@rvd249 Chronicler is open source and anyone who wants to help with development can send me a PM and I’ll get them setup with the development tools and the list of todos. 
edit: it would be very helpful if they were already familiar with React and/or the Meteor framework.
@BenSeawalker Hello! I had downloaded and extracted the zip file from the link mentioned at the top for windows but for some reason the exe file for chronicler next simply does not open anything. I have tried opening it as admin, using compatibility mode for other windows version but still no luck. Can you please help me out with it?
@RKM I apologize for the delay in response. I took a hiatus on the project and haven’t checked on this forum in forever. My PC actually died awhile back and I recently got it going again. I’m in the process of reinstalling all my development tools now so fingers crossed everything still works.
I honestly have no clue what the issue might be. Does it show up in task manager or on your start bar?
If it shows up on the start bar make sure you have it selected then press “Alt+Space” then “M” then either the Left or Right Arrow key. That will snap the window to your mouse and you can move it back onto your screen. It’s possible it’s opening off screen especially if you use multiple monitors or a projector sometimes.
I’m looking forwards to the newest update, This is really the only thing i’m interested in on this forum.
@BenSeawalker I hope development is continuing on Chronicler. For someone who does not know how to code at all, this tool looks like an must-have.
I’m not sure why this happened, but I’ve suddenly been unable to test my games within Chronicler. I’m getting this every time I go to Play
I reinstalled the Choicescript master and have the directory set to it, but I’m still getting the same error
(My font is set to comic sans because my life is an active act of rebellion against God)
just make sure you have a backup of everything
I know it’s been like 30 years but the problem is you have the wrong choicescript folder, im not really sure what you did to it but the original “choicescript-autobalance” folder should be selected in the choicescript directory browser in Chronicler’s settings. I’ve had this problem too and choicescript-master didn’t work for me, only the autobalance version.
I am using CSide, but I am wanting to work with a branching mapper for conversations, plot branches, and quests. I was reading that Chronicler would be useful in this. I see that people are talking about updates to this. Is there a stable version of Chronicler at this time that would help me, or is it at a point where I should use another software? BTW, I think it is great that you, @BenSeawalker, have created and are still working on Chronicler for the community.
Hey @everyone I am still alive 
Work has been ongoing on the web version of Chronicler. Although it has moved in an entirely new direction.
The most important change for everyone here is that it no longer uses ChoiceScript. There are multiple reasons for this (the above mentioned comments about it not being able to render CS games locally is among them).
Furthermore I’ve found CS to be a bit restrictive in regards to text formatting. Although I’ve been away from it long enough that I’m not sure if it has support for bold text or colors yet.
I remember having a discussion awhile back about having a new platform for which to share and monetize your games. The legal ramifications of that with CS as the underlying product made it impossible.
So, what’s the new Chronicler going to look like you ask?
Well, far more streamlined than the current desktop version.
No more manual arrangement of nodes, it is all done automatically.
Full support for colors, font, etc. The game can look how YOU want it to look with no arbitrary restrictions. If you want to get really fancy, you can even customize the stylesheet to your heart’s content.
Otherwise, there is absolutely zero need to touch any form of code or programming language. All features of the program have simple GUI implementations. The closest you’ll get is to referencing variables in your story text.
It also allows you to focus on writing your story by remaining minimally intrusive in all aspects such as quick hotkey shortcuts for navigation and only one type of node that combines everything you need to do into one interface:
There are also so many more cool features for writers!
The most exciting one in my opinion is the ability to click on a node and see a summary of the possible combinations of stats at that point in the game. Chronicler will map out every possible path to reach the selected node and present a list of routes and how they affected the variables. Furthermore you can select one of those routes and dive right into testing your game from that point onward.
Want to branch if their STRENGTH stat is high enough, but how high is too high? What is the max and min STRENGTH they might have at that point? Chronicler does the work so you no longer have to guess. You can even branch on the condition that their STAT is at 50% of the maximum it could be at that point in the game.
Want to have collaborators? By all means! You can publish your game privately and invite other users to test it. You decide whether they have full editing privileges or if they can only post comments.
As a reader, have you ever been frustrated by spotting a typo and not being able to do anything about it? Well, now you can easily point it out as a comment on that specific page in the game (which will only be visible to the author). The author can respond to your comment if they wish, or mark it as a “Todo” item and then mark it as “Complete” later.
Part of this “Todo” system is an internal rewards points system that acts like “reputation”. The more points you earn for getting your comments marked as Todo items earns you rep. These rep points can then be traded in for badges on your profile or used to receive discounts on purchasing games.
Speaking of which, the new Chronicler will be a fully featured game store as well. You’ll never have to leave the platform to publish your game. Simply set your price and make the game public (you can even specify dates for it to go on sale for a discount). Keep track of the analytics with a dashboard showing sales figures and all kinds of other cool stats like average playtime. You can even colorize your node tree to show the paths most players follow.
