09 · Quests and Dialogue
Quest givers hold conversations. Answers set flags and unlock quests, and quests track kills, items, talks and places.
Scene Scenes/09_QuestsDialogue. Assets Content/09_QuestsDialogue and Content/Shared.
What it teaches
- A quest giver without a dialogue asset still offers its quests after a greeting.
- A dialogue asset adds lines and answers; answers can need requirements, apply effects and jump to other lines, and quest answers are appended automatically.
- Quests are built from objective, reward and requirement assets: level, earlier quests, items and dialogue flags gate them.
- A quest can have a time limit or repeat after a cooldown.
- A minimap over a captured picture of the ground marks quest givers with something to offer or to take back, and points to the places and people active quests send you to.
Assets
Unit definitions use the demo defaults unless listed: one HP pool without regeneration, Physical damage in Channel Melee, Attack Range 2, Attack Interval 1, Move Speed 5, and the shared BasicAttack.
| Asset | Settings |
|---|---|
| BoarTag | A Unit Tag Definition: Id tag.boar, Display Name Boar. |
| Silverleaf | An item: Id item.silverleaf, Is Stackable on, Max Stack Size 10. |
| Elder Token | An item: Id item.elder_token. |
| MainQuests, SideQuests | Quest Categories: Id questcat.main, Sort Weight 0, colour (1, 0.82, 0.35); Id questcat.side, Sort Weight 10, colour (0.55, 0.80, 1). |
| TravellerCurve | An XP Curve: Id xp.traveller, Max Level 5, XP To Next Level 100, 200, 300, 400. |
| Unit Definition | Settings |
|---|---|
| Traveller | Id unit.traveller, Faction Player, HP 220 with Regen Mode Out Of Combat Only at 4 per second, Min / Max Damage 10 / 14, Use Quest Log on, Use Dialogue on, XP Curve TravellerCurve. |
| Scout | Id unit.scout, Faction Neutral, HP 100, no Basic Attack, Move Speed 0, Aggro Range 0, Use Quest Giver on, Greeting “Keep your eyes on the ridge, traveller.”, Offered Quests A Word with the Elder and Scout the Ridge. |
| Elder | Id unit.elder, Faction Neutral, HP 100, no Basic Attack, Move Speed 0, Aggro Range 0, Use Quest Giver on, Dialogue ElderTalk, Offered Quests Boar Trouble, Silverleaf and Boar Cull. |
| Boar | Id unit.boar, Faction Enemy, HP 60, Min / Max Damage 3 / 5, Move Speed 4, Use Hostile AI on, Aggro Range 5, XP Award 40, Tags BoarTag. |
Objectives, rewards, requirements and effects:
| Asset | Type | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| TalkToTheElder | Talk objective | Description “Talk to the Elder”, Required Count 1, Target Definition Elder. |
| SlayBoars | Kill objective | Description “Slay boars”, Required Count 3, Target Tag BoarTag. |
| GatherSilverleaf | Collect objective | Description “Gather Silverleaf”, Required Count 4, Item Silverleaf. |
| ReachTheRidge | Reach Location objective | Description “Reach the ridge”, Required Count 1, Location Id ridge, Arrive Radius 3. |
| CullBoars | Kill objective | Description “Cull boars”, Required Count 2, Target Tag BoarTag. |
| Reward50Xp, Reward120Xp | XP rewards | 50 and 120 XP. |
| Reward25Gold, Reward10Gold | Currency rewards | Gold 25 and Gold 10. |
| RewardElderToken | Item reward | Elder Token, count 1. |
| AskedAboutHerbs | Dialogue Flag requirement | Flag elder.herbs. |
| HasElderToken | Item requirement | Elder Token, count 1. |
| WordWithElderComplete | Quest State requirement | A Word with the Elder in state Complete. |
| BoarTroubleTurnedIn | Quest State requirement | Boar Trouble in state Turned In. |
| TurnInWordWithElder | Quest dialogue effect | Quest A Word with the Elder, Action Turn In. |
| SetAskedAboutHerbs | Set Flag dialogue effect | Flag elder.herbs. |
| Quest | Settings |
|---|---|
| A Word with the Elder | Id quest.word_with_elder, Category Main, Objectives TalkToTheElder, Rewards Reward50Xp. |
| Boar Trouble | Id quest.boar_trouble, Category Main, Required Completed Quests A Word with the Elder, Objectives SlayBoars, Rewards Reward25Gold and Reward120Xp. |
| Silverleaf | Id quest.silverleaf, Category Side, Requirements AskedAboutHerbs, Objectives GatherSilverleaf, Rewards RewardElderToken and Reward50Xp. |
| Scout the Ridge | Id quest.scout_the_ridge, Category Side, Required Level 2, Time Limit Seconds 45, Objectives ReachTheRidge, Rewards Reward120Xp. |
| Boar Cull | Id quest.boar_cull, Category Side, Requirements HasElderToken, Repeatable on, Repeat Cooldown Seconds 30, Objectives CullBoars, Rewards Reward10Gold. |
Each quest’s Description is shown in the quest log’s asset. ElderTalk, a Dialogue Definition with Id dialogue.elder:
| Node | Text | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| start | “Welcome, traveller. Boars have been ruining our fields.” Include Quest Answers on. | “The Scout sent me to you.” → welcome, Requirements WordWithElderComplete, Effects TurnInWordWithElder. “Tell me about the village.” → village. “Does anything useful grow nearby?” → herbs, Effects SetAskedAboutHerbs. “The boars will not trouble you again.” → thanks, Requirements BoarTroubleTurnedIn, Show When Locked on. “Goodbye.” ends. |
| welcome | “Good. We need every pair of hands. Ask me about the boars when you are ready.” | None; Next Node Id start. |
| village | “We are farmers and hunters. The Scout on the hill watches the ridge for us.” | None; Next Node Id start. |
| herbs | “Silverleaf grows by the stream to the east. Bring me four and I will make it worth your while.” | None; Next Node Id start. |
| thanks | “Then you have earned our trust. Come back whenever the boars return.” | None; Next Node Id start. |
Scene
Ground 40 × 40.
