"Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

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mroshaw
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:10 am

"Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by mroshaw »

Hi! I'm putting together my first quest, which amounts to:

1. Accept quest
2. Find object
3. Return to quest giver.

I'm having trouble constructing the dialogue that I want from the quest giver.

The idea is to have 4 dialogue items:

1. Quest offer text: "Will you do this?"
2. Quest in progress text: "Please do this and return to me when you're done!"
3. Quest handed in text: "Thank you! You've done it! Here's a reward!"
4. Quest complete: "You've done enough already, thank you again!"

My quest structure is in 4 nodes:

a. Start
b. Find Object
c. Return to Quest Giver
d. Success

I'm struggling to build dialogues (3) and (4) into that structure.

I thought I could achieve this by setting dialogue (3) to the "Active" state of node (c). Then have dialogue (4) on the Active state of node (d). I'm still not quite sure of the difference between the quest "Successful" state and the "Success" node "Active" and / or "True" states.

But I end up with dialogue (3) combined with dialogue (4) all the time.

Is there a way to give me some dialogue text ONCE when I return to the quest giver, then have alternative dialogue on all subsequent interactions?

I do hope this makes sense - sorry for the ramble!
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: "Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by Tony Li »

Hi,

Take a look at the Demo's Harvest Carrots quest.

In the main quest info (accessible by clicking empty canvas space or the gear menu > Quest Properties), the Successful state's Dialogue Text is: "Thanks for helping with the harvest!". This text will appear if the player talks to the Villager after completing the quest. Note: A good way to test this is to remove all quests from the Villager's list except Harvest Carrots. Otherwise the dialogue UI will jump to other quests in the list instead of showing Harvest Carrots' Successful text.

In the Get 3 Carrots node, the Active state's Dialogue Text is: "Those carrots aren't going to pick themselves!". This text will appear if the Get 3 Carrots node is active -- that is, if the player is still on the quest and hasn't picked all 3 carrots yet.

In the Talk to Villager node, the Active state's Dialogue Text is: "Great job! Here's your reward.". This text will appear if the node is active and you talk to the Villager. The node's conditions check for the message "Discussed Quest" + "harvestCarrots". Note that the message is "Discussed Quest", which means it won't be true until after the quest giver shows the Active dialogue text.
mroshaw
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:10 am

Re: "Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by mroshaw »

Thanks again, Tony.

I was thrown by the "Return to quest giver" wizard, as that sets up the condition around the "Discuss Quest" message.

Following your response, changing this to "Discussed Quest", gave me exactly what I wanted!

Thank you so much again!
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: "Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by Tony Li »

Glad to help!

"Discuss Quest" will set the node true just prior to showing the dialogue. The wizard uses this by default because it provides the shortest path to the quest's completed text. In the next update I'll add a popup that asks if you want to use "Discuss" or "Discussed' since that would be a good distinction to point out.
mroshaw
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:10 am

Re: "Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by mroshaw »

That would be amazing!

I absolutely love the flexibility of the system, Tony, and the MessageSystem is absolutely inspired! I have been able to do so much in a couple of hours this afternoon, integrating various systems with Quest Machine. This is one of the nicest, most feature-rich yet easy to use assets I've come across. I can't thank you enough!
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: "Once only" dialog on "Return to Quest Giver"

Post by Tony Li »

Thanks for the nice words! :-)
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