I've started reading some of the documentation for Quest6/JS, and I'm interested, if a bit intimidated. It feels a bit like a sneaky disguise for a JavaScript 101 course, lol.
I had used Quest 4/5 but it's been quite a while. I've had some thoughts and curiosities about the "classic" adventure genre recently, and I'm looking for a format to experiment with. My current questions are:

1. How close is it to having a working editor? (I'm willing to learn more JavaScript ... but I'm also lazy.)
2. Can QJS use hotspots in images the way it uses hypertext, or if not how much work would it take to make it do that?
3. Can you set-up the interface with a verb block like a SCUMM game? (I.e., have a set list of displayed verbs the player would click on, then click on the object to apply that verb to.)

I was going to give you some context as to why I'm asking these particular questions, but I quickly realized I was wedging several conversations into one post. So, instead I'm going to spam the forum with three separate topics.
Is this when you say, "sorry, not sorry?"

Hello.

I am not the developer, but I have been playing around with QuestJS and QEdit (together, they form Quest 6).

1. I'd be surprised if the editor was ready before the end of this year. The Pixie is the sole developer. Also, the maintainer of this site is currently handing everything over to The Pixie, and Pixie will likely be focused on site-related things for a month or few once the transition is complete.
   
   Honestly, I was just thinking about asking Pixie when he thought the editor might be ready. I was discussing this with another forumer just this morning. I assume it will be a few months, but The Pixie usually knows stuff that I don't know. :)

2. I think I know what you mean by hotspots... Basically, anything you can do with JS or CSS or HTML, you will be able to do in Quest 6, as long as you know how to code it. It sounds like you want to make it so clicking a certain area inside of an image will send a command to the parser, and I'm certain this can be done, but I doubt it will be built-in by default -- meaning you would have to code it yourself. (If you don't know how to code it, I'd bet that someone on this forum would be more than happy to help out.)

3. Sort of. It will work just like Quest does right now, which is sort of the opposite of that. You click on the object and a list of verbs appears. You could add a verb block, but, again, you would have to code it yourself. And, again, the forum is here to help if you don't know how to code something.

I was going to give you some context as to why I'm asking these particular questions, but I quickly realized I was wedging several conversations into one post.

Heck, I do that all the time.

So, instead I'm going to spam the forum with three separate topics.
Is this when you say, "sorry, not sorry?"

[ MANIACAL LAUGH ]

Hi TriangleGames

As it is at the moment, Quest 6 is indeed JavaScript 101. You only need the simple stuff - if you could code in Quest 5, this will be no nore difficult than that - but I get that that is not for everyone.

KV has summed it up pretty well; the editor is unlikely to be out before the end of the year.

Hotspots in images is just HTML so while it is not built in, it would be easy to do code-wise. I suspect what you really want, however, is an editor that will take an image, and allow you to define regions on it graphically, and will then spit out the HTML for you, which is not something it can do. Quest 6 is really for parser games, and I am not sure this is really something I would add myself when the editor does not out.

As KV says, the interface in Quest 5 and 6 is object orientated, but in Quest 6 could be verb-orientated without too much effort. I can see that that makes more sense, given we say EXAMINE HAT, rather than HAT EXAMINE. I will think about that one...

It's times like this I wish I knew more about programming, so I could help out. I realize it's mostly Pixie doing it all at this point with little help. Thanks for continuing the legacy of Quest! When I first wanted to make a text adventure a few years ago, I shopped around quite a bit, and nothing else was satisfying.

Frankly, it's kind of pathetic I'm not fluent in anything at this point. I read "C++ For Dummies" about 12 years ago, plus a couple of other books on C# and game design. I've used C#, html, JavaScript, Python (and Ruby2/3), and CSS, but always for very small projects or with assistance from a GUI editor. I made a Quest game and built an iFrame for it to put it on Kongregate, I've done little patches for people, and I made some neat stuff happen in RPGMXP. Yet, I still can't say I really know any language confidently. I'm always looking things up on W3Schools or suffering trial and error.

For some reason JavaScript intimidates me. I don't know if it's the look of it or what. However, I have ideas I want to play with, and I find myself disinclined to go back to Quest 5, so... I'm gonna try to learn more about JavaScript. It'll be good for me, lol.

For the graphics and hotspots, I was really just curious. I can hardly draw a stick figure to save my life. Creative writing is my thing, so, yay, text adventures! In principle, it would work the same with hyperlinks anyway.

If I manage to learn enough, I may offer to help out (it would be kind of a thrill for me, if I could). In the meantime, I imagine testing the editor requires actually making games in it, which would be a time consuming process, and potentially hard to find volunteers for. When you're ready, let me know, and I'd happy to spend some time on testing.

Also, and I'm just thinking out loud here, the servers on this site seem a bit under-powered. If some philanthropic minded passer-by wanted to help fix that, roughly how much money would be needed to make a noticeable improvement?

I tried learning C++ about 25 years ago. It was my first experience of object-orientated programming, and I did not get far. It is not an easy language.

It looks to me like like the servers are under powered too, the database in particular. I am going to look at how the finances will stretch once I have a better idea - adverts consistently for month of so!