How do we handle enterable objects (or non-directional exits)?

[KVonGit]

Porting a Quest 5 game (actually a Quest 2 game, but this works the same in Quest 5, and I'm porting a v5 port of a v2 game)...

I have a room called zekesFarm (aka: Zeke's Farm). In that room, there are two non-directional exits. One leads to a room called zekesFarmhouse (aka: Zeke's Farmhouse), and the other to a room called zekesSilo (aka: Zeke's Silo).

I cannot (for the life of me) figure out how to handle this.

I find this: wiki/Attributes-for-items#goindirection-gooutdirection-goupdirection-godowndirection-gothroughdirection

if the user types CLIMB TREE, Quest will check the "goUpDirection", find it is set to "up" and so will use the "up" exit for the current location (and throw an error if there is none). The exit will be handled exactly as if the player typed UP.

This makes me think there is no way to do this without actually assigning a directional exit for each room?

Both exits would technically be "in" from Zeke's Farm. The "in" exit could be a script that asked "Do you want to go into the farmhouse or the silo?" ...but I can't figure out how to pull that off, either, hehehe.

Really, I think both exits should simply allow GO TO, and that's all.

I guess I could create a SE for the farmhouse and a SW for the silo, and hide both of those exits, but I'd rather not. I feel like I'm just overlooking something...

...and I can't find the function to modify the behavior of the ENTER command to just let me move the player. If I don't add something like goInDirection along with an in attribute on zekesFarm, it throws an error.

"use strict"
createItem("player", PLAYER(), {
  examine:function() {
    msg ("You look like you're ready for an adventure. ")
  },
  loc:"kowwsChasm",
})

createRoom("kowwsChasm", {
  alias: "Koww's Chasm",
  east: new Exit("zekesFarm"),
  desc:"This room is under construction. You can go east."
})

createRoom("zekesFarm", {
  usedefaultprefix:false,
  alias:"Zeke's Farm",
  desc:"Welcome to the farm! You can go west.",
  west: new Exit("kowwsChasm")
})

createItem("zekesFarmhouseEntrance", {
  loc:"zekesFarm",
  alias:"Zeke's Farmhouse",
  enter:function(){
    player.moveChar("zekesFarmhouse")
    return world.SUCCESS
  },
  verbFunction:function(list) {
    list.push("Enter")
  }
})

createItem("zekesSiloEntrance", {
  loc:"zekesFarm",
  alias:"Zeke's Silo",
  enter:function(){
    player.moveChar("zekesSilo")
    return world.SUCCESS
  },
  verbFunction:function(list) {
    list.push("Enter")
  }
})

createRoom("zekesFarmhouse", {
  alias:"Zeke's Farmhouse",
  desc:"The farmhouse is under construction! You can go out.",
  out:new Exit("zekesFarm")
})

createRoom("zekesSilo", {
  alias:"Zeke's Silo",
  desc:"The silo is under construction! You can go out.",
  out:new Exit("zekesFarm")
})

---

Somebody help! 🤣

---

PS

I ported this game to ZIL (Zork Implementation Language), and I just made doors to handle this bit.

It seems like we can use doors in QuestJS, too, but it looks like it would still require an actual direction set to one location.

[KVonGit]

I think I got it. Everything seems to work.

Added to code.js:

commands.unshift(new Cmd('GoTo', {
  npcCmd:true,
  regex:/^(?:go to|go) (.+)$/,
  objects:[
    {scope:parser.isHere}
  ],
  script:function(objects) {
    const entrance = objects[0][0]
    if (typeof entrance.otherSide == 'undefined') return failedmsg("{pv:item:be:true} not an entrance.", {item:entrance})
    for (const ex of currentLocation.dests) {
      log(ex.name)
      if (entrance.otherSide === ex.name) {
        return ex.use(player, ex) ? world.SUCCESS : world.FAILED
      }
    }
    return failedmsg("{pv:item:be:true} not an entrance you can get to from here.", {item:entrance})
  },
}))

