In my last post i forgot to list:
9. determined that when a "using special item" quest is generated, a "get special item" quest is should be automatically generated to precede it, and the two quests together make up that stage of the campaign.
here's the list of variables to track a single quest that I came up with:
action
object
modifiers
object data
mods data
here's the list of variables i came up with to track a campaign:
1. a list of stages.
2. for each stage:
A. type (single quest, split/merge, loop, split, or multiple-simultaneous).
B. info about the quest(s) in that stage. only multiple-simultaneous stages will have a list of quests. all other have one quest per stage.
C. "on success" and "on failure" next stages. these are used for the branching in splits, split/merges, and loops. for all others, they both have the same value, whatever the next stage in the campaign is.
D. probably need a "current _quest" var to track where they are in the campaign.
here's the stage templates i came up with:
1. single quest: success quest A -> next stage.
2. split/merge: success quest A -> next stage. failure quest A -> compete 1 or more stages to continue to next stage. this provides mission flow that splits then merges again.
3. loop: success A -> next stage. failure A -> complete zero or more stages before you can attempt quest A again. this provides mission flow that loops.
4. split: success A -> stage 1. failure A -> stage 2. where stages 1 and 2 are different branches of a branching story line campaign. this provides mission flow that branches.
5. multiple-simultaneous: 2 or more single stages that can be completed in any order to advance to the next stage in the campaign.
here's the method of generation i came up with:
so to generate quest using action/object method:
first you make your tables:
1. make list of actions valid for the game in question.
2. make list of objects valid for each valid action.
3. make list of modifiers valid for each valid action/object combo.
to generate a campaign, you first generate the number of stages on the main path from quest encounter to final reward.
campaigns are generated from last stage to first stage.
if a split stage is generated, the length of the branch that splits off the main path must be determined, and those stages generated, perhaps with a flag set indicating that its a branch off the "main path", so the final reward should be lower (1/2 treasure for example).
if a split/merge stage is generated, the "sidetrack" stages for it need to be generated
if a loop stage is generated, the stages in the loop need to be generated.
put it all together, and you have a quest gen system that will do all kinds of neat mission flow.
the question is, is it possible to generate the "why" they should do such and such, as opposed to simple orders than can be derived: "kill rufio" orders follows from action: destroy, object: rufio. "why kill rufio" other than for the reward, is another can of worms.
perhaps "why" is not needed. in the oblivion "rufio" quest, they don't ever say why. in fact they explicitly say its not important.
orders, conditions, and prerequisites are all pretty self evident once you've generated action, object, and modifiers. but i'm wondering if the orders will sounds too contrived, or too "generated" ?