| Object | Setup |
|---|---|
| Player | Player prefab at (0, 0, -8). Definition Traveller. VtUnitInventory with Base Capacity 20, and VtUnitWallet. VtDemoReviveAfterDeath 4 seconds, Return To Start on. |
| Scout | Unit prefab with Scout at (7, 0, -4). VtNameplateInfo with Subtitle “right-click to talk”. |
| Elder | Unit prefab with Elder at (-4, 0, 1). VtNameplateInfo with Subtitle “right-click to talk”. |
| Boars | Four Unit prefabs with Boar at (-11, 0, 11), (-7, 0, 13), (-12, 0, 15) and (-8, 0, 17). VtDemoReviveAfterDeath 5 seconds, Return To Start on. |
| Stream | A flat Cube at (14.5, 0.01, 8), Scale (2.5, 0.02, 22), with the Water material. |
| Silverleaf | Six WorldItem prefabs with Silverleaf, count 1, at (12.5, 0, 2), (16.5, 0, 5), (12.5, 0, 8), (16.5, 0, 10), (12.5, 0, 13) and (16.5, 0, 15). |
| The Ridge | Empty object at (-14, 0, -14) with VtQuestLocationMarker, Location Id ridge, Gizmo Radius 3; a dark Cylinder pole, a small gold Cube flag, and a Label “The Ridge” with “quest location”. |
| Map Area | Empty object at (0, 0, 0) with VtMapArea, Size (40, 40), Display Name Millbrook, Image MillbrookMap.png, captured with Capture Image at the default Capture Resolution 1024 and Capture Without Units on. |
| Demo UI | Lesson card. One VtUnitFrame with Unit set to the player, Source Unit and Region Top Left. VtBuffBar with Unit set to the player and Region Top Left. VtResourceBar with Unit set to the player, Bar Source Cast and Region Top Left. VtQuestLogWindow with Unit set to the player and VtDemoWindowKey with Window the quest log, Panel Name quest log and Toggle Key F8. VtQuestTracker with Unit set to the player and Region Top Left. VtInventoryWindow with Unit set to the player, VtCurrencyReadout with Unit set to the player and Region Bottom Right, VtDemoWindowKey with Window the inventory window, Panel Name inventory and Toggle Key F4. VtDialogueWindow with Unit set to the player. VtInteractionPrompt with Player set to the player, Region Bottom Center and Key Text RMB. VtMinimap with Unit set to the player and Region Bottom Right, the other fields at their defaults. |
Build it yourself
- Build the Unit, Player and WorldItem prefabs as in Build the prefabs.
- Create the tag, items, categories and curve, then the four unit definitions.
- Create the objectives, rewards, requirements and dialogue effects under Create → Vantage → Quests and Create → Vantage → Dialogue.
- Create the five quests with Create → Vantage → Quests → Quest Definition, then ElderTalk with Create → Vantage → Dialogue → Dialogue Definition. Fill Offered Quests and Dialogue on the Scout and the Elder.
- Build the scene as in Build the shared layout with a 40 × 40 Level.
- Place the player with VtUnitInventory and VtUnitWallet, the Scout, the Elder, the boars and the Silverleaf.
- Create The Ridge with Vantage → Quests → VtQuestLocationMarker and Location Id
ridge. - Create an empty object named Map Area at (0, 0, 0), add Vantage → UI → VtMapArea with Size (40, 40) and Display Name Millbrook, save the scene, and press Capture Image.
- Add VtMinimap to the Demo UI with Unit set to the player and Region Bottom Right.
Try
- Walk up to the Scout: the prompt at the bottom names it. Right-click, accept A Word with the Elder, then talk to the Elder. F8 opens the quest log; the tracker under the unit frame follows your active quests.
- Ask the Elder what grows nearby to unlock Silverleaf, then pick four by the stream.
- Boar Trouble needs the first quest turned in. Scout the Ridge needs level 2 and gives you 45 seconds.
- Boar Cull needs the Elder Token and comes back 30 seconds after you turn it in.
- Pick answers with the mouse or the number keys. Esc ends a conversation.
- Watch the minimap in the bottom right: a yellow mark over the Scout while it has a quest for you, a question mark once a quest waits to be handed in, a pin on the Elder while you have to talk to them, and a pin on the rim pointing to the ridge while Scout the Ridge runs. The buttons under it zoom.