A few years ago I was working on a game and noticed an extension that allowed NPC’s to set a goal and work towards achieving that goal. I just got back into trying to work in Inform and wanted to do the same in my game, but couldn’t find the extension in the public library. I assume that the extension is outdated and would no longer work in the version I’m using (6M62).
Specifically I want the NPC’s to be able to set a goal and determine the steps needed to reach that goal with on-the-fly changes to the steps depending on the current world state. Preferably this would take place on or off screen.
Does anyone know how this could be achieved in the version I’m using? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’m new to coding of any form and I have a feeling this is going to need some Inform 6 coding to get the effect I’m looking for.
I think you’re thinking of Basic Plans by Nate Cull; the linked version does work in 9.3/6M62. I haven’t played with it beyond verifying last November that its example works (after patching it per discussion linked below), but it seems very nifty.
At the time of the Public Library’s creation for version 9.1/6L02 the then-current version didn’t compile. And though someone (thank you, github user Fruny) swiftly updated it for 6L02, I guess no one ever submitted a request for it to be included in the Public Library, and the management of the PL is driven by external requests.
It occurred to me to wonder if you might have been thinking of Ron Newcomb’s Problem-Solving Characters instead. (It hasn’t been updated in a long time and odds of it working in 6M62 without change are slim.)