I posted this question on stack overflow first, but I guess no one is very interested in video games there...
What are some path finding algorithms used in games of all types? (Of all types where characters move, anyway) Is Dijkstra's used a whole lot? I would think not, as it doesn't actually trace out the steps to take to get somewhere, right? If I'm understanding it right, it only determines which object is the closest. I'm not really looking to code anything; just doing some research, though if you paste pseudocode or something, that would be fine (I can understand Java and C++). I'm basically looking for a quick overview of path finding in general.
I know A* is like THE algorithm to use in 2D games. That's great and all, but what about 2D games that are not grid-based? Things like Age of Empires, or Link's Awakening. There aren't distinct square spaces to navigate to, so what do they do?
What do 3D games do? I've read this thingy http://www.ai-blog.net/archives/000152.html, which I hear is a great authority on the subject, but it doesn't really explain HOW, once the meshes are set, the path finding is done. IF A* is what they use, then how is something like that done in a 3D environment? And how exactly do the splines work for rounding corners?