Engine version: 4.26 - 4.27,5.0 - 5.7

High-Performance Pathfinding for Large Worlds

Roadmap Navigation is a powerful multi-threaded tool built specifically for pathfinding in massive open-world environments. While the name suggests a focus on roads, the developer clarifies that this is simply a metaphor. It can navigate any area detectable via blueprints. Consequently, creators can implement navigation across various custom surfaces without relying on the standard UE4 built-in system.

This plugin operates on a custom navigation grid. Therefore, it provides a specialized alternative for developers needing more control over AI traversal. Furthermore, the tool generates navigation data only once. Once created, the data loads directly from the disk. This ensures players do not need to regenerate data after installing the game. However, the creator also allows you to disable the saving and loading features entirely if needed.

Key Features and Applications

The plugin is designed to fulfill the needs of diverse game projects. It is particularly useful for specific navigation tasks that require high efficiency. For instance, developers can use it for:

Pathfinding within custom areas such as roads or specific zones.
Directing AI agents across vast, expansive terrains.
Finding efficient paths between two distant points in a huge world.
Drawing navigational paths directly onto an in-game map.

Additionally, the package includes a simple minimap to display found paths. The developer chose the name Roadmap Navigation because the tool was originally based on road systems. Nevertheless, it remains a versatile custom navigation solution for many different project types.

Performance and Optimization Specs

Performance is a core focus of this tool. According to the creator, navigation for a 10×10 square mile map can be generated in approximately 10 seconds. Moreover, this data loads in less than one second. In testing, the generated navigation file size for such a large area was only 696kb. Consequently, all paths within that space were found in under one second when using modern hardware like an AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT.

Implementation and Limitations

To assist with setup, the plugin includes an example project with two maps. One map is a massive 10×10 square mile environment, while the other is medium-sized. These examples demonstrate how to optimize settings for different scales. However, there is an important technical limitation to consider. Roads or paths cannot cross each other at different heights, such as multi-level highways. This specific configuration is currently not supported.

In conclusion, Roadmap Navigation offers a streamlined and high-performance solution for open-world pathfinding. Because the developer uses this tool in their own game, the plugin continues to receive regular updates. It remains a reliable choice for creators building large-scale custom navigation systems.