Hi Thanks for the feedback.
I think some of the problems you may have seen were due to poorly-designed games. In addition, all of the games that are available from the Quest Games Archive are designed for Quest 3.53 and earlier, so they don't take into account the new features in Quest 4.0. (There have been a number of improvements to the parser in this version, but for backwards-compatibility they only apply to games that are designed for it.) Also as part of the improvements in Quest 4.0, the objects list and compass pane are turned off when using JAWS, as it was reading out weird button names - due to the buttons having arrows on them (the font is Wingdings). Regarding Quest being Windows-only, there is a separate project called Geas that somebody is working on. This is an open-source cross-platform Quest game interpreter - more information is here: http://www.axeuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1339 Alex > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of fastfinge > Sent: 25 January 2007 13:34 > To: Gamers Discussion list > Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Quest - Create and play text adventure games > > I tried a quest game last year as part of the interactive > fiction competition, and with no offense to the author, I > was...not particularly impressed with the system. It has > some really neat looking features, and is a wonderful idea. > I was also impressed with the default sapi support the game > contains; this is a big help to users of all screen readers, > not just jaws. However, it needs work. First off, all the > features in the world can't make up for problems with the > parser, the part of the program that understands your text > commands. I found that the quest parser can't compare to > that of inform or tads, the leading systems in text adventure > games; it's not even as good as the adrift parser. The > object "me" can't be used for the player (so no "look at me", > etc). Standard abbreviations in text adventures are missing > (z for wait, g for again, etc). The oops verb, to correct a > mistake in your > last command, is missing. I couldn't get command strings to work > (go up then look then go up). The undo command is completely > missing, an oversight I have never seen in any other > adventure system I've played with. I, also, had problems > with the stability of the program (though I was using an > older version). I found reviewing previous game output > bulky, buttons in the player improperly labeled, program > response could lag at times, and the sapi support could have > used a little more control (a way to replay the last text > output, and a way to stop reading in the middle without > entering another command). Also, unlike tads/inform games, > quest games can only be played on windows (as far as I > understand it), strongly limiting the audience for quest > games. However, Quest > *does* show promise; multiplayer interactive fiction is > really interesting, and the single player features in quest > that are available are done right. I would strongly > encourage the author to keep up the work he's started. The > system is immature now, but with time and further releases, > it could become something on a level with hugo or Alan. > Liam Erven wrote: > > I'm not sure how many people have tried this program. It shows > > promise, but I've been having isues with the editor being > unstable and > > terminating. I also downloaded a few games off the > website, and they all seemed to crash. > > I've been getting automation runtime errors across the > board. it's a > > really cool concept and seems to offer a lot of excelent > features. I > > really like the concept of scripting and net play, but the > stability is a big concern. > > Has anyone else tried this out, and what do you all think? > > > > Liam > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Gamers mailing list .. [email protected] To unsubscribe > send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can visit > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org to > make any subscription changes via the web. > _______________________________________________ Gamers mailing list .. [email protected] To unsubscribe send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can visit http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org to make any subscription changes via the web.
