[MUD-Dev] re: Questing Systems

[Kristen L. Koster]

On 7/24/2000 8:09 PM, Raph Koster at rkoster at austin.rr.com wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu
>> [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
>> John Hopson
>> Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 5:08 PM
>> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
>> Subject: [MUD-Dev] re: Questing Systems
>> 
>> Yup!  I use a system that I think is a bit more flexible than the one you're
>> describing.  Each player has a text field on them that starts out empty.  To
>> this field, any number of one word questflags can be added and removed, such
>> as "Baker_quest_step_1" and so on.  Mobs can check to see if you have a flag
>> and respond accordingly.  They can also add and remove flags as needed.
>> Players can't see what flags they have.
>> 
>> A player's questflag field  might look like:
>> 
>> Baker_quest_step_1 Dragonslayer_completed Thieves_guild_member
>> Pond_quest_trying
> 
> LegendMUD (http://www.legendmud.org) has had this since launch in '92. Flags
> are not, however, stored as text, but as an index into a table with the text
> names. There's a few additional refinements that are quite nice:

LegendMUD also has another type of "quest" flag that is more flexible and
stores up to 6 variables per flag on the character flagged. These are also
of the same types (perm, temp, or removed at DTs) but they can also have an
independent timer of when to "wear off", and can store the array of
variables (two strings and 4 integers. These new flags are also generated
dynamically and declared entirely in the script language. Besides turning
them on and off in script, you can retrieve and modify the variables stored
with them. These flags currently don't tie into the whois strings Raph
mentioned so we use a wide mix of both in our areas.

Some examples of things done with these flags that couldn't have been done
easily with the first type:

- You can track how much a player owes for something and update that amount
and store it on the player. This way they can pay it in amounts they can
carry.

- You can require that a quest step be completed in a specific amount of
time.

- You can allow players a set number of attempts at a quest step in a set
period of time but allow others to try too.

- Track up to 4 specific item vnums needed to complete a quest step. (or up
to 4 of any number necessary.)

- Track up to 2 strings that could include the last person you saw and the
next person you have to visit.


Did I miss anything obvious or even not so obvious on those, Todd?

-Kristen Koster
Kaige @ LegendMUD       www.legendmud.org      legendmud.org 9999




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