One of the requests from https://forums.elementalgame.com/396283 was to show how quests are done.

Let’s walk through making a simple quest.

Title: “An urgent message”

Objective: Bring Dennis’s Note to the Master of Hounds

Reward: Token of Man’s Best Friend

Step #1: The Quest Location

First, I load up the Builder’s Forge in the Workshop and make a suitable location. This is the home of Dennis Lacros. Dennis has been doing his part to help rid the area of wolves.  He does this by working with a series of Hound Masters who are supplying him and others like him with hounds bred to fend off wolves and make the countryside safer.

He has asked if you can deliver a message to Master Olof, the Master of Hounds, that he has need for another dozen hounds as soon as possible.

Step #2: The Quest Destination

So here I’ve created Master Olof’s place. 

Step 3: Define the Location and Destination

In XML, we have to tie our tile designs to a game object. In this case, a quest location and a quest destination. Quest destinations are just goodie huts (notable locations). The quest locations are objects that trigger the creation of other game objects.

 

 

Step #4: The Quest Definition

This is where I wish I had .NET skillz to whip up a simple quest editor. I’m the most familiar with how the quests work in terms of XML but my .NET skills are weak.  So let me walk you through the XML.

First, to make it easier to distribute to others, I made a new XML file called Quest_UrgentMessage.xml and created a root called <QuestPackage>.

Then I copied and pasted the two tiles I just made (they’re XML) into it.

Then I wrote up the quest definition.

 

Step #5: TESTING the quest

The easiest way I’ve found to actually test a quest is to create a map and put the quest on it and see if it works the way you think it should.

Here’s how I do it.

First, I create two islands. one for me and one for the AI player to keep them out of my way. I put starting point 1 (me) on one island and starting point 2 on the other:

Then I put the quest on the map:

 

Now I load the game and load up that test map I just made.

 

Now, normally at this point we’d toss out the tile because it clearly clashes with the background. This is why it’s so hard to make things that look nice. But anyway, here it is.

Next…

Will put this together and upload the actual source.

To be continued…