Songbird Editor Development Log

CavusRex

Songbird Editor is a fresh new add-on for Unity designed to make the process of building interactive fiction games simpler and less time consuming. Utilizing Unity Engine’s core systems it offers both a powerful framework for those who want to make their games truly unique, and a simple tool for those who just want to tell their story without having to learn a whole programming language.

The tool is currently in alpha. This means it is a functional but by no means complete product. With currently available features it is possible to build a complete text based game, but some features are still in the queue for completion. Same thing applies to general UI and UX aspects of both game and editor interfaces. They will most likely be changed in some manner based on user feedback. Songbird is made with the goal of user friendliness and ease of access and I want that to be reflected in all parts of the project.

Over time the Guides section of this category will be filled up with more expansive guides on how to set up and use Songbird. Those guides will be compiled based on feedback from the initial closed part of alpha testing and updated based on new features or changes.

As a final thing in this first log here's a list of features that are planned in the near future, loosely ordered by priority:

Flavor elements based on which choice was made on previous page - Done!
Option to capitalize and do minor formatting to displayed text variables - Done!
Implementing Unity's Accessibility Plugin - Done!
Additional features for mathematical operations (primarily a round and random function) - Done!
Option to add text input fields - Done!
Option to add images to pages - Done!
Option to set unique backgrounds for each page - Done!
Further expansion of choice and page navigation systems - Done!

The Alpha roadmap is now complete, once the beta starts a new roadmap will most likely be posted and updated over time.

CavusRex

Update 0.2.1 is out and brings with it a few new things.

Bug fixes:

Fixed UI falling apart if no scenes exist. Placed an error catcher that informs if the gameData file is not detected and steps to fix the issue. Appropriate message should appear in all editor windows if this happens.

Editor UI tweaks:

Placed horizontal bars to help with readability of page editor’s sections.
Spaced the page list a little to help with miss-clicks.
Increased the indent level of page elements inside a condition.
Stretched the editor window in the attached layout to accommodate for smaller resolution screens. You will need to once again load the layout from file to overwrite the preset in your editor.

New features:

Implemented accessibility mode. Games you create will not be fully accessible to visually impaired users on all platforms.
You can now name individual pages. For space saving purposes the field to rename a page only appears for the currently selected page. Same thing applies to scenes.
You can now jump to the next scene from any page by setting the choice button’s destination page to -1. Depending on future feedback navigation might be expanded further.
Implemented choice picked as a possible condition. You can now type “choice = {number}” to have text appear only if a specific choice was selected on the previous page. Choices are numbered top to bottom starting at 1. Other methods of comparing can be implemented in the future based on demand.
Not exactly a new feature as it's a system built into TextMeshPro, but you can make your text bold, italic etc. by using HTML style inline elements like <b></b>.

In a few moments the files will be sent to all testers. There's no need to install the editor from scratch you can update it by importing the package into your existing project. Unity will handle replacing and adding necessary files on its own. Later tomorrow I'll update the existing guides to account for new features and also start working on part 3 which will touch on how you can customize your game's interface.

CavusRex

Update 0.3.1 is ready. Here are all changes and new features it brings.

Bug fixes:

Fixed accessibility mode turning on randomly when starting the game.
Fixed incorrect scaling of choice buttons on some resolutions.

Quality of life changes:

Cleaned up the console logs to better inform users if they make a mistake in their commands.
Added the setting to scale in game text. The setting can be found in the Menu window. Currently the game doesn't save font size changes between sessions, but this will be implemented later.

New features:

Choices can now be hidden or shown based on a condition. If a condition is not met the choice will not appear for the reader. If choices are set to single conditions are ignored, leaving the condition field empty means the choice is always displayed. Uses the same syntax as conditional blocks in pages.
Implemented the ability to capitalize displayed text variables. You can now capitalize variables by placing one exclamation mark (!) in front of its name for first letter capitalization or two (!!) for full capitalization. Additionally placing a dot (.) or a comma (,) at the end will insert those plus a single space behind the variable. Those operators are to be used without spaces and function only in “Display variable” blocks and can be applied only to text variables.
Implemented random, round, round down and round up methods into the command system. You can now get a random number between 0 and X by writing rand:X and round numbers by writing either round:X, roundD:X, roundU:X. Round methods can take in number type variables as X. For both roundU and roundD method capitalization of the last letter matters.

In a few minutes at most the update will be sent out to testers. As with the update before there is no need to create a new project and install from scratch. If you're updating from 0.1.2 or did not import the UAP package before it is required for Songbird to function. If it's already been imported you can skip importing it again. The guides will be updated later today to accommodate new features.

CavusRex

Update 0.4.1 is ready. It is the final update of this closed alpha and brings a bunch of big features that complete this roadmap. Once all legal and licensing things are sorted the open access beta will begin. Current projection for that is first half of May.