---

Added to settings.js:

settings.setup = function() {
  for (const key in w) {
    const o = w[key]
    if (o.dests) {
      for (const ex of o.dests) {
        const dest = w[ex.name]
        if (!dest) log('Warning: ' + ex + ' in the destinations for ' + key + ' is not a location.')
        ex.origin = o
        ex.dir = 'to ' + (ex.dirAlias ? ex.dirAlias : dest.alias)
      }
    }
  }
}

---

"use strict"
createItem("player", PLAYER(), {
  examine:function() {
    msg ("You look like you're ready for an adventure. ")
  },
  loc:"kowwsChasm",
})

createRoom("kowwsChasm", {
  alias: "Koww's Chasm",
  east: new Exit("zekesFarm"),
  desc:"This room is under construction. You can go east."
})

createRoom("zekesFarm", {
  usedefaultprefix:false,
  alias:"Zeke's Farm",
  desc:"Welcome to the farm! You can go west.",
  west: new Exit("kowwsChasm"),
  dests:[
    new Exit("zekesFarmhouse"),
    new Exit("zekesSilo")
  ],
})


createItem("zekesFarmhouseEntrance", {
  loc:"zekesFarm",
  alias:"Zeke's Farmhouse",
  otherSide:"zekesFarmhouse",
  verbFunction:function(list) {
    list.push("Go to")
  },
})

createItem("zekesSiloEntrance", {
  loc:"zekesFarm",
  alias:"Zeke's Silo",
  otherSide:"zekesSilo",
  verbFunction:function(list) {
    list.push("Go to")
  },
})

createRoom("zekesFarmhouse", {
  alias:"Zeke's Farmhouse",
  desc:"The farmhouse is under construction!",
  out:new Exit("zekesFarm")
})

createRoom("zekesSilo", {
  alias:"Zeke's Silo",
  desc:"The silo is under construction!",
  out:new Exit("zekesFarm")
})

[cellarderecho]

That's a clever solution, I like the user experience of allowing the player to type go to farmhouse or go to silo. Simple and easy to understand.

Both exits would technically be "in" from Zeke's Farm. The "in" exit could be a script that asked "Do you want to go into the farmhouse or the silo?"

I did try to come up with a solution that went in this direction, taking inspiration from the section on simpleUse() on this page. Basically, we create a subclass of Exit that can be passed an array of rooms. Then when the player uses the exit, we ask which room they want to go to and "create a disposable exit on the fly" with the selected destination.

// code.js
class MultiExit extends Exit {
  constructor(rooms, hash) {
    super("_", hash)
    this.simpleUse = function(char) {
      const thisExit = this
      if (char.name === "player") {
        showMenuWithNumbers(`Which destination would you like to go ${thisExit.dir} to?`, rooms.map(roomString => w[roomString]), function(dest) {
          return util.defaultSimpleExitUse(char, new Exit(dest, thisExit))
        })
      }
    }
  }  
}

To use it, just specify MultiExit instead of Exit and pass an array of rooms.

// data.js

createRoom("zekesFarm", {
  usedefaultprefix:false,
  alias:"Zeke's Farm",
  desc:"Welcome to the farm! You can go in or west.",
  west: new Exit("kowwsChasm"),
  in: new MultiExit(["zekesFarmhouse", "zekesSilo"])
})

On one hand, it does seem nice to allow the player to consistently use in to navigate if that direction is used elsewhere. On the other hand, this does break navigation into two steps (type the direction, then select the destination), which could get tedious if the player has to do it repeatedly. Interesting problem to tackle, either way!

[KVonGit]

Aha! This is half of what I was trying to do, and it's the half I never figured out.

Thank you!

[KVonGit]

PS

this does break navigation into two steps (type the direction, then select the destination)

This is the same way I have the IN command in this location working in the Quest 5 version.

...now I just have to decide if I should add up to the two rooms where you can climb, haha. I think I should. Yeah, I think I will. 😁

[ThePix]

That's a clever solution, I like the user experience of allowing the player to type go to farmhouse or go to silo. Simple and easy to understand.

If you want to abandon compass directions altogether, look here:

https://github.com/ThePix/QuestJS/wiki/Destinations,-not-directions

[KVonGit]

Ha-ha, I'm using this (Destinations) and compass directions, with the code posted by cellarderecho sprinkled in with your Destinations code. [MANIACAL LAUGH]