Should I start with Twine 1 or Twine 2?

skrilmps

I am new to Twine.  Should I start out using Twine 1 or Twine 2?  (I already posted this in the 2.x Help forum but it's also appropriate for this forum!)

I appreciate that Twine 2 includes some improvements over Twine 1, so it seems logical to go with the "newest model".  On the other hand, because Twine 1 has been around longer the documentation for it seems much more thorough, which might be nice for someone like me that's just starting out.  So I'm torn between the two.  And I'm sure there are many other things that could factor into the decision that I'm not even aware of.  What would you suggest I start with?

Thanks for any advice.

PS - My apologies if this question has already been discussed a lot but it's a difficult topic to pinpoint via search engine ("twine 1 vs twine 2" for example will turn up just about every post every written in this forum).

dacharya64

Personally I'd recommend Twine 1 (eve though I've used it more, so I'm a bit biased). This is just because of the greater amount of documentation/macros for Twine 1. Though it mostly depends on what you're trying to do--and StoryFormat is important to think about too (Sugarcane/Sugarcube/Jonah/Harlowe).

skrilmps

Thanks for your response.

It sounds like I should ask this follow up question: how do I go about choosing a story format?  Is there a document or website or discussion thread that compares/contrasts the pros/cons of the different options?

Thanks!

Sharpe

You're putting too much thought into this. ;-)

Just pick Twine 1 or 2 (flip a coin if needed) and create a quick, simple game or story. You'll be glad you did.

Otherwise, SugarCube is very popular for both versions. Sugarcane is the default for 1 and Harlowe for 2.

Here's the Twine Wiki where there is a lot of basic info: http://twinery.org/wiki/start

If you want my advice, download Twine 1.4.2 and just start typing. :-)

Pneuma

Sharpe wrote:

If you want my advice, download Twine 1.4.2 and just start typing. :-)

Hah, my 2 cents would have been to not download or install anything, just click on over to the online Twine2 and start typing (a zero investment method of seeing if Twine is right for you).

It just highlights how subjective this question really is.

Claretta

If you want to use a story format still being developed, such as SugarCube or Harlowe, I do recommend Twine 2 simply because of the auto update feature.

I even use Twine 2 offline and it seems to autoupdate story formats for me.

Sharpe

Pneuma wrote:

Sharpe wrote:

If you want my advice, download Twine 1.4.2 and just start typing. :-)

Hah, my 2 cents would have been to not download or install anything, just click on over to the online Twine2 and start typing (a zero investment method of seeing if Twine is right for you).

It just highlights how subjective this question really is.

Totally agreed, like I said in the first part of my post. I admit that I personally like 1.4.2 better, but that's just me. Doesn't matter at all. Here, I'll re-do it:

My personal advice is to just click on over to the online Twine2 and start typing (a zero investment method of seeing if Twine is right for you).

greyelf

Claretta wrote:

If you want to use a story format still being developed, such as SugarCube or Harlowe, I do recommend Twine 2 simply because of the auto update feature.

I even use Twine 2 offline and it seems to autoupdate story formats for me.

The only story format that currently auto-updates is the hosted version of SugarCube, the other story formats are currently tied into the release cycle of the Twine 2 application so you need to wait until there is a new version of the application before you can get an updated version of the other story formats.

SahibdeepNann

twine 2 is more universal, and more people are using it
I suggest twine 2