Topic: Similar tool for text adventures?

[Sonja]

Is there a tool similar to AGS that creates text-based adventures, e.g. verb-noun parsing, etc.

[Erenan]

There's TADS: http://www.tads.org/
And ADRIFT: http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/new/adrift.cgi
And Alan: http://www.alanif.se/
And Hugo: http://www.generalcoffee.com/hugo.html
And Inform: http://www.inform-fiction.org/

I know it's probably not the best idea, but I was thinking of using AGS to make a text adventure.

[Helm]

Yeah, not sure there's any point. Go with Inform.

[Sonja]

I'll look at TADS and Inform then. Any discussions on which one is better, or which one is best suited for what?

[Kweepa]

I know it's probably not the best idea, but I was thinking of using AGS to make a text adventure.

You're right, it's not
You'd be better off starting from scratch and using M$ Visual C# Express.
Although really, the best best thing would obviously be to use one of the systems you mentioned, unless you have some previous experience writing parsers. Writing a decent parser is hard, and in AGS script would be even more of a challenge...

Sonja, it depends what you want
Inform is the classic tool, and produces highly portable games.
TADS and Hugo have interactive debuggers.
ADRIFT has more of an AGS style IDE, with lists of rooms, objects, characters etc. that you can click on to change properties. It's shareware.

[Erenan]

Oh, I think I could do it in AGS. It wouldn't be too hard, really. It would just be really inefficient scripting.

But it doesn't matter because I have some five or six graphical adventure games I'm planning on making first anyway.

[scotch]

They are very similar I find, in difficulty and quality and other areas... perhaps you should go to the IF archive, or the IF annual competition results, play a few of the better games made with both systems, and decide which has the nicer feel to you.  I personally prefer Inform, but just a bit.  Then download the programs, and the manuals and get reading.
I'd avoid making anything in something that isn't tads or inform, because people that play IF will have the interpreters for those, other engines are much less popular.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I reccomend ADRIFT and SUDS on their ease of use and flexibility. SUDS is little-known, probably because it involves no typing, but is much more flexible than it seems at first glance. Or second. Or third.

http://www.btinternet.com/~sudslore/

Or you could use AGS. Sure, there are better programs out there, but as hard as it is I'm sure it's not impossible.

EDIT - A long time ago I wrote this review. It's overly enthusiastic and hardly impartial, but it might shed some light on SUDS:

http://www.lumpcity.co.uk/~skimbleshanks/SUDS%20Review.rar

[Eggie]

Computer Novel Construction kit is fun.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Ayuh, and severely limited.

[Eggie]

Nuh-uh. It just takes a bit of creativity is all.
The word-limit is annoying, though.

[MillsJROSS]

I believe Sylpher was able to make a usable text adventure, but it definitely would take a lot more coding, because you're tring to make AGS do something it's not meant for.  I'd probably go with a text parsar game and get the best of both worlds, though.

-MillsJROSS

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

We've seen a lot of things done with AGS, many of which AGS wasn't meant for. I'm not saying we could some up with a parser with the quality of an infocom game, but a simple one is not out of the question. Plus, you can customize it as much as you want - make the layout as you will. Zork Zero, Beyond Zork, Arthur, Computer Novel Construction Kit games, SUDS, you can replicate them all to some extent plus add your own quirks.