Fix the mission log already!

[Parcae2]

It's been known for a long time that the mission log is broken and an active hindrance to new users. New players naturally gravitate to doing the missions in order, which results in missing out on a ton of useful experience and items and arriving at Dreadfell (if they make it that long) way too early. None of this is new information, but it's probably the single noob-unfriendliest feature of the game right now, and as Tome seeks to join platforms like Steam, it seriously needs to be fixed.

My suggestion, which should be very easy to implement, is:

1. Get rid of the level feelings! They're a useless hangover from Angband. Players are trained to ignore them right from the get-go, as they are wildly inaccurate for things like the World Map (which is one of the most dangerous places in the game, thanks to the presence of adventurer parties, but which gives a trivial-difficulty level message as soon as you've done a couple of dungeons). Instead, do what the game does for everything else and make the underlying data totally transparent. Mousing over a dungeon, or perhaps even over the stairs down to a new level, should give a level range.

2. Add a warning, in red, to the beginning of each quest description: "If you like, you can gain experience in other dungeons before tackling this quest," or words to that effect. Let them know right away that Tome is an open-world game that encourages exploration. An alternative option would be a pop-up after completing the first mission that explains that Tome has no time-sensitive quests (see below).

3. Currently, there are two quests that are time-sensitive (cannot be done after certain character levels are reached): Agent of the Arena and Trapped! Every other quest in the game can be delayed indefinitely, even the ones whose fluff is very explicit that they are urgent (like Race through Fire or the alchemist quests). To solve this problem, the Arena guy should be in a building (hence not affected by the gwelgoroth attack), and both that quest and Trapped! should be doable at any level, like every other quest in the game.

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

Melinda's crypt is level-locked too, I think. Pretty sure it starts at 24, and ends in the late 30's, so if you delay it until coming back from the east and STILL haven't done it, you might end up losing it. (It's unlikely, but last I heard it did have a max level limit.)

[HousePet]

The Isle of Dread quest description could be changed to include "getting yourself stronger and getting better equipment before venturing into this terrifying dungeon".
Could even include a sub goal where you need to get to level 20 first, then you get a message about feeling more confident, but you should still stock up and be on your guard.

The into darkness quest description could have a similar adjustment making it clearer that those dungeons are your long term goals, and you might not be ready to tackle them yet.

[Zizzo]

If we're complaining about the quest log and information desperately needed therein, my main pet peeve on that front is that the quest entry corresponding to the... *ahem* thing that happens after Dreadfell really needs to say something like, "You should go to [spoiler] and tell [spoiler] about this." `Coz I had to go spoiler-diving in the forum to figure out what to do next.

[0player]

If we're complaining about the quest log and information desperately needed therein, my main pet peeve on that front is that the quest entry corresponding to the... *ahem* thing that happens after Dreadfell really needs to say something like, "You should go to [spoiler] and tell [spoiler] about this." `Coz I had to go spoiler-diving in the forum to figure out what to do next.

Huh? Doesn't it say so after orc encounter? 'coz I remember not having to do any spoiler diving.

desc = function(self, who)
local desc = {}
desc[#desc+1] = "Deep in the Dreadfell you fought and destroyed the Master, a powerful vampire."
if self:isCompleted("ambush") then
desc[#desc+1] = "On your way out of the Dreadfell you were ambushed by a band of orcs."
desc[#desc+1] = "They asked about the staff."
elseif self:isCompleted("ambush-finished") and not self:isCompleted("survived-ukruk") then
desc[#desc+1] = "On your way out of the Dreadfell you were ambushed by a band of orcs and left for dead."
desc[#desc+1] = "They asked about the staff and stole it from you."
desc[#desc+1] = "#LIGHT_GREEN#Go at once to Last Hope to report those events!"
elseif self:isCompleted("ambush-finished") and self:isCompleted("survived-ukruk") then
desc[#desc+1] = "On your way out of Last Hope you were ambushed by a band of orcs."
desc[#desc+1] = "They asked about the staff and stole it from you."
desc[#desc+1] = "You told them nothing and vanquished them."
desc[#desc+1] = "#LIGHT_GREEN#Go at once to Last Hope to report those events!"
else
desc[#desc+1] = "In its remains, you found a strange staff. It radiates power and danger and you dare not use it yourself."
desc[#desc+1] = "You should bring it to the elders of Last Hope in the southeast."
end
return table.concat(desc, "\n")
end

And indeed.

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

elseif self:isCompleted("ambush-finished") and self:isCompleted("survived-ukruk") then
desc[#desc+1] = "On your way out of Last Hope you were ambushed by a band of orcs."

Wait, WHAT? This line doesn't look right....

[Zizzo]

Huh? Doesn't it say so after orc encounter? 'coz I remember not having to do any spoiler diving.

Huh. Is this recent? Because that certainly wasn't there with the first character I got that far. That was an older version, though.

So, anyway. <span voice="Emily Litella">Never mind...</span>

[0player]

elseif self:isCompleted("ambush-finished") and self:isCompleted("survived-ukruk") then
desc[#desc+1] = "On your way out of Last Hope you were ambushed by a band of orcs."

Wait, WHAT? This line doesn't look right....

Hehe. Didn't ever notice. Should be "to Last Hope", I suppose. Will report to typos.