I've noticed for a while that if you type in USE MATCHES for example (i.e a single USE command rather than USE MATCHES WITH CANDLE) then the menu pops up and spoils the game by listing hidden scenery objects as well as objects you can see.

Same with the GIVE command. Typing GIVE COIN rather than GIVE COIN TO MAN for example pops up the menu and expects you to give coin to anything. I can't think of a logical reason to GIVE COIN TO VENDING MACHINE when USE COIN WITH VENDING MACHINE is more logical since the machine is not a character.

I know how to sort these problems out by changing the USE and GIVESINGLE commands with a reply of e.g, Use, how? and Give it to whom?

What I would like to see in a future version of Quest is that hidden scenery objects don't get listed in the pop-up menu selections for USE and only characters not objects are listed in the GIVE menu (unless they're hidden).

It will save me remembering to do the changes every time I write a new game and would be more user friendly.

At the moment most people don't disable it and the USE (single object) command will tell you all the objects in that particular room (very USEful but still cheating).

cdutton184 wrote:What I would like to see in a future version of Quest is that hidden scenery objects don't get listed in the pop-up menu selections for USE

This is done in Q5.3

cdutton184 wrote:and only characters not objects are listed in the GIVE menu (unless they're hidden).

How do you recognize characters? They are just objects.

Well there are the 'Male Character' and 'Female Character' type definitions. This would create problems in the case of neuter characters though - you couldn't give the data disk to the robot if the robot was an 'it' for example.

Hmmm, but the type definitions can be changed and depend of the language file.