Heretical idea №2

[Sradac]

The good thing is: There will be a quest editor starting with the initial release of JADE... The bad thing is: It might not be what you expected.

Let me elaborate: IMHO the only decent quest editor for meaningfully interesting quests (e.g. such that can't be randomly generated with a simple template approach) are those that you program. The quest editor for JADE thus looks like this:

• Read the public Java API for JADE (which I will make available in the most current form once JADE is out in an initial version).
• Get some Java IDE (e.g. Eclipse or IntelliJ).
• Ask for blog posts explaining the details about how to design quests (I even might write some unasked ;-)
• Write Java code, add it to the game binary and test it.

Overly simplistic? Maybe? Efficient? Definitely! And IMHO the only way to design quests that cannot be randomly generated by JADE according to some simplistic formula.

IMHO just writing some flavor text is not really what makes for great new quests... it's adding new ways in which you can interact with the environment and in which the environment interacts with you. Flavor text could be added to the random generator templates

Sounds good, thats how its done with the ToME modules done in lua scripting you add it to the game yourself...err...does this mean that JADE will be open source? How else would you add it to the game binary?

[yisk]

Sounds great! But I have not understood, how self-made quests will be played? As a separate scenarios or as somehow integrated adventures in the JADE world?

P.S. I against game became opened. And if these quests are built in game, the Creator should do it only.

[Grey]

The good thing is: There will be a quest editor starting with the initial release of JADE... The bad thing is: It might not be what you expected.

Well, this certainly sounds interesting, though it shouldn't be too much of a priority. Perhaps then the most popular quests in the community would be integrated into the next JADE release in some form? Could turn out to be quite interesting - a community development, but with one editorial hand guiding over content and giving the game a more consistent overall feel.

Guess I'm gonna have to learn me some Java now...

[Worst Player... ever]

I didn't like the sound of this when I first read it, but JADE could be really awesome if we have a bunch of random quests along with 50-60 unrelated specific quests designed by the community. As long as there's some control and we don't end up with Nethack.

I hope random quests are still a thing. I loved games like Treasure of Tarmin and Dungeon Hack, and for some reason I just never, ever get tired of, 'go down to level 15 of this dungeon and kill some named monster'. I could play games like that forever.

[Dougy]

Sounds like a good idea to me, hopefully JADE can be improved with minimal work from TB. Also there are many good ideas around but not all of them could be included in ADOM.

Oh, and it's not necessary to publish the code in order to get outside contributions - although a quest author would need to understand the required input/output.

[Epythic]

The good thing is: There will be a quest editor starting with the initial release of JADE... The bad thing is: It might not be what you expected.

Let me elaborate: IMHO the only decent quest editor for meaningfully interesting quests (e.g. such that can't be randomly generated with a simple template approach) are those that you program. The quest editor for JADE thus looks like this:

• Read the public Java API for JADE (which I will make available in the most current form once JADE is out in an initial version).
• Get some Java IDE (e.g. Eclipse or IntelliJ).
• Ask for blog posts explaining the details about how to design quests (I even might write some unasked ;-)
• Write Java code, add it to the game binary and test it.

Overly simplistic? Maybe? Efficient? Definitely! And IMHO the only way to design quests that cannot be randomly generated by JADE according to some simplistic formula.

IMHO just writing some flavor text is not really what makes for great new quests... it's adding new ways in which you can interact with the environment and in which the environment interacts with you. Flavor text could be added to the random generator templates

+1 The only right way.

Any chance you will add some player-made stuff into the main version?

[Petra]

Has anyone on here ever played Dwarf Fortress? If anyone did, then you'll understand why I'm gonna emphasize the need for community involvement -- AKA: Mr. Biskup can't make EVERY little thing in each release of JADE.

Just a thought, but the original post might have something going with the quest editor...

[Plausible]

• Read the public Java API for JADE (which I will make available in the most current form once JADE is out in an initial version).
  [...]
• Write Java code, add it to the game binary and test it.

If I understand well, this will allow for programming certain parts of the game while hiding those parts of the code which are not meant to be touched. That'd be a good balance between open and closed source.

It might even allow someone with time on their hands to build a user-friendly editor themselves, on top of the API as it were, to help the Java-illiterate, and so Thomas needn't do that.

IMHO just writing some flavor text is not really what makes for great new quests... it's adding new ways in which you can interact with the environment and in which the environment interacts with you. Flavor text could be added to the random generator templates

I disagree. Imagine Dostoevski or Garcia Marques or Stephen King writing flavour text for a JADE quest - surely it will be a better quest than what the random generator could do? You can load the random quest generator with a gazillion 'text samples' but it still takes a human or a very clever quest generator to arrange text just so that it makes a great story. So, hope that the public API will allow for extra user-made text, in addition to user-made gameplay elements.

Anyway, exciting stuff

[yisk]

I disagree. Imagine Dostoevski or Garcia Marques or Stephen King writing flavour text for a JADE quest - surely it will be a better quest than what the random generator could do? You can load the random quest generator with a gazillion 'text samples' but it still takes a human or a very clever quest generator to arrange text just so that it makes a great story.

Disagree. You shouldn't speak about books and roguelikes as about equal things.

[moppit]

Excellent! And fun!

1.)Are you going to maintain a way to test quests before they get incorporated into Jade? (So you don't have a destroy darth vader quest)

2.)Do you think people would put out spin-off variants... I.E. Jade quest super uber enhanced.. Kill the goblin for skullcrusher.. Download my altered Jade from http://www.Ichangedagoodthing.com

3.)Are all quests going to be available in every game. (IMHO <-- Most important question in my mind - Once again I would like to see all quests non-guaranteed... one of 5(arbitrary) plot quests guaranteed))