New features:

You can now display variables through the text block by placing the name of a desired variable in {} brackets. Text inside those brackets behaves in the same way as in a dedicated variable field and will process capitalization and adding dots and commas. The old way of displaying variables stays and will be expanded alongside this one from now on.
You can now set custom backgrounds that will change during the game. To do this import an image you want to use into Unity and drag it into the background image field in Page Editor just under your active page. The new background will persist between pages and scenes until a page with a different background is reached.
You can now set background colors that will change during the game. To do this toggle the “Apply tint” checkmark under your active page and select the new color. If a custom background image is applied before or on the same page the color will tint the image, changing the background image without editing the tint will reset the color, otherwise the new color will persist until a page with a different color is reached.
Implemented advanced navigation mode. Upon selecting this mode you will get access to an additional field for the destination scene. Writing 0 in the scene field will force the game to go to the next scene, writing a number corresponding to an existing scene will cause the game to jump to that scene. In both cases you can select a specific page in a desired scene by writing its id in the destination page field, if such a page doesn’t exist the first page will be loaded, writing 0 in destination page while in advanced mode will also open the first page. You can also write -1 in the destination scene field to push the game into its end screen. All navigation functionality in basic mode, including going to the first page of the next scene with -1 remains the same.
Added text input fields. The field is available only in single choice mode and will insert the written text into a variable of choice. All other functionalities of a choice button remain unchanged when this field is enabled.
Added the option to insert images into a page. The image of choice will be displayed at the top of a page if a sprite is inserted into the appropriate field at the top of the page contents section. Images will be automatically scaled down or up to fit the content field while retaining their aspect ratio. Optionally you can fill out the alt text field to add some information that will be read out to players using accessibility mode.

In a few moments the files will be sent to all testers. Of course there's no need to install the editor from scratch you can update it by importing the package into your existing project. Unity will handle replacing and adding necessary files on its own. In the coming days guides will be updated to accommodate new features.

CavusRex

The time has finally come. As of today 1PM CEST Songbird Editor is officially available to the public for free. You can download your copy from the website. I'd like to thank everyone for the support in getting the project to this point and hope for your continued interest in the project.

Anyway to not waste more of your time here are the 0.5.1 patch notes:

Bug fixes:

Fixed an issue where having a choice hidden due to a condition caused the page loader to crash.
Fixed an issue where the page editor window stretched beyond the available window space for users with upscaled windows UI.

New user help tools:

The first two parts of the Core Guide are now added to the download package as a PDF file for offline access. This file will be updated with each new release.
Created a tutorial game meant to help new users get familiar with basic functionality. This tutorial will be edited and expanded based on feedback.

Existing feature expansion:

Added a question, exclamation mark and a space as operators for variable display.
Added an author label in the core UI just below the game title. You can write a name for it to display at the top of the Page Editor window.

Overhauls:

A rework and expansion of the Variable Manager window:

Implemented the option to add labels into the variable manager window for additional organization.
You can now move variables up and down in the variable manager to help with organization.
Implemented a debug mode for the variable manager window. By enabling it you can see a simplified view of all your variables. The displayed values will correspond to current values during your game and can be altered in real time during gameplay to help with testing your game.

I hope for Songbird Editor to find it's home in many author's toolset and if you do find it helpful enough that you would want to support its development as a new way of creating IF content you can always send me a few cents through Patreon or Ko-fi. Even doing as little as sharing the project to people who you think would find it useful goes a long way.

CavusRex

With the open beta in full swing it's time to continue the development of additional features to expand Songbird's functionality. The following is a roadmap of currently planned features and changes to be made over the next few weeks, not necessarily in order of implementation. More things might be added to this list based on user suggestions so don't hesitate to bother me wherever.

Roadmap as of June 5th (completed on September 27th):

An expansion of the variable editor - Done!
Further expansion of personalization features
- Coloring individual choice buttons - Done!
“Else” functionality for conditional elements - Done!
Optional game windows for easy integration of more advanced system
- Level up screen - Done!
- Codex section - Done!
- Possibly more based on future suggestions and ideas
“Readability mode” setting that overwrites personalization settings for readers wanting a more clean, easy to read interface - Done!
Flowchart generator for keeping track of branching throughout the game - Suspended due to technical reasons, most likely will be built as a separate tool in the future.
Word counter for total and per playthrough estimates - Total counter done, per playthrough counter suspended due to change in direction for the testing suite.
Systems for running full tests of the game in search of errors in commands. - Done!

CavusRex

Update 0.6.1 has just been released for download on the website and brings with it a few new things.

Bug fixes:

Added an error message for the condition parser for when the system fails to find a chosen variable or convert text to a number. This was done to stop the page builder from crashing completely if an invalid value was inserted into the condition. If this error occurs the result will be defaulted to true and page generation will continue.

New customization and page building features:

You can now individually color choice buttons. The system functions in much the same way as coloring a page, but colors only apply to buttons on the current page and won’t carry over beyond it.
Expanded the conditional elements feature to include an alternative content section. These blocks will be executed if the specified condition is not met. Adding elements to it functions the same as with normal conditional elements.

Player accessibility features:

Added the option to force a simple, high contrast UI. Upon selecting the option in the menu, backgrounds will be defaulted to black, the font will be set to Songbird’s default and colored white and choice buttons will be forced into their default style.

