Quest 5.0 Beta 3 is now available for download.
The first draft of the Quest 5.0 Tutorial is also now available.
We are getting closer to the final 5.0 release now. The Issue Tracker currently only has a few relatively minor features assigned to a future Beta 4 release, so what we have now is close to the final version 5.0. Of course, version 5.0 is just the beginning – a rebirth for Quest, really – and I have lots of ideas for the versions that will come afterwards. But I think it is important now to get the new system stable and “out there”, so I don’t expect that there will be too many dramatic changes before the “gold” or “RTM” version 5.0.
New features in Beta 3:
- Status Attributes – these are the equivalent of Status Variables in Quest 4, and let you display attributes (such as player health, money) in the pane on the right of the screen.
- Multi-object commands – “take all” and “drop all” are now implemented by the Core library.
- Ask/Tell – you can now give characters a list of subjects that the player can ask or tell them about.
- Lockable containers – you can now assign a “key” object to a container which the player must have before they can unlock or open the container
- Compass exit editor – more easily create exits between rooms, including automatically creating exits in the other direction. Hyperlinks in the exit editor allow you to navigate between rooms.
- Play YouTube and Vimeo videos – now built-in to the Core library.
- Switchable objects – easily implement objects which can be switched on and off.
- Object Types can now extend string lists – this is used so that multiple types can contribute to the display verbs list. For example, if an object is both a container and switchable, the display verbs list shown when the player clicks its hyperlink will include “open”, “close” as well as “switch on”, “switch off”.
- Player object is now shown in the editor – easier to set the start location, set up attributes, and set up the player’s initial inventory.
- Editor now watches file for external changes – so you can more easily make edits using an external text editor while the file is still open in Quest.
This release also fixes all bugs which have been logged so far – 45 items since Beta 2, according to the Issue Tracker. Many thanks to everybody who has been logging bugs so far. Please keep them coming!