Help with world lighting

[GhostOfMoria]

Hi folks,

With the help of the tutorials, I've implemented a torch (American). It uses what I know as a turnscript in Quest 5 to decrement the fuel of the torch each turn, and provide light when lit. I did manage to get this to function as intended, but I am having a bit of trouble applying the same logic to another item. The main issue is that, unlike the torch, the item will disappear once eaten, meaning the code can't be on the item itself. So I figured the way to deal with this would be to create a turnscript that should run once the consumable is ingested. The eating sets the time and starts the turnscript, while the turnscript does all the heavy lifting. In all my testing, however, I haven't figured out how to light the current location. The torch has a lightSource function that returns world.LIGHT_FULL, and I assume that functions properly because the torch is always in the current location, while the 'lichen_timer' turnscript doesn't have a location. So the biggest issue is that I need to figure out the best way to pass on the lighting status to the current location. I suspect the lightSource function just needs to go somewhere else (maybe the player?), but in that case, I'm not sure how to trigger a function that exists in the player object within another function within the turnscript, and then how to trigger that each time the turnscript is active. I've attached my current code here:

createItem("lichen_prototype", EDIBLE(false), {
	synonyms: ['foxfire'],
	alias: "glowing lichen",
	pronouns: lang.pronouns.plural,
	examine: "This is a glowing lichen known as foxfire. It's said to enhance one's vision when eaten.",
	afterIngest: function () {
		msg("The taste is bitter, but the areas that lie in shadow now become clear. You can see in the dark!")
		player.lichenTime = 5
		w.lichen_timer.eventActive
	},
})

createItem("lichen_timer",
	{
		eventPeriod: 1,
		eventActive: function () {
			return player.lit
		},
		eventScript: function () {
			if (player.lichenTime < 1) {
				msg("Your vision returns to normal.")
				this.eventActive = false
				player.lit = false
			}
			else if (player.lichenTime === 2) {
				msg("Your night vision seems to pulse and begins to fade.")
				player.lichenTime--
			}
			else {
				player.lichenTime--
			}
		},
		lightSource: function () {
			return player.lit ? world.LIGHT_FULL : world.LIGHT_NONE
		},
	}
)

I've considered a couple different ways of going about this. I'm using the RPG library, so I thought maybe using the 'Light giver' effect would be easy enough, but I'm not sure how to set the effect flag for a player, and I still have some questions about that system that I'm looking into. I also considered moving the turnscript to the current location when it's active, and setting it as scenery, but that seems like it might be more complex and resource-intensive than is necessary. I feel like I'm close. I just need to know how to best implement that last bit of functionality. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[cellarderecho]

You were very close with your original code! I think you could get it working just by moving everything you have on the lichen_timer object to the player object, maybe tweaking some values. You mentioned the RPG library, so here's an answer using that system, for variety.

// data.js
"use strict"

createItem("me", RPG_PLAYER(), {
  loc: "glowing_cave",
  synonyms: ['me', 'myself'],
  examine: "Just a regular guy.",
  health:100,
  lightSource: function () {
    return rpg.hasEffect(player, "Foxfire") ? world.LIGHT_FULL : world.LIGHT_NONE;
  },
})

createRoom("glowing_cave", {
  desc: "A textbook example of bioluminescence.",
  east: new Exit("dark_cave"),
})

createRoom("dark_cave", {
  desc: "A textbook example of dissolution.",
  darkDesc: "A textbook example of photon scarcity.",
  west: new Exit("glowing_cave", {
    illuminated: true
  }),
  lightSource: function () {
    return world.LIGHT_NONE
  }
})

createItem("treasure_chest", {
  loc: "dark_cave",
  examine: "It's full of treasure! You never would have found it in the dark!"
})

createItem("lichen_prototype", EDIBLE(false), {
  synonyms: ['foxfire'],
  alias: "glowing lichen",
  pronouns: lang.pronouns.plural,
  examine: "This is a glowing lichen known as foxfire. It's said to enhance one's vision when eaten.",
  afterIngest: function (options) {
    console.log(options)
    msg("The taste is bitter, but the areas that lie in shadow now become clear. You can see in the dark!")
    rpg.applyEffect("Foxfire", options.char, {msg: () => {}}, 5);
  },
})

new Effect("Foxfire", {
  start:function(target) {
    return "{nv:target:be:true} shines brightly."
  },
  finish:function(target) {
    return "{nv:target:stop:true} shining."
  },
  endOfTurn:function(target) {
    return processText("{nv:char:dim:true} as the foxfire effect fades.", {char:target})
  },
})

The key change is putting the lightSource() function on the player, which returns full light if the foxfire effect is active, and none (the default value) if not. You could probably create a template to do this so you could apply it to multiple characters. Then, we change the glowing lichen to apply the foxfire effect to the character that consumed it for 5 turns when eaten. This way you don't need a separate turnscript to keep track of the timer, you rely on the built in turnscript for RPG effects, which will apply to any RPG character.

[GhostOfMoria]

This works great, thank you! After pulling my hair out for far too long only to find a missed capitalization, everything is working swimmingly. I will note that I adjusted the endOfTurn function, as the current version prints "You dim as the foxfire effect fades." I moved similar content to the finish function, and omitted the endOfTurn function entirely. My code for the effect now reads as follows:

new Effect("Foxfire", {
  start: function (target) {
    return "{nv:target:be:true} now able to see in the dark."
  },
  finish: function (target) {
    return processText("{nms:char:the:true} nightvision fades as the effects of the Foxfire wear off.", { char: target })
  },

A couple questions do remain for me. First, what is the purpose of the line console.log(options) within the afterIngest function? Second, how would I go about warning the player about the foxfire effect ending soon? I assume this code would go in the endOfTurn function, check what the Foxfire's duration is, and print the message at a certain point. However, while I understand that the duration of the effect is set in the afterIngest function, I'm not sure how to call on that variable going forward. Would I simply call on it with Foxfire.duration? And finally, I'd like to understand the third element in the rpg.applyEffect function. Right now it reads {msg: () => {}},, and I'm wondering if this is just placeholder text, or if it's formatted in this way for a specific reason? Thanks again for the great help!

[cellarderecho]

First, what is the purpose of the line console.log(options) within the afterIngest function?

That's a leftover line from my testing, I wanted to see what argument gets passed into the afterIngest function, so I logged it to the console. That let me know I could use options.char as a reference to the character that ingested the lichen.

I assume this code would go in the endOfTurn function, check what the Foxfire's duration is, and print the message at a certain point.

Spot on, the variable you're looking for is countdown_${effect.name}, so in this case, countdown_Foxfire.

endOfTurn:function(target) {
    const turnsLeft = {turns:target.countdown_Foxfire - 1};
    return processText("{nv:char:have:true} {number:turnsLeft:turns:turn} left of night vision.", {char:target, turnsLeft:turnsLeft})
  },

And finally, I'd like to understand the third element in the rpg.applyEffect function.

This is a product of my own unfamiliarity with the RPG library. If you look at the code for the rpg.applyEffect function, the third parameter is called attack and is passed to the effect.apply function. In that function, attack is expected to have a msg function. I expect this is because effects can be attached to attacks in the RPG library, and if so, the attack itself will be passed to the applyEffect function.

if (this.skill.targetEffectName) {
      rpg.applyEffect(this.skill.targetEffectName === true ? this.skill.name : this.skill.targetEffectName, target, this, this.skill.duration)
    }

Since this example just used an effect by itself, without the attack, I just passed in {msg: () => {}} as a placeholder for the attack parameter, to avoid an error.