Enhancements for the Objective System

Alatriste

Hi,

The objective system works well as both a quest tracker and hint system—essential features for modern adventure games. However, I'd like to propose some improvements to enhance usability:

1. Streamlined Visual Organization
   The current system can become cluttered as objectives accumulate. The display order should automatically follow the Menu's sorting sequence rather than relying on manual ID ordering. This would allow new objectives to be inserted without requiring manual reordering to maintain the intended display sequence. (Note: I mentioned this issue in a previous post a few weeks ago, but wanted to reiterate it here as part of these broader improvements.)

2. Toggle for Completed Objectives
   Add a player-accessible toggle option to show/hide completed objectives from the active list. This would give players control over UI density and help them focus on current tasks without scrolling through already-finished objectives.

3. Enhanced UI with Categorization
   Implement a tab-based system to separate objectives by status (e.g., "In Progress" vs. "Completed"). This would provide better organization and improved navigation, especially in games with numerous objectives. With this categorization in place, the toggle option from point #2 may not be necessary, as completed objectives would already be isolated in their own tab.

These changes would significantly improve the objective system's scalability and user experience as quest lists grow throughout gameplay.

Cheers!

ChrisIceBox

Thanks for the suggestions.

The ability to order Objectives by their definition in the Editor will be provided in v1.85.

It's possible to have category tabs by creating separate InventoryBox elements with different "Objectives to display" values, and then using Unity UI events / animation to control their visibility.

Alatriste

Thanks Chris! I'll try to implement it in the next weeks.

randytaylor

It's possible to have category tabs by creating separate InventoryBox elements with different "Objectives to display" values, and then using Unity UI events / animation to control their visibility.

hi @ChrisIceBox, сould you tell me more? I'm trying to find a way to implement switching quest lists using tabs, is it possible?

ChrisIceBox

InventoryBox elements of type "Objectives" have a "Objectives to display" field that lets you limit it to Active, Complete or Failed only. You can create 3 such elements, each with a different value, to list these different Objective types.

In a Unity UI-based Menu the root of these elements can be given e.g. a Canvas Group component that then allows you to control its visibility / interactability. These fields can be driven through animation which can be played back in AC using the "Object: Animate" Action.