So, after causing some fuss with picking up an out-of-date version of MaDbRiTs type library, I had such fun copying and pasting .qlb files that I decided to totally remove anything to do with Quest, wiping folders, checking the registry and then reinstalling from scratch.

I have entered maybe six rooms, linking them all basically and setting a description for one of them. And now it's died on it's feet.

The error window I get says :

"FATAL ERROR: Expected closing > character in 'look <Huge slate flagstones line the floor, lit in thin strips by the high, narrow windows on the side walls. The throne stands on a modest dais near the North wall, backed by a magnificent pillared balcony looking out over the mountains.'"

Now, I've checked the .asl file, and there is a closing >

Have a looksee for yourself...


' "the jester"
' Created with QDK 3.51 - UNREGISTERED VERSION

!include <net.lib>
!include <Typelib.qlb>

define game <the jester>
asl-version <350>
gametype singleplayer
start <castle bedchamber>
game author <gelfae>
game info <Created with QDK 3.51 - UNREGISTERED EVALUATION VERSION.>
end define

define synonyms
end define

define room <castle thone room>
alias <throne room>
prefix <the>
look <Huge slate flagstones line the floor, lit in thin strips by the high, narrow windows on the side walls. The throne stands on a modest dais near the North wall, backed by a magnificent pillared balcony looking out over the mountains.
Ancient armours and banners are draped from the walls and ceilings, faded through age and long-forgotten battles.
To the South, through a vast archway, lies the great hallway, and a small wooden door is nestled near the throne on the East wall.> <-- look, there it is...!
indescription <Stark stone columns thrust up to the magnificent, vaulted roof high above>
south <castle hallway>
east <castle corridor>
end define

define room <castle hallway>
north <castle thone room>
west <castle kitchen>
end define

define room <castle corridor>
east <castle bedchamber>
west <castle thone room>
end define

define room <castle kitchen>
east <castle hallway>
west <castle kitchen garden>
end define

define room <castle kitchen garden>
east <castle kitchen>
southwest <castle back gate>
end define

define room <castle back gate>
south <castle stables>
northeast <castle kitchen garden>
end define

define room <castle stables>
north <castle back gate>
end define

define room <castle bedchamber>
prefix <the>
west <castle corridor>
end define

define text <intro>

end define

define text <win>

end define

define text <lose>

end define




Is this error because I'm putting a carriage return into the text?

Am I a muppet?

Answers on a postcard to....

~gelfae

- - - - - - - - - -

~the sun turns black and the sky cracks open, god himself will reach his [bleeping] arm through, just to put you down...~

So I've taken out the carriage returns, and all is well. Gonna try the 'script style' [newline] to see if I can get the same effect.

QDK should be automatically converting carriage returns to the |n newline code. I've had reports in the past of it not doing this - but I've never been able to reproduce the problem. If you (or somebody else) could find some exact steps I could follow to reproduce this error, I'd be very grateful.

I copied your file exactly as it appears in your post into a text editor (deleted “<-- there it is”), saved it as at .asl file and then tried to open it in QDK - and got exactly the same error message as you did.

The question is when you ask “Is this error because I'm putting a carriage return into the text?”, are you talking about putting carriage returns in to the QDK room description area, or are you putting carriage returns into some kind of text editor program? If it is the latter than this is exactly the kind of error you can expect.

Putting carriage returns in the room description box of QDK.

- - - - - -

~Hey now, hey now now...sing this corrosion to me~

When you put carriage returns in the room description box, does it usually work? It always works for me - can you remember what you did to make it not work? If so then that will help me track down what's causing this problem.

The file worked fine for some time. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the error began occurring after I'd shut down the QDK window the file was being edited in, and the Quest window I was testing it in.

After that, when I tried to load the file into either Quest or QDK, it wouldn't load, returning the error as indicated in a previous post.

I will see if I can get the system to throw this fault again, and take some notes this time!

Thanks for all the help though, folks!

~gelfae

- - - - - -

~But Mr. Horrible says 'I don't mind, the thing that bothers me is someone keeps moving my chair!'

I have had this error twice now.

Here's how I caused it:

1) Opened up an ASL file I am currently working on
2) Briefly opened a room dialogue by double clicking on it
3) Closed that room immediately
4) Edited another room, some text blocks, and a function or two.
5) Saved ASL file, opened up another temporary ASL file to keep QDK open while I go and check out my work in a text editor. (I'm on day 23 of 30 for my evaluation version, and the 3 second delay certainly works its annoying magic on me. As it should.)
6) Review the ASL file in the text editor I was working on, not making any changes. I'm neurotic, so I save before closing it anyway.
7) I reopen the ASL file I'm working on in QDK. Viola. Error. Same error as above, that is.

This does not always happen. But I've been tinkering a lot lately, so I'd say it has happened 1 out of 15 to 20 times.

What happens is this: QDK does not reinstate the text formatting codes for the briefly opened room in step 2 and 3. It maintains white space and carriage returns instead. My fix has been to delete the white space and carriage returns in a text editor, then go back to QDK and reimplement the formatting I want.

Hope this helps, Alex, and others.

I'm guessing you have text wrapping on in Notepad or something?
That could do that....
Have you tried that exact sequence WITHOUT editing it and just plain re-loading it?

Yes - I have word wrap on. I'll turn it off and see if this happens again. Thanks.

As for your question: I haven't tried this without actually editing something. I'll try to make it happen without editing...

Yeah - word wrap (I found out) added returns into the text so when you saved it quest would complain...

Nope...I succeeded in recreating it when word wrap was turned off. Hmm.

Try doing it without editing the file in notepad.... just saving it then loading up another file in QDK - then loading up the first again...