Creating my own text world Help

[Storymaster]

I would like to say Hello to all of you fine people in this great community dedicated into the great world of QB. I have played a ton of text based games from Atlantis to Zork and have always been loving it. My question is that how could I create my own world of text. I have tried in the past with no light at the end of the tunnel. For anyone out there in this great metropolis of text who can help by sending me some open source text based games I can use as reference or even tips or some sites that may help. Thank.

P.S I am looking forward to being a true member of this great Empire of a site.

[Rattrapmax6]

:???: What particular part are you having problems with? Map making, barriers, moving, ASCII character placement? um all the above??

[Liquid Snake]

The easiest way I find is to make a do/loop with if statements leading to gosubs for example:

Code:

cls
choice=0
do
if choice=0 then gosub main
if choice=1 then gosub room1
loop until choice=2
end

main:
print
print"1.next room"
print"2.quit"
input "Where to? (Numbers only)";x
if x=1 then choice =1
if x=2 then choice=2
return

room1:
print
print"1.back"
print"2.quit"
input "Where to? (Numbers only)";x
if x=1 then choice =0
if x=2 then choice=2
return

[na_th_an]

That's the wrong way to do it. You get sucky, limited games. Zork, etc. are Interactive Fiction, something way more advanced that a simple bunch of IFs.

Head to my tuts at Pete's QB Express mag:

http://www.petesqbsite.com/sections/expr...6/#IFgames
http://www.petesqbsite.com/sections/expr...7/#IFgames

In the next chapter (which will be released in this month's Issue #8 ) I'll give some code.

In the meantime, play our IF game: http://www.apeshell.com . Download "The Quest for Opa Opa". (It's in the downloads section http://www.apeshell.net/downloads/)

[Liquid Snake]

I'm just saying that's probably the easiest way if you want to make a game that goes from room to room or scene to scene, you know... I've never played Zork or whatever so I can't really say what those are like. I'm just teaching him the way I learned it.
besides, you can make the if statements into:

Code:

if (x="up") or (x="u") then...
elseif (x="east") or (x="e") then...
end if

You can get as complicated as you want.

What's the better way then? Cause I don't know how you can get easier than that.[

[na_th_an]

That way you are limiting the player input. Plus you are givin hints on what the player should do.

In Zork and other IF games you have almost free will. You can do a lot of things with the objects, for example. Using your technique, you would need 1000 IFs per room to make a complex game.

You are sitting in your desk listening to a boring maths class. Everyone is soothing. You can see a pencil and a case. Obvious exits: none.

What now?

> get case and get pencil

You get the case
You get the pencil

> put pencil into case

The case is closed.

> open case

Opened.

> put pencil into case

The pencil is now in the case.

> close it

Closed.

That's how it works. It's not easier. In fact, it is like 1000 times harder. But once you have your engine running, you can use it to make all the games you want just changing the descriptions, the objects and the "exceptions". Read my tuts to find out how

[Liquid Snake]

I see. How would you do that without as many if's?

[na_th_an]

for the third time:

READ MY TUTS

(note: you DO use IFs, I was just telling that "INPUT A$" and a bunch of IFs to check what the player wrote in each room is not the way to go)

[Liquid Snake]

Sorry, it's just a bit confusing for me. You don't need to explain it for me. I had a half year course of QBasic, so I wasn't able to learn everything, just the basics...Like the stuff I've been posting.

[Storymaster]

Well since it is my first time creating this world of mine it's basically all of the above.