Quest 1-4 - Revision history

Effect2: Added Gargoyle to the software list

2019-02-10T19:20:43Z

Added Gargoyle to the software list

Effect2: Removed references to Wayback Machine in link, as they seem to still actually be online

2019-01-23T01:14:04Z

Removed references to Wayback Machine in link, as they seem to still actually be online

Effect2: Effect2 moved page Quest to Quest 1-4: Neither Quest 1-4 nor Quest 5 can be said to have an overwhelming claim to the name "Quest". I find myself piping all my links to this page with "Quest 1-4".

2019-01-22T03:14:18Z

Effect2 moved page Quest to Quest 1-4: Neither Quest 1-4 nor Quest 5 can be said to have an overwhelming claim to the name "Quest". I find myself piping all my links to this page with "Quest 1-4".

Effect2: Added a note about recovering missing examples

2019-01-21T21:26:29Z

Added a note about recovering missing examples

Effect2: Added identification information

2019-01-21T21:17:24Z

Added identification information

Effect2: Changed structure to be more in line with the other pages on this wiki

2019-01-21T20:36:52Z

Changed structure to be more in line with the other pages on this wiki

Effect2: Changed that link to better indicate version

2019-01-21T07:56:05Z

Changed that link to better indicate version

Effect2: Added link for saved game format

2019-01-21T07:54:41Z

Added link for saved game format

Effect2: Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Interactive Fiction |extensions={{ext|asl}}, {{ext|cas}} }} '''Quest Versions 1-4''', often referred to as just '''Quest''', is an..."

2019-01-21T05:02:23Z

Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Interactive Fiction |extensions={{ext|asl}}, {{ext|cas}} }} '''Quest Versions 1-4''', often referred to as just '''Quest''', is an..."

New page

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Interactive Fiction
|extensions={{ext|asl}}, {{ext|cas}}
}}

'''Quest Versions 1-4''', often referred to as just '''Quest''', is an [[Interactive Fiction]] authoring system. It was first released sometime around 1999 or 2000 and stopped being released in 2012.

Quest was originally released ca. 1999 or 2000 by "Axe Software"<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000818032727/http://www.axeuk.com:80/quest/</ref> (apparently a single person, "Alex Warren"). Quest appears to have, from the start, had a "free" version and a paid "pro" version (containing the "QDK", the "Quest Development Kit"); the "free" version was to have been able to play games, but edit them with limited capacity, a practice varying intensity, over versions, from including "nag screens"<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20001011203008fw_/http://www.axeuk.com:80/quest/qreg.htm/</ref> to putting fundamental limits on the editor's abilies<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20091229154751/http://www.axeuk.com:80/quest/qreg.htm?src=n</ref>.

In 2011, in anticipation of the release of [[Quest 5]], Quest 4 was made entirely free of cost.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110506234123/http://www.textadventures.co.uk:80/blog/2011/01/03/quest-4-is-now-free/</ref>

== Extensions ==
Quest games are stored either as .asl files (human-readable and machine-editable scripts) or as .cas files ("compiled"/obfuscated versions of .asl files, created with a program called "QCompile").<ref name="manual">https://web.archive.org/web/20060508011312/http://www.axeuk.com/quest/manual.pdf</ref> However, in practice, most distributed games seemed to have been put inside [[ZIP]] files, which the player software could read directly.<ref name="manual" />

Savegame files are in the [[QSG]] format.<ref name="manual" />

== Relationship With Quest 5 ==
Quest 1-4 all appear to be different versions of the same format<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20061025075439/http://www.axeuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1258</ref> (although the software still cannot presumably "read up" a version). However, [[Quest 5]], released in 2012, uses an entirely new format, and in effect is an entirely separate interactive fiction system. Confusingly, the shortened term "Quest" appears to have been used to refer to both. As a general rule, unclarified uses of the term "Quest" before 2012 refer to versions 1-4, and uses after 2012 refer to Quest 5.

The Quest 5 interpreter can read and play, but not write, Quest 1-4 games.

== Links ==
* [http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Quest_4 Interactive Fiction Wiki entry for Quest 4]
* [http://www.firthworks.com/roger/cloak/quest/source.html A Quest 3.5 game]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101212153029/http://axeuk.com/quest/developer/documentation/asl.htm .asl format reference]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070209074227/http://www.axeuk.com:80/cgi-bin/games.cgi A collection of Quest 3.5 games]

== References ==
<references />

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140327003410/http://files.textadventures.co.uk/archive/quest415.exe Quest 4.1.5]
 * [https://github.com/textadventures/quest/tree/master/Legacy The part of the Quest 5 source that reads Quest 1-4 games]
 == Sample Files ==

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 * [http://www.firthworks.com/roger/cloak/quest/source.html A Quest 3.5 game (contains HTML escape codes)]
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070209074227/http://www.axeuk.com:80/cgi-bin/games.cgi A collection of Quest 3.5 games]
-** An ArchiveBot run in early 2017 seems to have captured many games on the new server; if you get a 404 from this page, get a URL like [https://web.archive.org/web/20170107061722/http://media.textadventures.co.uk/games/escape.zip http://media.textadventures.co.uk/games/escape.zip], replacing "escape.zip" with the filename of the game, from the Wayback Machine
+** If you get a 404 from this page, get a URL like [http://media.textadventures.co.uk/games/escape.zip http://media.textadventures.co.uk/games/escape.zip], replacing "escape.zip" with the filename of the game.
 == Links ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:17, 21 January 2019
Line 20:		Line 20:

	The Quest 5 interpreter can read and play, but not write, Quest 1-4 games.		The Quest 5 interpreter can read and play, but not write, Quest 1-4 games.
		+
		+	== Identification ==
		+	.asl files have no magic number, but all contain in their contents "define room <Some string not containing newlines>" (brackets kept) in [[ASCII]].
		+
		+	.cas files all seem to begin with ASCII "QCGF002" or "QCGF001", depending on version. This is possibly followed by the hex 0x00 0x08 0x01.

	== Specifications ==		== Specifications ==

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 Quest games are stored either as .asl files (human-readable and machine-editable scripts) or as .cas files ("compiled"/obfuscated versions of .asl files, created with a program called "QCompile").<ref name="manual">https://web.archive.org/web/20060508011312/http://www.axeuk.com/quest/manual.pdf</ref> However, in practice, most distributed games seemed to have been put inside [[ZIP]] files, which the player software could read directly.<ref name="manual" />
-Savegame files are in [[Quest saved game|their own format]].<ref name="manual" />
+Savegame files are in [[Quest 1-4 saved game|their own format]].<ref name="manual" />
 == Relationship With Quest 5 ==

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 The Quest 5 interpreter can read and play, but not write, Quest 1-4 games.
 == Links ==
 * [http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Quest_4 Interactive Fiction Wiki entry for Quest 4]
 == References ==
 <references />