7 replies to this topic

[berelinde]

Comments and suggestions go here.

Edited by berelinde, 08 July 2007 - 07:13 AM.

[SConrad]

Looks like an excellent series! Can't wait to see more of it!

One thing I thought about when reading the "Organize before you write"-part: Maybe it would be a good idea to include the "List of Hardcoded Things" as one of the pitfalls? Just for whenever somebody wants to make a Monk/Barbarian/Sorcerer NPC with the thieving skills-buttons as the seventh member of the party.

[berelinde]

Well worth including! Thanks for the suggestion!

Edit: and done!

Edited by berelinde, 08 July 2007 - 07:23 PM.

[Jolyth]

.BAF definitions and file creations please!

[berelinde]

OK. Will see if I can get that in next session, add it to the "definitions" page.

[Caelellowynn]

I'm wondering about how to organize the writing. Your part 2 was great! It helped me set up in a way that uncluttered my desk. When you are writing do you code it as you go, or break it into sections i.e. LoveTalks, Banter, Dialogue and the like. And if so, is there a trick to how you keep track of it.

Maybe its obvious to someone more comfortable with how the coding is structured, but I'm not one of them yet. Hardest thing for me right now is wondering if I could be writing in a more effecient way. Right now it looks like prose that has been cut up with scissors and then tossed on the desk. Okay, maybe not that bad but it feels like it anyway.

If you don't code as your writing do you format the lines into the .d files and then code around them later in batches? And does that even work well. My mind creaks and groans as I ask, that's all the question I can take asking for now.

[berelinde]

For NPC/NPC banters, sometimes I do write them out on paper before typing them into the computer, because I write them on my lunch break at work, but I code everything else as I go. I'll often code it ahead and then fill out the bulk of it all in one go.

For example, consider a friendship talk about hobbies.

IF ~Global("B!GavPCAddTalk","GLOBAL",4)~ THEN BEGIN a2.0
SAY ~<CHARNAME>, what do you like to do in your free time?~
++ ~I like to read.~ + a2.1
++ ~I'm fond of dancing.~ + a2.2
++ ~Haven't you heard me sing?~ + a2.3
++ ~Like you, I draw.~ + a2.4
++ ~I've always been fond of getting out in the fresh air when I have time.~ + a2.5
++ ~Who has free time?~ + a2.6
++ ~My friends and I often go to the tavern.~ + a2.7
END

IF ~~ a2.1
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.2
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.3
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.4
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.5
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.6
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.7
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.8
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.9
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.10
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.11
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END


IF ~~ a2.12
SAY ~~
IF ~~ THEN
END

//etc, for about 30 or 40 states

Then I go back and fill in the stuff between the tildes after the SAY, and add the transitions. Since the only time I really use THEN is for terminal transitions, it serves as a very visual reminder that I need to add a trasition.

[Caelellowynn]

That makes sense I can understand. I did finally figure out working with the tutorials that the
++ ~blah~ + Something is a much faster way to go. However it took me awhile to figure out that you need the second + in the line in order for the first + to be recognized as IF. Not sure why that is, I still find the Weidu documentation a bit daunting. Maybe once I get a better grasp of the mechanics it will stop looking so out of focus.

Thanks for the reply