test build: 0.3.2. Compile and test it on a disposable SPT profile before using it for normal play.

Version 0.1.0 completed a full Shoreline raid without a direct SRB, BigBrain, or Waypoints exception. Version 0.2.0 adds lightweight per-raid diagnostics for the next playtest. Version 0.3.0 adds an optional observation camera for visually verifying distant roaming without moving the player entity. Version 0.3.1 keeps EFT's original rendering camera attached to the observation rig so weather, exposure, night vision, and post-processing remain intact. Version 0.3.2 applies the observation transform after EFT's own late camera update so the view follows the flight rig instead of snapping back to the player.

Design

• BigBrain owns the low-priority roaming layer.
• Waypoints supplies the expanded NavMesh.
• A global scheduler limits NavMesh path calculations per frame.
• Candidate searches are distributed over multiple frames.
• Only complete paths are accepted.
• Recently visited and already reserved areas are deprioritized.
• Group followers use their normal follow behavior by default; only the leader selects a remote target.
• Combat, danger, healing, and higher-priority AI layers suspend roaming.
• Stuck bots discard their current destination and request another route.
• A compact raid-end summary reports roaming bots, destinations, interruptions, path searches, stuck recoveries, and approximate travel distance without enabling per-bot debug logging.

Optional-mod policy

SAIN and Looting Bots can coexist through BigBrain priority and SRB's combat/health yielding rules. Questing Bots and ORBIT overlap with SRB's objective ownership. The safe default suspends SRB if either objective mod is detected. YieldByLayerPriority can be enabled in the F12 configuration for experimental fallback coexistence.

Future 4.1.x versions of those optional mods still require real compatibility testing after they are released.

Building in Visual Studio

Open SalcosRoamingBots.sln and build Release. The project defaults to this reference installation:

S:\SPT_4.1.x

To use another installation, set the MSBuild property SPTInstallPath.

The output DLL is written to:

src\SalcosRoamingBots\bin\Release\netstandard2.1\SalcosRoamingBots.dll

The normal build never writes to the SPT installation. To opt into deployment explicitly:

dotnet build .\SalcosRoamingBots.sln -c Release -p:DeployToSPT=true

Manual installation

Create this directory in the SPT installation and copy SalcosRoamingBots.dll into it:

BepInEx\plugins\SalcosRoamingBots\

BigBrain and Waypoints must already be installed.

Configuration

After the first successful game launch, settings appear in the BepInEx F12 menu and in:

BepInEx\config\com.salco.srb.cfg

Bosses, boss followers, and unclassified special roles are disabled by default.

Raid summary logging is enabled by default. It writes three compact lines when the EFT GameWorld closes. Debug logging remains disabled by default and is only needed for detailed per-bot target messages.

Debug observation camera

Enable debug free camera is disabled by default. Enable it in the F12 configuration, then use:

• F9: enter or leave the camera
• WASD: move
• Q / E: down / up
• Left Shift: speed boost
• Esc: release the mouse; click the left mouse button to capture it again

The local player body remains at its real position while the camera moves. Player input is suppressed, but the body is not made invisible or invulnerable. Park it somewhere safe before observing bots. Bot activation and combat distance continue to use the player body, not the free camera.

Current boundaries

• SRB only selects destinations that have a complete NavMesh path at search time.
• It does not unlock otherwise inaccessible doors or teleport stuck bots.
• Small maps automatically relax preferred travel distances after unsuccessful searches.
• Actual compatibility with future SPT 4.1.x releases of optional AI mods must be verified after those versions exist.

Acknowledgements

• BigBrain by DrakiaXYZ provides the custom brain-layer API.
• Waypoints by DrakiaXYZ provides expanded NavMeshes.
• Questing Bots was consulted as an open-source reference for current SPT bot movement and compatibility patterns. No Questing Bots assembly is required by SRB.