Reader’s who have completed at least 50% of the game may leave a review and rating. Top rated games will be featured on the homepage.
Of course all games will be read by a moderator first before going live. To speed up the review process it is best if you make sure to check the boxes for any “sensitive” content it might contain. I don’t plan on being super restrictive on censoring games, but they do have to be honest attempts at making a game rather than say a showcase of porn. Furthermore, plagiarism will be taken very seriously.
Eventually I’d like to allow support for creating more complex kinds of IF games similar to Zork.
This is just a small summary of the features I’d like Chronicler to have. Also, please be aware that most of the above mentioned work is not done yet and currently only exists as design documents. Unlike the desktop version where I dove right in to writing code (and ended up with an unmaintainable mess), I’ve strove to do my due diligence up front and fully design features before implementing them. Considering this project will eventually result in the transference of money, I believe that this is a prudent measure to take.
At some point in the hopefully near future when the project is closer to being finished, I will get the website hosted and will publish any further news and development on there.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. I’m super excited about this new direction!
So… it’s Twine?
Sounds pretty cool.
Not quite. I played around with Twine a little bit and while it shares some similarities, you still have to write code-like stuff to make it work. You also have to drag around the nodes yourself, there is no auto-arrange.
The way you enter text feels a little off…? Hitting “End” on your keyboard moves you to the end of the textbox instead of the line you’re currently on. There’s no spell checking, etc.
The debug from current node doesn’t take into account previous choices that would cause variables to change. You can’t quickly jump between nodes and their parents, children, or siblings, etc.
I don’t know. Twine feels like a mere shadow compared to what I want to do with Chronicler.
That said, I might want to spend some more time on the UI from the reader’s standpoint to come up with something more unique than what CS or Twine have. That’s tough since there’s only so much you can do with text based UI, but I do want to encourage the use of images more in Chronicler. 
Either way, I’m not sure that’ll be much of an issue since Chronicler as a development tool and platform will certainly be unique.
EDIT:
There’s other things I’d like to add as well like a Dialog Tree editor to abstract away that kind of complex logic. A Character Sheet generator for keeping track of everything related to your NPC’s such as descriptions and relationships, etc.
An Outline page where you can write down the basic structure of your story.
Among other things that will encourage good habits and make life as a writer far easier overall.
Sounds interesting. Ambitious, certainly.
However, I think you’ll find the interest on this forum begins to wane now that there’s no longer any connection to ChoiceScript.
I’d also like to point out that Twine is the result of the hard work of many talented individuals. I’d suggest you refrain from referring to it as a “shadow” of a non-functional concept.
Anyway, best of luck.
I’ve been using your outdated yet very handy Chronicler for nearly two years now. The fact that it will no longer support Choicescript is very unfortunate, and is bad news to someone like me. I have been very happy with an outdated and inferior version and am now coming close to finishing and publishing a complete story written solely through it. Through all its bugs and crashes, I have persisted. I already use alternate programs like Twine for other companies and projects, so seeing another competitor when what ChoiceScript needs is a visual editor makes me sad. I truly hope you reconsider at least making a less-featured but updated version that includes support for Choicescript. It quite literally has saved me.
@rvd249 Wow, I was actually under the impression that nobody was seriously using Chronicler. 
I did look into the legality of it a bit and assuming I understood it correctly, it is indeed okay to sell a ChoiceScript game through CoG and through another seller so long as you commit 25% of the profits from the other platform to Cog. I think that will have to be something each individual will research for themselves.
I’ve still got the ChoiceScript parser I wrote in JavaScript awhile back. I think it needs tweaked a little bit for some of the new syntax but that should be easy enough.
I was already planning to support importing ChoiceScript code so at the very least the new Chronicler would be marginally compatible with the old one. However the implications of the legal standings above means I could likely support exporting ChoiceScript as well (it simply wouldn’t have all the features of the new Chronicler). Fortunately most of those new features will be merely cosmetic and the underlying game structure should be similar enough.
To answer your question, yes. The new Chronicler can still support ChoiceScript, but it won’t be purely a ChoiceScript editor if that makes sense.
That’s a whole lot of an easier pill to swallow. I’d be down for supporting Chronicler as legitimate competition in the interactive novel scene, but having the reliably large audience that CoG/HG provides that much needed stable landing in the risky jump that’d be taken with writing a novel. Being able to import/export a ChoiceScript version of a story while also being able to publish a Chronicler version would be great.
I look forward to your future updates on the project, and I definitely will consider making a lateral jump towards the storefront should everything turn out alright.
You cannot sell a ChoiceScript game through another publisher without a commercial license.
Can you sell the game by taking out the code and using either different code or creating a non-choice version of the story either before or after publishing through your company, and if so, do you require a cut from the profits either way as long as more than 10% of the words are used in the story?
The licensing agreement precludes you releasing the same story/content in a competing format, such as Twine, Ink, Ren’Py, CYOA book, etc etc.
