Setting up Sequential Chatrooms¶

A brief overview of the steps required (more detail below):

Define a list of RouteDay objects. The first item in the list should be the name of the ending e.g. "Good End"

The first field of a RouteDay object is the name of the day (e.g. “1st”), and then the second is a list of ChatHistory objects. Fill these out with the information for each chatroom

Create a Route object and fill out its default_branch and optionally branch_list and route_history_title fields.

Either customize the route select screen, or in tutorial_0_introduction.rpy, change the line $ new_route_setup(route=tutorial_route) so that tutorial_route is replaced by the variable for the Route object you defined

Select Start Over from the Settings screen to test out your new route

To set up a route, you need to first define a list of RouteDay objects. Each RouteDay object contains the information the program needs for one in-game Day. Go to route_setup.rpy to see an example definition called tutorial_good_end.

At its most basic level, your definition will look as follows:

default my_route_good_end = [ "Good End",
    RouteDay("1st"),
    RouteDay("2nd"),
    RouteDay("3rd"),
    # (...)
    RouteDay("Final")]

The first item in the list should be a string containing the name of the ending as it will appear in the History log. In this example, it is "Good End".

The rest of the items in the list are RouteDay objects. They have the following fields:

RouteDay | day, archive_list=[], day_icon='day_common2', branch_vn=False |

Field	Description	Example
day	A string containing the name of the day as it should show up in the chatroom timeline (e.g. "1st" appears in-game as "1st Day"). Note that a special icon appears over a day titled "Final".	"1st"
archive_list	A list of `ChatHistory` objects; see below	`[ChatHistory("Example Chatroom", "example_chat", "00:01")]`
day_icon	The icon to use for this day in the timeline. Defaults to `'day_common2'`. Previously defined images can be found in variables.rpy under the heading Chat Select Screen -- `"day_common1"` up to `"day_z"` can be used.	"day_s"
branch_vn	By default, this is False. Otherwise, it should contain a `VNMode` object. If this route is merged onto the main route during a plot branch, the `VNMode` object stored in `branch_vn` will appear after the chatroom immediately before the plot branch.	`VNMode('plot_branch_bre')`

ChatHistory Objects¶

A ChatHistory object contains all the information needed for a single chatroom (plus its accompanying VN mode, phone calls, etc). You will need one ChatHistory object for every chatroom in your game.

ChatHistory | title, chatroom_label, trigger_time, participants=[], vn_obj=False, plot_branch=False, save_img='auto' |

The initialization fields are explained below.

Field	Description	Example
title	The name of the chatroom as it should show up in the timeline. A string.	"My chatroom title"
chatroom_label	The name of the label to jump to for this chatroom. This is used for many things, such as phone call labels an VN labels. A string.	"day_1_chatroom_1"
trigger_time	The time this chatroom should trigger at. A string. This should be written in military time with leading zeroes, e.g. 1:00AM is written "01:00" and 1:38PM is written "13:38"	"05:28"
participants	Optional. A list of the ChatCharacter objects of the people who should be already present in the chatroom before the player enters. If left blank, no one starts in the chatroom.	[ja, ju]
vn_obj	Optional. Allows you to better customize the `VNMode` object associated with this chatroom. If not provided, the program will attempt to find appropriately labelled VN labels and create its own `VNMode` object.	`VNMode("my_vn_label", y)`
plot_branch	A `PlotBranch` object. Indicates if this chatroom should have a VN after it. A `PlotBranch` object only takes one argument -- a boolean telling it whether or not there is a VN that should only be shown after the plot branch has been proceeded through. By default, this is False.	PlotBranch(True)
save_img	The image that will appear in the save screen on the left when the player saves their game. This is usually an image indicating which route the player is on, if any. Previously defined images can be found in variables.rpy under the heading Save & Load Images. Note that you do not need the prefix "save_", as this is automatically added. It is sufficient to use the character's file_id to get their save image e.g. "seven", "707", and "s" will all get you the same save image, `save_seven`.	"casual"

If the ChatHistory object is not given a VNMode object, it will try to find a label with the correct naming scheme instead. However, in the event you want more control over the vn_obj field, you can define it yourself.

VNMode | vn_label, who=None, party=False, trigger_time=False |

These fields are explained below.

Field	Description	Example
vn_label	The name of the label to jump to for this VN. A string.	"my_vn_label"
who	The ChatCharacter object of the character who this VN is associated with. Changes the image in the timeline.	`r`
party	True if this VN is the party, False otherwise.	`True`
trigger_time	Currently unused. May be used in the future to have VNs independent of chatrooms.	False

The other thing you may use is a PlotBranch object to indicate the existence of a plot branch.

PlotBranch | vn_after_branch=False |

This field is explained below.

Field	Description	Example
vn_after_branch	True if the chatroom this is attached to has a VN that should only be seen after the player has proceeded through the plot branch; False otherwise.	True

A typical ChatHistory object, then, might look like the following:

ChatHistory("Welcome to the RFA!", "day_1_chatroom_1", "00:05", [s])

This defines a ChatHistory object whose title is "Welcome to the RFA!". The label you need to put the chatroom in is called day_1_chatroom_1 (so, somewhere in your program you should have

label day_1_chatroom_1:
    call chat_begin('earlyMorn')

etc). The chatroom triggers at 00:05, or 12:05 AM. The character s starts in the chatroom.

