[SALE 50% OFF] Quest Machine: Hand-Written and Procedurally-Generated Quests

Quest Machine 1.2.26 Released

Quest Machine 1.2.26 is now available on the Asset Store!


Release Notes:

• Fixed: QuestJournal/QuestGiver.ResetToOriginalState() clears deleted static quests list.
• Fixed: Quest HUD sorting issue with external extension methods.
• Fixed: Internal dictionary management bug in PlanToQuestBuilder.
• Invector: Updated common integration package to stop player if running while entering dialogue or opening journal UI.
• Love/Hate: Fixed harmless error that could be reported when editing a Love/Hate Deed Quest Action.
• Opsive Character Controllers: Updated for version 2.4.7.
• Opsive Ultimate Inventory System: Updated for version 1.2.7.

 

Tomorrow is the last day to get Quest Machine for 50% off in the Asset Store's Spring Sale.

Love/Hate and the Dialogue System for Unity are also 70% off through tomorrow.

 

I created a scene event, and it works, but not after my player dies and respawns. The event fires on Success true for the quest and the event calls a method on a component on the player. The event does not survive death. Any suggestions?

 

Hi @wood333 - When the player respawns, does it reload a scene? Does it instantiate a new copy of the player GameObject?

Do any of those GameObjects survive scene changes? (player, scene event object, etc.) If so, and if the other GameObjects don't, then the reference to the GameObject will no longer being valid after unloading GameObjects/scenes and loading new instances of them.

If that doesn't help, would you please post some screenshots illustrating how you've currently set it up?

 

On successful I want to level up. The scene event accesses Statscog component on the Player and sends a command that increments Level. Works until Player death. Player is a prefab. Death breaks the link between the quest/quest giver and the Player. Unless you have a better idea, I might try to set up a listener, but I don't know how to store a reference to the node in the quest.

 

Does the OnExecute() event point to the vShooterController_Player prefab in your Project view or the instance in the scene? It should probably point to the instance in the scene, and that instance should not be a Don't Destroy On Load GameObject. That will keep the reference intact. Also, where is the Quest Journal component located? On the player? Wen the player respawns, are you reloading the save data or just letting Invector respawn the player?

 

The OnExecute() event points to the vShooterController GO prefab in the scene (after death comes back as an instance). It is not marked DoNotDestroy (in fact is marked in the vGameController as "Destroy Body After Dead" to avoid multiple controllers in the scene.)

The Quest Journal is child of Quest Machine Canvas, which is, itself, child of Quest Machine GO in scene. Quest Machine GO is marked Do Not Destroy On Load.

So far I am not saving anything. Though I am on the verge of saving player stats, which must be stored prior to death, and restored on spawn.

 

Making the Quest Journal a child of the Quest Machine hierarchy makes it Don’t Destroy On Load. Can you move the Quest Journal onto your player prefab instead?

 

I cannot pull the Journal out of the Quest Machine GO. Even if I unpack the prefab, I can't separate the Journal from the main parent QM GO.

I might move the entire Quest Machine Configuration object to the Controller. Would that work, or would that blow up Quest Machine?

 

You should be able to leave the Quest Machine GameObject unchanged. Maybe I misunderstood. Did you mean the Quest Journal UI (with a UnityUIQuestJournalUI component) or the QuestJournal component? The Quest Journal UI should stay as a child of the Quest Machine GameObject. This isn't technically required, but it's probably best to keep it unchanged so we don't introduce additional variables. The QuestJournal component, on the other hand, should probably be on the player GameObject.

 

The Quest Journal component is already on the player Game Object. When the player dies, the quest status is lost, so apparently I need to save something. I can save via an OnDeath() event, prior to the despawn, and load with OnSpawn. I am beginning to do this with the Stats.

However, this will not restore the connection between the Success Node scene event and StatsCog (which is on the Player character,) the original issue

 

Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Scene events are stored on a special GameObject in the scene named Quest Machine Scene Events. This GameObject hosts the UnityEvents that you've configured for the scene. Your UnityEvent points to the instance of the player object that's in the project at design time. If you're respawning by instantiating a new player object, the UnityEvent will no longer point to a valid object.

