Overview#
Better Questing is a comprehensive questing engine designed to transform the standard Minecraft survival experience into a structured RPG adventure. Unlike traditional quest mods, Better Questing is built on a modular architecture, allowing for extreme customizability through expansion packs. It provides modpack creators with a suite of in-game editors to build quest lines, manage player progress, and design intricate reward systems without ever leaving the game.
Key features include:
- In-Game Editors: Visual tools for creating quest trees, tasks, and rewards.
- JSON-Based Data: All quest data is stored in human-readable JSON files, facilitating external editing and version control.
- Hardcore Mode: A built-in life system that can trigger world deletion or player bans upon depletion.
- Party System: Allows players to group up, share quest progress, and split rewards.
- Modular Design: Core functionality is separated from specific task/reward types, which are provided by the Standard Expansion.
Getting Started#
To begin your journey, you must obtain a Quest Book. This item serves as the primary interface for viewing available quests, tracking progress, and claiming rewards. In many modpacks, players spawn with this book automatically, but it can also be crafted manually.
Accessing the Quest Log
Players can open the quest interface by right-clicking with the Quest Book or by pressing the dedicated hotkey (default: G or ~). The interface is divided into several main sections:
- Quests: View quest lines and individual quest nodes.
- Party: Manage your questing group.
- Themes: Customize the visual appearance of the quest menus.
- Hardcore: Monitor remaining lives (if enabled).
Items#
Better Questing adds a small selection of essential items to facilitate questing and hardcore mechanics.
| Item | Description | Crafting / Source |
|---|---|---|
| Quest Book | The main GUI for interacting with quests. | 1x Book + 1x String |
| Extra Life | Consumable item that adds one life to the player's hardcore pool. | Quest Reward / Rare Loot |
| Heart Medallion | A high-tier item that grants multiple lives or permanent health boosts. | 4x Heart Fragments |
| Heart Fragment | Small pieces used to craft Heart Medallions. | Quest Reward / Mob Drops |
| Loot Chest | A tiered reward container (Basic, Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary). | Quest Reward |
Quest Mechanics#
Quest Lines and Trees
Quests are organized into Quest Lines, which appear as tabs in the quest log. Within each line, quests are arranged in a Quest Tree. Nodes are connected by dependency lines; a quest remains locked until its prerequisites are completed.
Hardcore Mode
When Hardcore Mode is enabled via /bq_admin hardcore, players are assigned a limited number of lives.
- Life Depletion: Dying reduces the life count. If it reaches zero, the player is banned or the world is deleted (depending on config).
- Life Recovery: Lives can be regained using Extra Life items or Heart Medallions.
Party System
The Party System allows players to collaborate on quests.
- Shared Progress: When one party member completes a task, it counts for everyone in the party.
- Reward Sharing: Rewards can be set to be claimed individually or shared among the group.
- Management: Parties are created and managed via the 'Party' button in the main menu.
Quest Tasks#
Tasks are the requirements a player must fulfill to complete a quest. These are typically provided by the Standard Expansion.
| Task Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Retrieval | Requires the player to have specific items in their inventory. Can be set to consume items or just detect them. |
| Crafting | Detects when a player crafts a specific item. Does not count items crafted before the quest was unlocked. |
| Mob Kill | Requires the player to kill a specific number of a certain entity (e.g., 10 Zombies). |
| Location | Requires the player to travel to specific coordinates in a specific dimension. |
| Fluid Retrieval | Requires the player to collect or submit specific fluids (e.g., Lava, Oil). |
| Scoreboard | Checks for a specific value on a vanilla Minecraft scoreboard. |
| Advancement | Triggers upon the completion of a specific vanilla advancement. |
| Block Break | Requires the player to mine/break a specific block type. |
| NPC Meeting | Requires the player to interact with or be near a specific NPC. |
| Checkbox | A simple manual task where the player clicks a box to confirm completion. |
Quest Rewards#
Rewards are granted upon the successful completion of all tasks within a quest.
| Reward Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Item Reward | Grants the player one or more specific items. |
| Choice Reward | Presents the player with a list of items; they must choose one to receive. |
| XP Reward | Grants a specific amount of experience points or levels. |
| Command Reward | Executes a server-side command (e.g., /give, /effect, or custom mod commands). |
| Scoreboard Reward | Modifies a player's scoreboard value (useful for reputation systems). |
Admin Commands#
Administrators and pack creators use these commands to manage the questing environment.
General Admin Commands
/bq_admin edit: Toggles Edit Mode. When ON, the 'Edit' button appears in the quest log, allowing access to the Quest Editor./bq_admin hardcore: Toggles Hardcore Mode on or off./bq_admin default save: Saves the current quest database to the global default folder (used for modpack distribution)./bq_admin default load: Reloads the quest database from the global default folder.
Player Management
/bq_admin reset <all|quest_id> [player]: Resets quest progress for a specific player or everyone./bq_admin complete <quest_id> [player]: Forces a quest to be marked as completed for a player./bq_admin lives [add|set|max|default] <value> [player]: Manages the hardcore life count for players.
User Commands
/bq_user refresh: Manually synchronizes the local quest database with the server (fixes desync issues)./bq_user help: Provides the player with a copy of the questing guide.
Configuration & Data#
Better Questing stores its data in the config/betterquesting/ directory.
- QuestDatabase.json: Contains the definitions for all quests, tasks, and rewards.
- QuestLines.json: Defines the visual layout and grouping of quests.
- QuestProgress.json: Stores the completion data for every player on the server.
- DefaultQuests.json: The master file used by modpack creators to distribute quests. When a new world is created, it pulls data from this file.
Pack developers can edit these files manually or use the in-game editor. The JSON structure is designed to be highly readable, allowing for mass-editing via scripts or text editors.
