Admins:ContentQuest

About

This is a simple quest that will help you get started with the LUA scripting functionality. It will guide you through creating the necessary spawns, lua files and attaching the script files to objects in game.

For more details on Lua functions see the developer reference.

How it works

A quest is broken down into two types of scripts, Quest Scripts and Spawn Scripts.

• SpawnScripts - Relate to your NPCs

• Quests - Relate to an overall quest

This quest is a simple go speak to someone quest and we shall call this quest 'Speak to Jodie'.

Part 1: The First NPC

To start with we are going to set up our first SpawnScript. This will require that you spawn an NPC. So to begin with create the following npc:

/spawn create npc 134 1 1 'Dave'

Now click Dave and add him as a permanent spawn

/spawn add new 'DaveVillageShin' 100

Now that Dave has been added we need to assign him our quest script.

• Open your EQ2Emu directory

• Open the SpawnScripts folder

• Create a folder for your current zone (in our example we are going to use VillageShin)

• Create an empty .lua file 'Dave.lua' in the VillageShin directory

The file should now have the following path 'SpawnScripts/VillageShin/Dave.lua'

• Leave this file blank for now, we will be coming back to this

• Reload your spawns with /reload spawns Dave should repop

Part 1.5: The Second NPC

Now we need to create our second NPC and spawn script. Create the following npc:

/spawn create npc 132 1 1 'Jodie'

Now click Jodie and add her as a permanent spawn

/spawn add new 'JodieVillageShin' 100

Now that Jodie has been added we need to assign her our quest script.

• Open your EQ2Emu directory

• Open the SpawnScripts folder

• Create a folder for your current zone (in our example we are going to use VillageShin)

• Create an empty .lua file 'Jodie.lua' in the VillageShin directory

The file should now have the following path 'SpawnScripts/VillageShin/Jodie.lua'

• Leave this file blank for now, we will be coming back to this

• Reload your spawns with /reload spawns Jodie should repop

Part 2: The Quest Script

As mentioned above every quest in game requires a Quest Script and a Spawn Script. All quest scripts are stored in the Quests folder.

Now that we have our initiator NPC lets set up a file for his quest

• Open your EQ2Emu directory

• Open the Quests folder

• Create a folder for your current zone (in our example we are going to use VillageShin)

• Create an empty .lua file called 'SpeakToJodie.lua'

Part 3: The Quest Database entry

Every quest in game requires a database entry. This involves some SQL so you will need to fire up your favourite SQL Query tool.

• Open SQL query tool and connect to your database

• Insert a line into your quests table for this quest

INSERT INTO quests (name,zone,level,description,completed_text,lua_script) values ('Speak to Jodie',10,1,'Speak to Jodie','I spoke to Jodie','Quests/VillageShin/SpeakToJodie.lua');

Note what I did here:

The quests table required the following values:

• name - This is the name of our quest (Speak to Jodie)

• zone - This is the ID of the zone the quest starts in (VillageShin is ZoneID 10 (see /zone list))

• level - The level this quest starts at (Level 1 in our case)

• description - The description of the quest (Speak to Jodie)

• completed_text - The completed description of the quest (I spoke to Jodie)

• lua_script - The relative path of the Quest that we created earlier (Quests/VillageShin/SpeakToJodie.lua)

What is important to hold onto here is the QuestID, this is used in the scripts in the next section. Because the Quest ID is an auto generated field in the database you do not have to supply it above. To retrieve the ID that has just been generated when you inserted the quest run the following command in your query tool.

SELECT quest_id,name FROM quests WHERE name = 'Speak To Jodie';

Note down the Quest ID. because QuestID will differ between my tables and yours it is important you replace it wherever it appears below.

In my example the QuestID was 3 so I will be using this number.

Part 3: Edit the Quest Script

Now that we have our QuestID we can edit the scripts. Open up your Quests/VillageShin/SpeakToJodie.lua file in your favourite text editor.