Two options are:

1. Instead of using a scene event action, write a quest action that calls StatsCog.SendCommand without needing an inspector reference to the player object. That custom quest action might look something like:

Spoiler: StatsCogCommandQuestAction.cs

Code (csharp):

1. using UnityEngine;
2. using PixelCrushers.QuestMachine;
3. using NullSave.StatsCog;
4.  
5. public class StatsCogCommandQuestAction : QuestAction
6. {
7.     public string command;
8.  
9.     public override void Execute()
10.     {
11.         base.Execute();
12.         var playerGO = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("Player");
13.         var statsCog = playerGO.GetComponent<StatsCog>();
14.         statsCog.SendCommand(command);
15.     }
16.  
17.     public override string GetEditorName()
18.     {
19.         return $"StatsCog.SendCommand: {command}";
20.     }
21. }

2. Or reload the last saved game on death. Some example code is here.

 

Quest Machine Video Tutorials

Welcome to all of the new Quest Machine users coming from the GameDevGuild 2022 Conference!

If you're new to Quest Machine, the video tutorials start here:

If you plan to use the Dialogue System for Unity with Quest Machine to incorporate conversation trees into your Quest Machine quests, the integration tutorial series starts here:

 

There seem to be two things I need to do to keep my scene working on Player death:
1. Save and reload the Journal. I have been reading the docs, and I think I can set up your save system. If I put your Invector saver on my Player, will it save the Quest Journal? That's all I need it to save right now. My Player has about 28 other components that I don't need saved by your saver, but will the saver get confused by all of them?
2. Custom node to perform the stats change and eliminate the need for the QM scene event.
I will have some noob questions on this, but believe it is the way to go, and I would like to become conversant in custom nodes. Is there a "how to" for this?

 

The QuestJournal component itself can save its state to the Pixel Crushers save system. Expand its Save Settings foldout. Tick the checkboxes and set a unique Key. The Key should be unique from all other saver types, but should be the same for all QuestJournal components across all scenes.

Regarding the Invector savers, there are two:

• InvectorStatsSaver: Saves Invector stats (e.g., health)
• InvectorInventorySaver: Saves Invector inventory

Even better, there's a complete starter script. Just duplicate QuestActionTemplate.cs and fill in the code where the comments indicate. Quest Machine will automatically recognize it and add it to the dropdown for Actions lists.

 

Wow, thanks so much. I'm going to dig right in to this.

 

I am reconstructing the journal button. I think I understand the components, except for the "Default UI material" at the bottom of the Journal Button in inspector and at the bottom of the Journal button's Text in inspector, in your Demo. I cannot find one in the project to add as a component. What is it for? Do I need it?

Nevermind: They appeared on their own when I added the Text component

 

Correct; they're just the default materials Unity UI adds to UI elements, nothing specific to Quest Machine.

 

Quest Machine 1.2.27 Released

Version 1.2.27 is now live on the Asset Store. This release contains several enhancements to procedural quest generation as well as general improvements, fixes, and integration updates.

Release Notes:

• InstantiateQuestAction now has option to remove "(Clone)".
• Added SaveSystem.framesToWaitBeforeSaveDataAppliedEvent; SpawnedObjectList asset type.
• Added EqualWeight option to procedural generation UrgentFactionSelectionCriterion.
• Added option to only remember handwritten quests.
• Added option to compress data of completed procgen quests.
• Added Delete When Complete checkbox option to quests.
• Added QuestMachineMessageEvents component.
• Added Color tint option to IconQuestContent & ButtonQuestContent.
• Procedurally generated quests no longer double up completed quest journal text of final action.
• StringAsset text area now expands to accommodate large text passages.
• Fixed: Internal fixes for empty elements in quest content lists and action lists.
• Fixed: Error if alert UI was configured inactive.
• Fixed: SaveSystem.saveDataApplied was called before QuestJournal's restored quests were listening for messages.
• Fixed: Positioning issue in KeepRectTransformOnscreen component.
• Corgi Engine: Added PixelCrushersMMLoadingSceneManager to tie save system to Corgi scene loader.
• Dialogue System:
  • Lua Variable condition can now check <, <=, >, >= in addition to ==.
  • Added Start Conversation action, HasOfferableOrActiveQuest() Lua function.
  • Added DialgoueSystemQuestAlertUI option to delay alert if dialogue UI is open.
• Emerald AI: Added EmeraldAIQuestGiver subclass that stops AI during dialogue.
• Makinom: Updated for Makinom 2.4.
• Opsive Character Controllers: UCCSaver can now save mouse sensitivity settings.
• ORK Framework: Updated for ORK 3.3.
• PlayMaker: If Start Dialogue action's Player field is unassigned, will now use default player.
• TopDown Engine: Added PixelCrushersMMLoadingSceneManager to tie save system to TDE scene loader.
• uMMORPG 2D Remastered: Updated for version 2.11.

