In 1986, Craig Reynolds made a computer model of coordinated animal motion such as bird flocks and fish schools. It called the generic simulated flocking creatures boids.
The basic flocking model consists of three simple steering behaviors which describe how an individual boid maneuvers based on the positions and velocities its nearby flockmates.
| Separation |  |
steer to avoid crowding local flockmates |
| Alignment |  |
steer towards the average heading of local flockmates |
| Cohesion |  |
steer to move toward the average position of local flockmates |
Dark red : Repulsion zone
Light red : attraction zone
| Parameter | Explanation | Recommended Value |
|---|---|---|
| fov | how far the boid can see (radius) | 80 |
| repulsion_fov | how far the boid sees obsacles | 40 |
| max_speed | how fast a boid can go | 6 |
| max_force | maximum force a boid can support | 0.2 |
| separation_force | importance of the separation rule | 1 |
| cohesion_force | importance of the cohesion rule | 1 |
| align_force | importance of the alignment rule | 1 |
| repulsion_force | how strong a boid will try to avoid an obstacle | 5 |