First Steps for New Users

Welcome to the Autodesk® Gameware Navigation 2016 artificial intelligence (AI) middleware. This topic is intended to direct you to the resources you need to get up and running with this software as quickly as possible.

Step 1. Get your license key

Gameware Navigation is protected by a license key. The key is required to initialize Gameware Navigation for use in your game, level editor, or both. The key is also required for launching the standalone Navigation Lab tool.

If you have not received a license key, request one from Autodesk® Support through the Gameware support portal. You need to set up the license key to begin working with the examples and data generation tools included in the package.

For details, see Licensing.

Step 2. Install all the required packages

The Gameware support portal offers a different package for each platform supported by Gameware Navigation. You need to install a Windows base package and one or more additional packages for each platform. For details, see Installing Navigation.

Step 3. Read the Overview documentation

The Overview section introduces the concepts and workflows involved in using the Gameware Navigation API. You might find this section helpful in understanding what Gameware Navigation is, what it does, and how to get ready to integrate it into the workflow of your development team.

Step 4. Try out the Navigation Lab

The Navigation Lab is a very important tool when developing a game with Gameware Navigation.

You can browse and play with a set of samples that demonstrate some of the key features of the SDK.
You can generate and test NavData for your own terrains.
You can connect it to a running instance of your game and visually debug the way Gameware Navigation is operating inside your engine in real time.

For a quick introduction, see Getting Started with the Navigation Lab.

For detailed help on the interface, the queries you can run against your NavData, and other information, see The Navigation Lab.

Step 5. Integrate Gameware Navigation into your own game

When you are ready to integrate Gameware Navigation into your game, but before you begin, follow the Integrating Navigation into your Game Engine chapter. The sections in the Integration chapter are an in-depth tutorial that takes you through the main steps involved in integrating Gameware Navigation into your runtime game and level editor. While you might need to adapt the process for your own project, after you are through this section, you must be able to use Gameware Navigation to manage character movement within your game.