 

Asset Store Minimum Version 2019.4 Starting July 20

On July 20, Unity will require all Asset Store assets' minimum versions to be Unity 2019.4. This is just a heads-up for any Quest Machine users still on older versions of Unity.

 

Soulink Procedural AI Spawner in Mega Sale

Magique's Soulink Procedural AI Spawner is in the Asset Store's Mega Sale bundle running now. Soulink has integration with Quest Machine and the Dialogue System for Unity. Its Quest Machine integration works with authored quests and procedurally-generated quests. In addition, it has built-in integration with the Pixel Crushers save system:

If you're looking for a good AI spawner, check it out while it's on sale.

 

Quest Machine 1.2.28 Released

Version 1.2.28 is now live on the Asset Store!

Release Notes:

• Added: Ability to abandon failed quests.
• Fixed: Abandon button stayed visible in journal UI after abandoning quest.
• Changed: Forward to Listeners checkbox is now ticked by default when adding a new Quest Journal.
• Improved: UILocalizationManager can now reference more than one text table asset.

 

Using your save system: When I save a game with save game to slot I receive 2 console messages:
No Save Game Data Storer found on Save System. adding.....
No Data Serializer found on on Save System, adding....

Why? When my save system has both and is set up per your documents

 

Try putting your fully-configured SaveSystem GameObject in the first scene.

If you try to use any save system features without a SaveSystem GameObject (e.g., in the first scene, if the first scene doesn't have one already), Quest Machine will need to make a default one. That then becomes the persistent singleton, overriding any SaveSystem GameObjects in subsequent scenes.

If that isn't the issue, make sure you don't have another SaveSystem component somewhere else in your scene, such as on the Quest Machine GameObject, or Dialogue Manager GameObject if you're also using the Dialogue System.

 

SOLVED: The Save system GO was inactive. On Play, the scripts built a new save system in DoNotDestroy. So I only needed to activate the SSGO in the main scene prior to Play.

 

Now, the tougher issue. I can save with the save system and load, but my quest giver is not saving (though his save boxes are checked). If my player takes a quest, it shows in the journal. When I save, the quest appears in the save slot 1 using debug show. When I load, which is evidenced by screen flick delay, the quest does not reappear in the journal. The quest giver acts as if the quest was completed. The whole point of my save efforts right now is to just get one quest to survive player death and respawn. Death loses the quest (player wears the journal), but I cant get it back?

 

Hi - Can you compare your setup to Quest Machine's Demo scene?

Is it possible that something is marking the quest as completed when you load the game? Tick the player's Quest Journal component > Save Settings > Remember Completed Quests. This will help when debugging the issue. If you then load your saved game, does the quest appear as completed? Look in the Quest Journal component's Quests list, the Quest Editor window with the player selected, and in the Journal UI.

Please feel free to send a reproduction project or reproduction steps to tony (at) pixelcrushers.com. I'll be happy to take a look.

 

Remember completed quests is ticked, and the quest remains in the journal with shaded letters. All good until I die, and cannot reload the info.

 

When you reload after dying, do other savers restore their states? For example, if you have any PositionSavers in your scene, do they restore their GameObjects' saved positions? How are you reloading the saved game?

