About the full release

[Caesius]

Will there be an option to skip Act 1 text, or to at least mark Act 1 text as "read"?

Edit: Besides the in-game "skip" function obviously. What I mean is whether I'll be able to immediately jump to choices throughout Act 1.


Unless there are significant changes to Act 1 I don't think I'll want to read through it all again.


Also, will I be able to use the down arrow key to advance text? I find it more comfortable than using the "Enter" key. Better yet would be to have the up arrow key display text history.

[JamiroquaiAlien]

I imagine that by the time the full thing's released, you may need a refresh of what exactly happened in Act 1.

[Caesius]

I imagine that by the time the full thing's released, you may need a refresh of what exactly happened in Act 1.

That's like saying I'd need to rewatch all of Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica to "refresh" my memory before watching Season 4.5.


(Granted, there's the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..." bit, but I'm sure you get my point.)

[Silentcook]

Will there be an option to skip Act 1 text, or to at least mark Act 1 text as "read"?

Edit: Besides the in-game "skip" function obviously. What I mean is whether I'll be able to immediately jump to choices throughout Act 1.

No. That'd be much more trouble than it's worth. And to forestall the next question that usually gets asked after this, unfortunately it's unlikely that you'll be able to import saved games from the demo, due to both tweaks to KS and evolution of the Ren'Py engine.

Also, will I be able to use the down arrow key to advance text? I find it more comfortable than using the "Enter" key. Better yet would be to have the up arrow key display text history.

That's something we got asked a fair amount of times already. Extra keybindings fall under the "useful but not indispensable" heading, so I guess this depends on the amount of spare time and effort PyTom and/or Delta are willing to devote to this. I'm not an expert concerning programming matters by any stretch though, so don't take this as gospel.

[Lawls]

Will there be an option to skip Act 1 text, or to at least mark Act 1 text as "read"?

Edit: Besides the in-game "skip" function obviously. What I mean is whether I'll be able to immediately jump to choices throughout Act 1.


Unless there are significant changes to Act 1 I don't think I'll want to read through it all again.


Also, will I be able to use the down arrow key to advance text? I find it more comfortable than using the "Enter" key. Better yet would be to have the up arrow key display text history.

either way i'll be playing the clicking game through act one. Hoping when act 1 ends Rick Astley doesn't start his music video on my screen

[unkind]

hold control - choice - hold control - choice, etc, it'll take you 10 minutes max

[MechaMancer]

Will there be an option to skip Act 1 text, or to at least mark Act 1 text as "read"?

Edit: Besides the in-game "skip" function obviously. What I mean is whether I'll be able to immediately jump to choices throughout Act 1.

seeing as playing "Act 1" assigns values to variables that are critical to later game play the only way to do this would be to incorporate a system that lets the player manually change those values

it could take a month or longer after the final version of the game is finished to actually incorporate this into the final release, though the basic ground work could probably be done now (making lists of all variables and there locations and interactions, et cetera)

Also, will I be able to use the down arrow key to advance text? I find it more comfortable than using the "Enter" key. Better yet would be to have the up arrow key display text history.

depends if the Ren'Py engine has it as a possible default (i have no clue), or like silentcook said, if the devs want to take the time to manually create such an option (actually possible with Ren'Py due to its python support)

[DuaneMoody]

Hoping when act 1 ends Rick Astley doesn't start his music video on my screen

No, that's old school.
It'll be performed by the cast of K-On

[Caesius]

seeing as playing "Act 1" assigns values to variables that are critical to later game play the only way to do this would be to incorporate a system that lets the player manually change those values

it could take a month or longer after the final version of the game is finished to actually incorporate this into the final release, though the basic ground work could probably be done now (making lists of all variables and there locations and interactions, et cetera)

You misunderstood me. Those variables which affect later gameplay are set at the player choices, but as the player progresses through the text that text gets marked as "read," affecting the behavior of the skip function -- specifically, it will continue to skip through read text as long as you hold the Ctrl key, but as soon as you get to a choice or unread text it stops.

To once again bring up Fate/Stay Night as an example, there is an option to skip read scenes entirely until the player comes to a choice whose scene he's not read through yet. The player is still making choices, he's just choosing to skip every scene he's read.

My suggestion was very simple in concept:
1. Incorporate an option to mark all Act 1 text as "read,"
2. Incorporate an option to skip all read text between choices rather than having to hold down the Ctrl key.

Implementing this would be bothersome for different reasons than you're thinking. I don't know what those reasons are specifically, but if this were easy to implement it would be because Ren'Py is prepared for this sort of modification -- since Silentcook said that it's too much trouble, I take it that it's not.

[DuaneMoody]

My suggestion was very simple in concept:
1. Incorporate an option to mark all Act 1 text as "read,"

I smell a thread lock coming. If Act 1 in the final release were guaranteed to be identical to the finished full release I might be able to see your point of view, but I think the writers/devs are entitled to make you see the finished fruits of their labor.

[Caesius]

My suggestion was very simple in concept:
1. Incorporate an option to mark all Act 1 text as "read,"

I smell a thread lock coming. If Act 1 in the final release were guaranteed to be identical to the finished full release I might be able to see your point of view, but I think the writers/devs are entitled to make you see the finished fruits of their labor.

That's why I said,

Unless there are significant changes to Act 1 I don't think I'll want to read through it all again.

which was really just a thinly-veiled query as to whether or not Act 1 in the final release will be different from the demo release.

[vermithrx]

There is a "skip even unread text" function in the options menu. You can use that along with skip mode at the risk of missing out on what changes act one undergoes between now and the full game. It lets you do more-or-less what you're describing and it's already part of the game.

[MechaMancer]

My suggestion was very simple in concept:
1. Incorporate an option to mark all Act 1 text as "read,"
2. Incorporate an option to skip all read text between choices rather than having to hold down the Ctrl key..

my mistake, i somehow read the original post as "Start at Act 2", i see where i made the mistake now

[AutisticPsycho]

Well, I was about to the same question but Caesius beat me to the punch.
Neverthless, after just finally figuring the path to the Shizune ending and reaching 98% completion, to be honest, I'm lazy... I don't feel like doing all of Act 1 over again.

What about a patch of Act 1 using multipersistant data that uses the complete data from your saved game and considers Act 1 done?

[Aura]

Depending on what happens to our engine between now and release, that's either possible or not. Everyone's money is on the latter.