A basic Quest Script is broken down into at least 3 functions:

• function Init(Quest)

• function Accepted(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)

• function Declined(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)

Every function in your script should be terminated with the word 'end'

• Flesh out your Quest script now by creating the following 3 functions in your SpeakToJodie.lua file:

function Init(Quest)

end

function Accepted(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)

end

function Declined(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)

end

With the following skeleton quest layout we now need to fill in the details for each function.

Init

The init function will execute whenever the quest starts. This is possibly the most important function in the quest.

Remember when you added the Quest to the Quests table above? This is very similar to that table. It defines the core parts of the quest.

You require the following functions within your Init Quest:

• RegisterQuest(Quest, "QuestTitle", "Type", "ZoneName", MinLevel, "QuestDescription")

• SetQuestRewardExp(Quest, ExpAmount)

• SetQuestPrereqLevel(Quest, MinLevel)

• SetCompletedDescription(Quest, "CompletedDescription")

• AddQuestStepChat(Quest, StepID, StepText, Quantity, TaskGroupText, Icon, ID)

You can find more information on the above functions in the Developer LUA Function page.

• First get Jodie's NPCID by targetting her and type /spawn details. This is needed for the function AddQuestStepChat (the last value)

In my case the value was 140.

We are now going to flesh out our Quest Init function. Replace your Init function with the following:

function Init(Quest)
  -- Register the Speak to Jodie Quest (Level 1 and in VillageShin) (This is a hallmark quest)
  RegisterQuest(Quest, "Speak to Jodie", "Hallmark", "Village Shin", 1, "Dave wants me to speak to Jodie.")
  -- Set the experience reward to 200
  SetQuestRewardExp(Quest, 200)
  -- The minimum required level for this quest is 1
  SetQuestPrereqLevel(Quest, 1)
  -- Step number 1 is speak to Jodie, the quantity is 1 (do once) and the ID is 75 (a note). The ID is 140 for Jodies NPCID.
  AddQuestStepChat(Quest, 1, "I should give Daves message to Jodie.", 1, "", 10, 140)
  -- When the task is completed update our book with the following text
  SetCompletedDescription(Quest, "I spoke to Jodie")
end

Did you see how I used comments there? Any line starting with -- will be ignored. This is a great way to help you when you are rereading a quest you wrote many months ago.

Also to note is the Icon ID we used for this quest was number 75. See this thread for more details http://www.eq2emulator.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1250

Accepted

You can trigger specific messages when a quest is accepted. In our example we're going to do nothing.

Replace your Accepted function with the following

function Accepted(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)
  -- Do nothing, this is not needed
end

Declined

If someone declines a quest we may want to persuade them to do it.

Replace your Declined function with the following

function Declined(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)
  -- If the quest giver doesn't exist then skip this (incase he gets killed or is despawned)
  if QuestGiver ~= nil then
    -- if the distance is too far away don't say anything
    if GetDistance(Player, QuestGiver) < 30 then
      -- face him/her to talk
      FaceTarget(QuestGiver, Player)
      -- Say the following line with the players name in the middle
      Say(QuestGiver, "Please help me " .. GetName(Player) .. ", Im so busy.")
    end
  end
end

The full quest script

function Init(Quest)
  -- Register the Speak to Jodie Quest (Level 1 and in VillageShin) (This is a hallmark quest)
  RegisterQuest(Quest, "Speak to Jodie", "Hallmark", "Village Shin", 1, "Dave wants me to speak to Jodie.")
  -- Set the experience reward to 200
  SetQuestRewardExp(Quest, 200)
  -- The minimum required level for this quest is 1
  SetQuestPrereqLevel(Quest, 1)
  -- Step number 1 is speak to Jodie, the quantity is 1 (do once) and the ID is 75 (a note). The ID is 140 for Jodies NPCID.
  AddQuestStepChat(Quest, 1, "I should give Daves message to Jodie.", 1, "", 10, 140)
  -- When the task is completed update our book with the following text
  SetCompletedDescription(Quest, "I spoke to Jodie")
end

