View source for Classic bug: NPC speed exceeds class limits

{{Classic bug
|id=GE-BUG-018
|affected=Classic 3.2e and published classic source
|status=Verified in source
|fixed=ge-next 0.2
|source=GECYBS.C; GEDROIDS.C; GEFUNCS.C
}}
== Summary ==
Classic NPC behavior routines sometimes choose an arbitrary floating-point speed without respecting the ship class's maximum warp or selecting a whole-number warp speed. This is separate from a Cybertron's deliberate high-speed travel toward a distant target.
== Examples in classic ==
* The Murdonian Transport's configured maximum is warp 8, but its missile-evasion branch in <code>droid_act_class_12()</code> sets <code>speed2b</code> to <code>rndm(5900.0) + 5000.0</code>. That requests roughly warp 5 through 10.9, including fractional speeds and speeds above the class maximum. A transport dodging missiles can therefore outrun its own specification.
* When jammed, a Cybertron directly requests <code>d_topspeed + rndm(3000.0)</code>. The extra random amount can push its requested speed almost three warp units above its configured top speed, independently of any long-distance pursuit.
* Ordinary Cybertron cruising selects <code>rndm(d_topspeed)</code>, and Droid initialization similarly selects a random floating-point speed up to the class maximum. When the result is in the warp range, it need not be an integer warp setting; a scan can show an unintended fractional warp speed even when the maximum is not exceeded.
== Cause ==
These branches write directly to the requested-speed field, <code>speed2b</code>, using values in thousandths of a warp unit. The random-number routine returns floating-point values, and the classic AI does not consistently constrain or quantize the resulting warp request. Movement then accelerates toward that request.
== Correction in ge-next 0.2 ==
The NPC behavior rewrite replaced the affected cruising and maneuvering choices with class-aware, whole-number warp selections. Shared <code>npc_cruise()</code> chooses integer warp steps up to the class's configured maximum for normal cruising, while other AI branches use appropriate fixed or bounded speeds. A Cybertron's long-distance pursuit remains an intentional exception to its ordinary class maximum; it is not an example of this bug.
== Porting guidance ==
Audit each NPC branch that assigns <code>speed2b</code>, not just the general cruising path. Apply the class's speed limit to ordinary movement choices and quantize warp-range requests to whole warp settings, while preserving any explicitly designed special movement modes.
[[Category:Classic bugs: NPCs]]
[[Category:Classic bugs: Navigation]]
{{GE navigation}}