Algorithm hall of fame and code examples: sorting, shuffling, dev tools

Game Development
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Hi there. In this post I want to collect a few pearls I have seen over time in the forum, some generic algorithms and tools that people may use in a variety of situations. (Note this is a Wiki and not all edits are mine).

The table below (by @cup_half_empty) has links you can follow to find code examples and information on usage. You will find some common algorithms (sorting, shuffling) and some interesting ChoiceScript extensions, useful to develop and debug your game.

Feel free to contribute to this thread with other examples. Have fun!

@choicehacker’s note: this thread is now a wiki and the content may be edited by any forum member. I double-check the entries occasionally (but not very often).

General algorithms in Choicescript

Name Description Credits
Insertion Sorting Sorting algorithm. It can be used to sort arrays, find the max/min of several values and more. @stainedofmind
Array Shuffle Creates a random shuffle of a sequence of values. It can be used to make your game different every time. @Lan
Library for strings and arrays String manipulation and list simulation. Functions: substring, indexOf, contains, replaceFirst, replaceAll @Twiger_Fluff
CSLIB String manipulation, math functions, arrays, menu creation and more. @cjw @cup_half_empty @choicehacker

Plugins, Hacks & Mods (using Javascript)

:warning: These extensions modify the Choicescript engine and/or use *script. As such, they may not be fully supported.

Name Description Credits
Game Transcription A modified version of the ChoiceScript engine that will output a transcript of the game, based on the player’s choices. @Sargent
Game Statistics A modified version of the ChoiceScript engine that will output statistics of the game. @Sargent
Multi-player library Implement multiplayer in ChoiceScript, by sending requests to a 3rd-party server. @Twiger_Fluff
Debugging tool Debugging plugin which offers choice recording and playback . @Twiger_Fluff
Text tool Present fancy text by using custom images from an external server @Flurrywinde11

Development environments

Name Description Credits
CSIDE ChoiceScript development environment. Edit and run your game in a very flexible environment @CJW
Visual Studio extension Develop your game in Visual Studio @Sargent
Notepad++ And Syntax highlighters Notepad++ Text Editor and some community “Syntax Highlighters”

Other

Name Description Credits
Gender and Pronoun Sample Code Sample code for setting variable MC and NPC pronouns @HarrisPS
Inventory Code to present items from an inventory CS Wiki
General rounding Rounds a number to a given precision. Uses the elusive ‘power’ operator. @annwu23
Master List: Links for Beginners Master list of links for beginners. @FairyGodfeather
Softly A soft save system generator tool for ChoiceScript. @cup_half_empty
24h Clock Routine Pass the minutes as a parameter or just use it to update the timestamp. @cup_half_empty
Fancy Fonts Change text font. @cup_half_empty
Yet another inventory system Inspired by Twiger_Fluff’s Implementation of Lists this module gives the writer the ability to create inventories with number quantities for their game! @nocturno

Due to the limit of citations allowed per post, new entries won’t link the user handler to their profile.

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That short little MinMax gosub_scene one to make sure none of your stats have gone above 100/below zero is nice.

I’d also add that the code for dynamically listing your inventory (on the stat screen) is also super helpful.

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@choicehacker – Thanks for taking the time and effort to do this; I pinned your topic; it is a great resource

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I suggest making your first post a wiki so that contributors can add directly to the list.

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Wiki done. Sorry for not thinking that far ahead CJW! :slight_smile:

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This week’s update features a library by @Twiger_Fluff that implements a few basic string operations (replace, find etc). It also has supports for unbounded arrays (implemented as strings). Check it out! Working String Manipulation (no *script used) (substring, substr, indexOf, contains, replace)

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This week, I added some Javascript tricks that may be very helpful during development and debugging (see top post). As usual, remember *script is not fully supported (and frowned upon at times) and may make your story unpublishable. Still, I believe these extensions may make your life much easier when you write your story. Have fun!

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This is really cool. My small suggestion is to make it a table instead of a list.

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Thank you for this! It’s already helped me out with my own game.

For the record, my two contributions don’t require *script and won’t make your game unpublishable. They require edited versions of the Choicescript engine. The stats-generating extension requires you to add specially-formatted *comment lines to your game specifically so vanilla Choicescript won’t care and will ignore the changes.

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I’ve edited OP to include the table. @choicehacker, can you edit it? @Sargent does the note I included make sense? @Twiger_Fluff as well, can you take a look at the note and check if it makes sense?

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Thanks @Sargent for the clarification and thanks @cup_half_empty for the table. I didn’t know one could edit other people’s posts! What’s the magic trick?

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It’s because its a wiki, so anyone can edit. Otherwise it would not be possible. It’s common courtesy however not to edit someone else’s post, I only did that to save you time formating the table (in case you decide to use it).

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Yep, perfect!

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In this particular case, we made the OP a wiki, so everyone can collaborate together. This is a project that more than one person adds to.

Meaning it is ok to edit it without fear of breaking rules.

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Thanks. It’s confusing because my name remains there even after the edits. I may add a disclaimer on top.

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Well… in the forum software’s eyes… you started this “discussion.”

Sorry for the confusion.

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Hey, there. I think @HarrisPS’s gender and pronoun code sample would fit it in here. What do you think?

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That’s a nice idea! I’ve added it onto the original post.

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Updated with @Flurrywinde11 's [Tool] Text Image

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