function Accepted(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)
  -- Do nothing, this is not needed
end

function Declined(Quest, QuestGiver, Player)
  -- If the quest giver doesn't exist then skip this (incase he gets killed or is despawned)
  if QuestGiver ~= nil then
    -- if the distance is too far away don't say anything
    if GetDistance(Player, QuestGiver) < 30 then
      -- face him/her to talk
      FaceTarget(QuestGiver, Player)
      -- Say the following line with the players name in the middle
      Say(QuestGiver, "Please help me " .. GetName(Player) .. ", Im so busy.")
    end
  end
end

Part 4: Edit the Spawn Scripts

Now that we have our quest script ready we can fill in the Jodie.lua and Dave.lua scripts.

Open up the Dave.lua script and insert the following

The full spawn script for Dave

function spawn(NPC)
	ProvidesQuest(NPC, 3)
end

function hailed(NPC, Spawn)
	FaceTarget(NPC, Spawn)
	PlayFlavor(NPC, "voiceover/english/voice_emotes/greetings/greetings_1_1002.mp3", "", "", 0, 0, Spawn)
	conversation = CreateConversation()
	if HasQuest(Spawn, 3) then
		if QuestIsComplete(Spawn, 3) then
		    AddConversationOption(conversation, "Great!")
		    StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hello " .. GetName(Spawn) .. ", thank you so much for helping me.")
		else
			AddConversationOption(conversation, "Not yet!")
			StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hello again " .. GetName(Spawn) .. ".  did you give my wife the message yet?")
		end
	else 
		if HasCompletedQuest(Spawn, 3) then
			AddConversationOption(conversation, "Hello!")
			StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hello again " .. GetName(Spawn) )	
		else
			AddConversationOption(conversation, "Sure!", "HelpDave")
			StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hey there! Can you help me deliver a message to my wife? I must speak to her urgently.")
		end
	end
end

function HelpDave(NPC, Spawn)
	OfferQuest(NPC, Spawn, 3)
	conversation = CreateConversation()
	StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "That's wonderful, please hurry I must speak to her urgently.")
	Emote(NPC, " waves.", Spawn)
end

Open up the Jodie.lua script and insert the following

function spawn(NPC)
  -- does not provide a quest, is only part of one
end

function hailed(NPC, Spawn)
	Emote(NPC, " waves.", Spawn)
	FaceTarget(NPC, Spawn)
	conversation = CreateConversation()
	if HasQuest(Spawn, 3) then
		AddConversationOption(conversation, "Yep!")
		StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hello " .. GetName(Spawn) .. ".  what's that? A message from my husband?")
		Quest = GetQuest(Spawn, 3)
		if Quest ~= nil then
			GiveQuestReward(Quest, Spawn)
			UpdateQuestStepDescription(Quest, 1, "I have spoken to Jodie.")
			UpdateQuestTaskGroupDescription(Quest, 1, "I have spoken to Jodie.")
			UpdateQuestDescription(Quest, "I have spoken to Jodie")
		end		
	else 
		if HasCompletedQuest(Spawn, 3) then
			AddConversationOption(conversation, "Hello!")
			StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "Hello again " .. GetName(Spawn) )	
		else
			AddConversationOption(conversation, "I'm not sure!")
			StartConversation(conversation, NPC, Spawn, "What a nice day, i wonder how my husband is doing.")
		end
	end
end

Part 5: Assign the SpawnScripts

Target dave and set his spawn script

/spawn set spawn_script 'SpawnScripts/VillageShin/Dave.lua'

Target jodie and set her spawn script

/spawn set spawn_script 'SpawnScripts/VillageShin/Jodie.lua'

Part 6: Reload Quest and SpawnScripts

Finally we need to reload the spawnscripts, quest scripts and NPCs so the server can pick up our change

• Reload your scripts

/reload quests
/reload spawnscripts
/reload spawns

Congratulations you now have a working quest!