Have you assigned a unique key to the Quest Journal's Save Settings > Save Key? This is the key under which the Quest Journal will store its state in the saved game data. If something else has the same key (e.g., if this key is blank and another saver on the player also has a blank key), then they could overwrite each other's state in the saved game data.

 

@wood333 - Any luck with those steps? If not, please feel free to send a reproduction project.

 

I was away for a week, sorry. Anyway, I put position saver on an NPC patrolling under Emerald control. The position saved and loaded, but only once. After that it is as if the trigger by key events I use for testing do nothing.

 

Hi! For Emerald AI NPCs, don't use a PositionSaver. Add an EmeraldAISaver instead. (Remember to set a unique key.) EmeraldAISaver saves position, rotation, health, faction, current behavior, etc.

 

Quest Machine 1.2.29 Released

Version 1.2.29 is now live on the Asset Store.

This release adds integration with Opsive's Behavior Designer and updates integrations for the latest versions of More Mountains' Corgi Engine and TopDown Engine.

 

I can save the game and reload the Emerald ai, however, my test quest will not save. I have the box checked.

Here is the Save1 file from debug:

If I save, exit, then replay and load, the quest does not return to the journal and cannot be reacquired.

 

Have you configured the player's Quest Journal to save its data, too? When the player picks up a quest, the quest info is stored in the player's Quest Journal, so you have to save that, too:

 

I have 2 lingering issues:

1. When the invector player dies, Quest Machine treats the event as "abandoning" the quest. SaveSystem. load from slot will not restore the quest to the journal, though emerald ai savers do work on load from slot. Therefore, I believe that everything, quest included, is being saved to player prefs, but the quest is not restored with Load From Slot.

2. Calling SaveSystem.LoadFromSlot is interfering with the vGameController. After calling LoadFromSlot, the Invector PC will not re-spawn.

 

Quest Machine's Invector integration comes with an example scene named "Shooter Example". Do you see the same issue with this scene? Here's how I tested:

1. Play the scene.
2. Pick up the "Get Shotgun" quest from the knight NPC.
3. Press Backspace to open the Save System Test Menu, and save the game.
4. Run onto the ToxicArea octagon and die.
5. After respawning, press Backspace to open the Save System Test Menu, and load the game.
6. Confirm that the "Get Shotgun" quest is in the quest journal and shown in the tracker HUD.

Or are you handling respawning by reloading the last saved game, as in this manual page? (The manual page is in the Dialogue System documentation, but it works the same for Quest Machine, too, since they use the same save system.)

Please let me know how you're respawning (i.e., default Invector respawn, or using the save system). If you're using the default Invector respawn, you'll need to tell it to set up its onDead event after loading. I can explain that if that's what you're doing.

Or feel free to send a reproduction project to tony (at) pixelcrushers.com. I'll be happy to take a look.

 

Hello Tony.

I have a question about localization. In dialogue System there is a integration with unity localization, but Quest machine don't have one. My question is wich is the best method to use localization in Quest machine? Text Tables?

Thanks

 

Hi! Yes, use text tables. You can enter the translations directly into text tables in the Text Table Editor window, or import translations from Excel CSV format into the Text Table Editor, or use the Dialogue System's i2 Localization integration to manage your text table translations.

 

Hi @wood333 - I'm just following up on this. Do any questions remain? If an example would help, let me know how you want to handle respawning. When using Quest Machine, the most common way to set up Invector respawning is to reload the last save (e.g., the most recent checkpoint save).

 

Still working on this. The knight in the demo scene is not handing out the quest. I think it (the trigger script) needs some hooking up. I am about to go back into it, now.

 

Going backwards. I Imported the latest version of QM and have a compiler error. Invector Support does not exist in the namespace.



Solution ; Remove the script. For that matter, why not use Invector,s SetLockBasicInput and SetLockCameraInput methods. They are reliable.

 

Remember to import both Invector Support packages. There's one in Plugins/Pixel Crushers/Common/Third Party Support and another in Plugins/Pixel Crushers/Quest Machine/Third Party Support. It does call Invector's lock input/camera methods.

After importing both packages, please confirm that the Knight in the Shooter Example scene properly gives the player the quest:

 

Quest Machine On Sale



Quest Machine is on sale in the Asset Store's Indie Innovation Sale!

