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Scrolling and fading effect on previous location

Re. Sugarcube 2.0

Not even sure if this is possible, so this may be a very short thread, or a very long one as I have no scripting knowledge.

The default gameplay style is for the current location to disappear and be replaced with the new one.

However, I would like the new location to appear below the previous, and for the previous to fade away slightly (so that it's still readable, but overpowered by the new location)

For example, I'm using a black background, so I would like to fade the previous location to a mid-grey colour, with current location showing in almost white.

So maybe #555 for previous location and #eee for current. Either that or use an opacity.

The reason I want to do this, is because I feel it's important (for memory sake) that aplayer can quickly glance and recap where he was before his current location. The way it just disappears feels, for me, too final - like the player's footsteps are being erased as they walk.

Hope that makes sense.

Comments

  • You could possibly use a PassageHeader to display the contents of the previous passage in a different colour.

    One important question, do you only want to display the contents of the previous passage or do you want display the contents of all previous passages.

    If your answer is all then I would strongly suggest you think about using Twine 1's Jonah story format as it is designed to work that way.
  • edited November 2015
    Thanks, greyelf. You've certainly been busy answering questions tonight, and I really appreciate it.

    At a pinch, just having the previous location would be satisfactory, but I was thinking about a continuous scroll of previous locations.

    Having said that, I quite like the idea of just the previous location, as it keeps the page short. I can't imagine why a player would want to check back any further than their previous location.

    As I say, I see it as a kind of memory thing. In real life, we experience various elements of a given place, and even after moving on from that place, its memory it still fresh in our minds. When the previous location just disappears, like it does by default, it feels like having some kind of short-term memory loss with no retrieval.

    I'll have a play around with the PassageHeader option, and take a look at the Jonah story format.

    Just a couple of questions, though.

    What would I put in the PassageHeader to make the previous location remain when the next is displayed?

    And where would I find the Jonah story format - it's not of the ones I can pick from the selection?
  • In general, I recommend against this whenever it comes up. SugarCube (any version) is not designed to work that way. As noted by greyelf, if you really want that sort of behavior, then Twine 1's Jonah story format probably your best bet. AFAIK, it's the only story format designed to work that way.

    Jud_Casper wrote: »
    The reason I want to do this, is because I feel it's important (for memory sake) that aplayer can quickly glance and recap where he was before his current location. The way it just disappears feels, for me, too final - like the player's footsteps are being erased as they walk.
    The Backward, Jump To, and Forward buttons at the top of the UI bar allow the player to revisit/navigate their play history at any time. I don't know if that's your only concern, but there really shouldn't be a "memory" issue.

    greyelf wrote: »
    You could possibly use a PassageHeader to display the contents of the previous passage in a different colour.
    If you're thinking of using the <<display>> macro for this, that's unlikely to turn out well. Unless the author is particularly vigilant, that's not really a feasible option because of game state. If the passage in question modifies state in some way, redisplaying it will double down on the state modifications. Beyond that, there are also conditional display issues and similar things which present hurdles (again, because of modified state).
  • The Backward, Jump To, and Forward buttons at the top of the UI bar allow the player to revisit/navigate their play history at any time. I don't know if that's your only concern, but there really shouldn't be a "memory" issue.
    Are these links that will be displayed when the game is published, because when I hit 'play' from the map sheet, no such links are present?

    It looks like I need to look at Jonah, then. How do I access this, please, as it isn't one of the option on offer in story formats.

  • edited November 2015
    You noted that you were using SugarCube v2.0. If you're not seeing them, then you are likely using SugarCube v1.x instead (which uses the browser's Backwards/Forwards buttons to navigate the history, instead of having its own). Click on the Formats menu item from Twine 2's main sidebar, the version of each installed story format is listed after its name.


    Regarding Jonah. As noted above, it's a Twine 1 story format, so you'll have to download, install, and use Twine 1 to get it. Links for the Twine 1 installers (Windows and Mac OS X) are on the front page (top right), just below the ones for Twine 2.
  • edited November 2015
    You noted that you were using SugarCube v2.0. If you're not seeing them, then you are likely using SugarCube v1.x instead (which uses the browser's Backwards/Forwards buttons to navigate the history, instead of having its own). Click on the Formats menu item from Twine 2's main sidebar, the version of each installed story format is listed after its name.
    Ah, yes. It's SugarCube v1. I presumed as I was using Twine 2, that the formats would be v2 also.

    So is there no way of using SugarCube v2 online then?

    Also, could I install Jonah so that I could use that online too?

    Actually, I prefer the minimal look of SCv1, and would prefer to have nav links in the sidebar instead of across the top.

  • SugarCube v2 online: Not at the moment, though it's in the works. Doing so actually requires changes to Twine 2, so that's the holdup.

    Jonah online: No. It's a Twine 1 story format, and Twine 1 only works offline.
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