How to get AI to move normally on elevated sidewalks?

[hkurban 1]

Hello, 

 

So I am trying to set up some elevated sidewalks for a map I am working on, and this problem is giving me a severe headache.  Ideally I'd like AI to treat it like any normal ground, able to run around, go prone, come on and off at will without having to follow a pathway LOD and go into the slow "tactical" pace used when pathing through buildings.  It's not a complex model, just some simple geometry about half a meter high, designed to be modular.

 

At first I wasn't sure if what I wanted was possible, but I ran some tests in Zeus on a few objects, and came across one particular object, called "Castle Step" (Classname "Land_Castle_01_Step_F") which was roughly the same dimensions of one of my sidewalk pieces.  I placed it down, and lo and behold, AI walked across it like it was part of the terrain.  They ran, sprinted, knelt, went prone, did everything normal AI do.  I even placed a bunch of these objects down in a line on either side of a road, and the AI walked on them just as often as on the street.

 

 I'm 99.9% sure this is not the pathway LOD at play.  The AI movement is too varied and dynamic.  The problem is, I'm not exactly sure what is happening.  My first assumption was the Castle Step just used a Geo and Roadway LOD without a Path LOD.  I tried this with my sidewalk piece, and while AI will cross it when there is absolutely no other option, they avoid it at all cost.  I unfortunately can't open up this particular model since it's binarized, so I can't figure out what's at work here, and I've tried searching the forums to no avail. 

 

If anyone has any idea how to achieve this effect, I would greatly appreciate the help.  

[str8razor 0]

I'm also trying to solve for raise walkways (without any luck). Did you ever find a way to prevent the character model from falling through or being repelled? I know your issue was with AI pathing, but the first part solution is needed for my mod as well. I thought i was being clever when i turned walls on their sides, but the character model clips into it and then gets caught in an animation similar to the swimming stance.