So I was wondering if there’s any way to create a split screen effect on Choice Script? Kinda like having two columns in MS Word, with perhaps a dividing line of some sort through the middle? After fiddling with the options of notepad++ it doesn’t seem to have anything along the lines of what I’m looking for. Aside from that, I wonder whether even if it had, would CS even be able to display or support it?
Natively, no, nothing like that exists for CS (AFAIK).
Additionally, besides the difficulty of actually coding it as a possibility, there’s the fact that it might not look good on all devices (think small phones). If you’re looking to try it anyways, it is possible to do it with text as images, (I’d recommend using SVG or some other kind of vector graphics to preserve readability) although that will probably cause problems with text to speech programs.
2 Likes
Whenever I suggest graphics-as-text, someone (usually @FairyGodfeather) reminds me that it can break the game for blind players who use text readers. So think about an alternative (an audio option, like a book on tape? Is that doable in CS?)
Edit: I need more coffee. @Reaperoa mentioned text to speech already.
But yes @Left4Bed I’m pretty sure the reason it’s not a native feature is that CS is optimized for smartphones, so there isn’t as much room to display multiple columns and other fancy Word-style formatting. There was a guy on the forums awhile back (I forget which one) who had a dynamic stat bar displaying on every screen of his game. It was neat, but it required non-CS coding to pull off (which is not a great idea if trying to submit to COG, since any of that can cause major bugs and headaches.)
Hmm, yeah I thought using text as an image might be the easiest way to do it, but I didn’t consider the problems this would cause with text to speech programs. The idea I’m toying around with would be really game-breaking if you weren’t able to access it, even though it would only come up in a handful of scenes.
I see…perhaps this is something I should reconsider then.
@Sashira I snuck it in under the time limit for edit markings. :-p
I am curious though for anyone that might have more knowledge if there is a way to get text to speech programs to say text that’s not displayed. (The only way that jumps to mind is pretty hack-eyed)
Idea: Include an early option for whether people want to view images, or have everything rendered as text. Those who select the images option can see your fancy screens, while those who select no images are instead directed to a plain text version.
2 Likes
That’s…actually a pretty neat work around! The idea I had planned would really only look cool and work as I intend it to on a screen bigger than a cellphone, not to mention problems the visually impaired might have. When in doubt, make it a choice!
Would changing http://choicescriptdev.wikia.com/wiki/Style.css do it? Or the index file itself? I think, it’d be possible to hack yourself a solution. Personally, I’d do the hacking stuff instead of the image method.
Why do you want a split screen? What purpose is it serving? Is it just like a newspaper with colums? Or a table? Or something else?
That’s something I really wouldn’t be able to answer, but I’d be very interested to know the answer to, hopefully there’s someone who could provide some clarity on that.
It’s kinda hard to explain but…essentially the function I want it to serve is to show the player that their mind is operating at two planes of existence at the same time. On the one screen they’re seeing what’s immediately in front of them, and on the other they’re seeing things on a different plane that provides deeper context when making a choice.
That probably sounds really confusing and disorientating, which in a way is kinda the point. I want the player to feel a bit disoriented by this, since being able to actually see the world in this way would be really jarring. I wouldn’t use it too often though, and it isn’t really a necessity, just a way to use form as a tool for immersion.
1 Like
I meant go, investigate, find out. 
Consider it a challenge. I think it should be possible. BUT well the choice here, is I do the work to work it out, when I think it’s not such a great idea, or you do it. 
Since it’s your idea, you can do the work.
But, I’d ask yourself if you need the immersion tool to display them side by side. If that serves a greater purpose than say having them one on top of the other. Or italicized sentences.
I’d say mock up a version of what you want, in Word or something. Then change it so it displays exactly as it would on a phone display. See if that appearance gives what you want?
Okay, it might be ui.js you edit since that’s what Reaperoa seems to have changed when he was hacking things to display code and colors. (We discuss it as a bit of a tangent here The Beginners Guide to ChoiceScript)
1 Like
To do it as plain text, you could have an option at the bottom of every page to re-read it in other-mind-mode. The reader would be going back and forth between “left screen” and “right screen” rather than seeing them simultaneously, but that might add to the confusion - trying to remember how exactly the other version was stated, in an effort to resolve the apparent illogic and contradictions between the two.
I’ll do some more digging, but based on what I understand style.css to be, I don’t think it’ll be able to help much.
I’ve already done that, and side by side is really the only way I’d want to do this. Both for aesthetic reasons and for how I plan to explain it in-game.
I’ll peruse through this, though I suspect it’s more likely to go over my head than it is to provide much in the way of clarity. Thanks for the suggestion though!
I don’t think that would work at all. As you said, it would probably just make things even more confusing, and having to go back and forth would get annoying after a while. It needs to be simultaneous to simulate how your character would actually be seeing things.
If I can’t get that to work (side by side and appearing at the same time), or I do and it’s just more confusing or aggravating than it’s worth, I’ll just have to consign it to the growing pile of failed ideas.
Using italics and alternating between non-italicised and italicised words seems to be the easiest way to do this.