Innovate questing in games by configuring Quest Machine's procedural quest generator to dynamically create new quests at runtime based on the current game state, or write unique quests yourself with complete authorial control in the visual node-based editor.

The Dialogue System for Unity and Love/Hate are also in the sale, and they all integrate nicely with each other. (Integration video tutorial series)

 

Hi, how to fix this problem ?

I use lasted version Emerald 3.2.0
And Quest Machine

 

Hi! It looks like you might have two copies of the integration scripts somehow.

1. Back up your project.
2. Delete the folder Assets / Pixel Crushers / Quest Machine / Third Party Support / Emerald AI Support.
3. Make sure there are no instances of EmeraldAIKillQuestAction.cs left in your project.
4. Reimport the Emerald AI Support.unitypackage located in Quest Machine's Third Party Support folder.

 

I separated the quest journal from the Player, as in your shooter example. Now the journal survives player death and respawn, However, the journal entries do not survive quit, play and Load. Note: the save system is functioning, as demonstrated by an Emerald Ai that saves and loads in the scene. Journal settings are:

 

That looks completely fine. If you want to debug it, you can temporarily tick the Save System component's Debug checkbox and the **SavedGameDataStorer component's (e.g., PlayerPrefsSavedGameDataStorer) Debug checkbox. This will log the save data to the Console, kind of like this:

Save System: Retrieved from PlayerPrefs key Save1: {"m_version":0,"m_sceneName":"Shooter Example","m_list":[{"key":"PLAYER QUEST JOURNAL","sceneIndex":-1,"data":"{\"staticQuestIds\":[\"getShotgun\"],\"staticQuestData\":[{\"bytes\":[1,6,0,0,0,14,123,81,85,69,83,84,71,73,86,69,82,73,68,125,6,75,110,105,103,104,116,12,123,81,85,69,83,84,71,73,86,69,82,125,6,75,110,105,103,104,116,11,123,71,82,69,69,84,69,82,73,68,125,9,71,82,69,69,84,69,82,73,68,9,123,71,82,69,69,84,69,82,125,7,71,82,69,69,84,69,82,11,123,81,85,69,83,84,69,82,73,68,125,6,80,108,97,121,101,114,9,123,81,85,69,83,84,69,82,125,6,80,108,97,121,101,114,6,75,110,105,103,104,116,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]}],\"proceduralQuests\":[],\"deletedStaticQuests\":[]}"},{"key":"vShooterMelee_InventoryInvectorStatsSaver","sceneIndex":-1,"data":"{\"health\":200.0,\"maxHealth\":200.0,\"maxStamina\":200.0,\"staminaRecovery\":1.2000000476837159,\"currentStaminaRecovery\":-0.01666640117764473,\"currentStamina\":200.0...


In the example save data above, I highlighted the player quest journal data in blue. (In my example scene, the Quest Journal's Save Key is set to "PLAYER QUEST JOURNAL".)

If that doesn't help, please feel free to send a reproduction project to tony (at) pixelcrushers.com.

If it would help to send you an example scene so you can see what a working scene looks like, let me know what integrations you're using (e.g., Invector, Emerald AI, etc.).

 

Forgive me for not mentioning before, I did import both 3rd party support packages and followed the instructions. I cannot pick up anything in the scene because years ago I modified Invector TPCT, and that issue is mine. However, good news, I have no difficulty picking up quests in my scene. I believe this is because in my scene I use the "trigger event" script from your wrappers folder, rather than the more complex trigger script used by Invector. While I don't have the luxury of the time to figure out what change I made to TPCT so I cannot use their trigger script, I am perfectly content using the Pixel Crusher "trigger event" script which gets the job done quite nicely. Thank you very much.

 

Thank you for the detailed response. If you look above to my post of July 28th you will see that I posted the debug data for my test quest, "explore the Barrel and Return." I see it referenced by name in the debug code. The quest works brilliantly, except I can't save and retrieve it. The reference to my quest appears to follow a notation of "/DeletedStaticQuests/" Does that indicate the problem?