If anyone is allowed to jump into this thread I’d like to contribute a review of this system which I’ve been working on for a while.
No Scripting quest System by Nereng
Current contents: 1 demo mod with some quests already included, 6/7 lessons covering different types of quest, 1 plain text readme.
As someone whose scripting skills are far from legendary (!) this appealed to me as it offers a way for anyone familiar with the toolset but not confident, or indeed able, to script a way of compiling quests without having to write any scripts.
Nereng has focussed on different types of quest - fetch, kill, escort, healing, courier and rescue. He provides detailed tutorials on each which can be filled in to the demo module. The system will likely not appeal to any competent scripter as it is limited in some ways but nothing major I would argue. For those not keen to script it offers a genuine other way. He bundles the necessary scripts into custom tokens which are then placed into an NPC quest giver’s Inventory. From there the user basically fills in a customised variable screen for the token which organises the quest. The journal is completed separately but is linked to the quest through its tag.
When I first saw this system I thought it looked a lot more work for very little reward as I can ( now) handle the conversation editor properly. However, as I got into the swing of it, it became very intuitive and I found myself gaining confidence pretty quickly. I’m now totally divided on whether I will use this system or not for my next module ( or at least for some of the quests).
Pro:
* the system is, despite my initial reaction, simple and works well
* there is pretty good documentation to accompany it
* it is a really clever idea
* a really good coverage of most of the common types of quest
* it grows on you, is better than Plot wizard and you could build a decent
sized module with it!
Con:
* if you can script well you don't need this
* the demo module is massive with too many placeables which slow
down loading time
* I can't immediately see how this system would cope with multiple choice
answers in conversations ( although I haven't really tested)
* I have no idea if you could build your own custom tokens with it.
Conclusion - If you can script well this will be of no more than passing interest at how cleverly he has built this system. If you are a beginner or if, like me, you can use the toolset quite well but are forever asking for help with scripts then this is well capable of taking the heavy lifting for at least the more straightforward quests. Working your way through the lessons will leave you with a more favourable opinion than you started with. Of that I’m pretty sure.
For me it would be 8/10 (tested on EE). For able scripters probably 6, for new builders or less able scripters 9 or 10.
As a slight additional note, I was so impressed by this system, and so disappointed that the original work by Nereng didn’t even have a comment on it’s page despite the huge amount of time and effort which must have gone into it), I decided I would attempt to make it more accessible for today’s builders as I would have liked to have known about it when I started.
So, I have been working on updating the package and trying to make it look more attractive. NONE of the system or lessons is my own work. It is all Nereng’s, 'though I have spotted one or two errors and corrected them. I intend to put up a new project page in the next week or so which will include:
a link to Nereng’s original page with the demo module
an original erf extracted from the demo module containing all you need to use it in a module of your own
a redone PDF containing all the lessons with corrections in a few places
a series of video tutorials of the lessons created by me ( prob 6 of them ) on YouTube
