Where can I find a reference/tutorial on how to manually script conversations without ever having to touch the dialog editor? I can make conversations all right, but I usually have a lot of other stuff going on at the same time, and I'd rather just keep it all straight-forward inside the room script rather than keep using global functions.
Character.Say (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/manual/Character.Say.htm)
That's really all you need to do conversations without the Dialog Editor.
If you want the Options setup of the Editor, and just don't want to have to use dialog_request all the time - sorry there's really no way around it. You could try using the CallRoomScript (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/manual/CallRoomScript.htm) function within dialog_request - it's not really any simpler (actually, it's less simple as you're bringing another function into the mix), but it would allow you to keep room specific stuff in the Room script.