A chatroom with a plot branch following it may look like the following:

ChatHistory("Suspicious Happenings...", "day_7_chatroom_8", "19:32", [ja, z], save_img='z', plot_branch=PlotBranch(True))

This defines a ChatHistory object whose title is "Suspicious Happenings...", found at the label day_7_chatroom_8. It triggers at 19:32, or 7:32 PM. The characters ja and z begin in this chatroom. The save image for this chatroom is 'z'. There is a plot branch after this chatroom, and a VN associated with this chatroom. This VN should only be shown to the player if they successfully pass the plot branch and continue on the main path (Hence plot_branch=PlotBranch(True) rather than just plot_branch=PlotBranch()).

All in all, a full route definition may look like the following:

default bob_good_end = ["Good End",
    RouteDay('1st',
        [ChatHistory('Welcome!', 'day_1_chatroom_1', '00:01'),
        ChatHistory('Relaxing','day_1_chatroom_2', '09:11', [z, b]),
        ChatHistory('How are you doing?', 'day_1_chatroom_3', '09:53', [r]),
        ChatHistory('Something strange...', 'day_1_chatroom_4', '11:28', [s]),
        ChatHistory('Do you...?', 'day_1_chatroom_5', '15:05', [b]),
        ChatHistory('Kimchi Sandwich', 'day_1_chatroom_6', '18:25', [b, ja]),
        ChatHistory('Very mysterious', 'day_1_chatroom_7', '20:41'),
        ChatHistory('Will you visit?', 'day_1_chatroom_8', '22:44', [b], plot_branch=PlotBranch(True)),
        ChatHistory("Happily Ever After", 'day_1_chatroom_9', '23:26')
        ]),
    RouteDay('2nd', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('3rd', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('4th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('5th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('6th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('7th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('8th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('9th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('10th', [ChatHistory(...)]),
    RouteDay('Final', [ChatHistory(...)])]

Note that [ChatHistory(...)] is shorthand for a list of many more ChatHistory objects.

Displaying a Route in the History Screen¶

In order for the route to show up in the History screen, you also need to define a Route object. Do this after you have set up the variables for all the different endings/branches of the route itself.

Route | default_branch, branch_list=[], route_history_title="Common", has_end_title=True |

These fields are explained below.

Field	Description	Example
default_branch	The "default" path for this route to take. This should be the longest path from start to finish, and may not necessarily be the "good" end.	`bob_good_end`
branch_list	A list of all the other paths this route can take. Typically includes all the bad, normal, bad relationship ends, etc. May also be empty, if this route does not branch.	[ bob_bad_end_1, bob_bad_end_2, bob_normal_end ]
route_history_title	How this route should show up in the History screen e.g. "Bob Route" or "Common Route". "Route" is automatically appended to this title.	"Bob"
has_end_title	True if this route has a "title" at the beginning of its definition e.g. `default bob_good_end = ["Good End", RouteDay('1st', (...)` has the end title "Good End". If this route has no branching paths, there is no need to label the name of the ending, so this field can be False.	True

Therefore a Route definition for a special New Year’s Eve route with endings for each of the characters as well as a normal ending might look like so:

default new_years_route = Route(
    default_branch=new_years_normal_end,
    branch_list=[new_years_ju, new_years_ja,
        new_years_s, new_years_y, new_years_z],
    route_history_title="New Year's"
)

You can see some additonal definitions at the bottom of route_setup.rpy.

Accessing your Route In-Game¶

To play your route, you can either customize the route select screen (see Customizing the Route Select Screen) or change the line $ new_route_setup(route=tutorial_route) in tutorial_0_introduction.rpy so that tutorial_good_end is replaced by the “default route” of the Route object you defined.

For example, for the “New Year’s Route” defined above, you will have a line in your introductory label that has

$ new_route_setup(route=new_years_route)

Managing Multiple Routes¶

If you would like to keep the Tutorial Route (or any other routes with different variables) accessible while you test your new route, you will first need to customize the route select screen (see Customizing the Route Select Screen) to have multiple buttons, one to lead to each route.

For example’s sake, the route select screen has buttons to lead to two routes, one called deep_story and one called another_story.

In the introductory label for each story, you may need to re-define the character_list and heart_point_chars variables so they display the correct characters. An example follows:

label deep_route_start:
    $ new_route_setup(route=deep_story_end)
    $ current_chatroom = ChatHistory('Starter Chat', 'deep_story_start', '00:00')
    $ character_list = [ju, z, s, y, ja, m]
    $ heart_point_chars = [ju, z, s, y, ja]
    # Write your introductory chatroom here

# The following label is optional for text messages, voicemail, etc
label after_deep_story_start:
    # Optional things here
    return

label another_story_start:
    $ new_route_setup(route=another_story_end)
    $ current_chatroom = ChatHistory('Starter Chat', 'another_story_start', '00:00')
    $ character_list = [ju, z, s, y, ja, v, r, m]
    $ heart_point_chars = [ju, z, s, y, ja, v, r]
    # Write your introductory chatroom here

# The following label is optional for text messages, voicemail, etc
label after_another_story_start:
    # Optional things here
    return

The main difference is that another_story includes the characters r and v, while deep_route does not. When the player begins playing the route, explicitly setting character_list and heart_point_chars ensures the correct profiles are shown on the chat home screen and that the player can see how many heart points they have with the relevant characters.

Similarly, explicitly writing $ current_chatroom = ChatHistory('Starter Chat', 'deep_story_start', '00:00') allows you to use the label after_deep_story_start to put any text messages, voicemail changes, spaceship thoughts, etc.

Playing Your Route¶

To play your new route, re-launch the program and select Start Over from the Settings screen, then Original Story to test out your new route.