CavusRex

Update 0.7.1 is now available for download on the website and brings with it a few new things.

Bug fixes:

Fixed a bug that allowed for using the save system to increase stats by loading in specific pages.

Quality of life additions:

Each choice label in the Page Editor window will now contain the destination page’s name. This should help with tracking which choice leads where and whether there are errors in declared destinations.
Added a word counter at the top of the Page Editor window that displays the total word count for your game.

New features:

Stats Screen Manager has been modified and expanded into a Special Feature Manager that will allow authors to optionally enable special windows with extra functionality for their games. Currently available functions include the already existing stats window and a new manager for a leveling system.
Expanded the Save/Load module to allow for a custom number of manual save slots. The option can be found in a dedicated tab of the Special Feature Manager. Setting the number to 0 will limit the game to only allow for loading in autosaves.
Introduced a new framework for creating a quick and easy leveling system that can be optionally attached to any game and used to put character progression into the reader’s hands. The editor for it can be found in a dedicated tab of the Special Feature Manager.

Game interface:

Multiple minor UI improvements focused mainly on the scalability of the in game interface and its sub menus.

CavusRex

Update 0.8.1 is ready for download and brings in the initial implementation of the last few features planned for the open beta, as well as a correction to the roadmap regarding some less important features that are currently suspended in development due to their feasibility. Nonetheless here's the actual changes present in this patch:

New features:

Expanded the bonus screen editor with a codex menu for building mini lore encyclopedias accessible during the game. This will be further expanded in the next update to give it depth and customizability.
Introduced a testing suite window that allows users to quickly check all user defined commands for errors. The module will be treated as done for now, but might be expanded later if there is demand for it.

Editor interface:

Tab select buttons now always stay at the top of their respective windows independent of scroll position.
Other minor editor UI tweaks.

CavusRex

Update 0.9.1 is now out and is the last beta update before a full release, which will take place next month. It completes the roadmap and makes the editor a fully functional tool for creating IF type games from the technical side of things. Here's the whole list of changes:

New features:

Implemented a system for managing links in your text. You can now use a <link=” ”> tag to wrap a piece of text that you want to turn into a link. Links created this way can lead to external websites (URL must include http:// or https:// to be functional) as well as directly to specific codex entries by using the Codex:X:Y syntax. Links tagged this way will be automatically styled for visibility and color coded based on where they send the reader to.

Finalized systems:

Added a summary log that informs about completing the test and outputs the total number of errors caught.
Added conditional statements to the codex allowing for limiting the visibility of entries and categories based on author defined variables. The syntax for those conditions is the same as in all other occurrences. Displaying entries via text links in game functions independently of whether the entry is visible for the player via Codex menu.

Other changes:

Minor UI tweaks to both editor windows and game interface, including a new credits window located inside the settings menu.

CavusRex

I'm very happy to announce that Songbird Editor reached its first complete update at 1.0 and is now officially out of beta. Does this mean there will be no more updates to it? No. It simply means that I've officially completed everything I set out to do with it from my side of things and at this point any updates will be mainly bug fixes and an occasional extra feature based on user feedback. Without much ado here's what new and fixed stuff there is in the update itself:

New features:

Implemented a system for functions. You can now prepare a set of commands, or a mathematical operation which may be called using a single keyword by prefacing it with $. Functions can be called directly in command blocks or as part of a mathematical equation. Functions can be built and edited under a dedicated tab in the special feature manager.
Added a system for creating and selecting themes for game UI. By default every game comes with 4 themes. It’s possible for the author to expand this list with custom themes. Selected theme will be remembered between game sessions. Readability mode, coloring pages and placing background images remains fully functional, but can cause some minor weirdness with tinting if a theme is changed with a background image active.

Bug fixes:

Fixed an error where implementing a complex enough formula into round: caused the rounding to be skipped during calculation.
Fixed the settings menu not displaying correctly on first launch. (Yes, I know finally)

Other changes:

To make interaction with functions smoother, calculations will no longer throw errors if no operation is detected and instead will just return the part it identified as valid.

CavusRex

Out due to popular demand update 1.0.1 brings in a small change to the editor UI as well as a new variable related feature that might help with managing a lot of samey variables like pronouns and stuff. Not big enough for an update to warrant a full decimal, but something nonetheless important.

New features:

Implemented lists into the variable system. Now any number or string variable can be treated as a list of those variables. To choose a specific variable from said list users need to write its id in square brackets just after the list’s name like so: list[X]. For a full introduction to lists please refer to documentation found on the forum and in the attached file.

Editor UI changes:

Add page element buttons moved to the bottom to reduce the amount of scrolling needed when building a page. Add variable button now fixed to the top regardless of scroll position for the same reason.

Update: Hotfix 1.0.1b has been issued to fix multiple reported bugs with the editor as well as adjust some stuff:

Fixed a bug with the last choice function of conditional blocks not executing.
Fixed a bug with variables embedded in conditional text elements not converting correctly.
Fixed a bug where the page editor crashed if the destination page in simple navigation was higher than the total number of pages currently existing.
Fixed an issue with word count heavily underestimating the total number of words. (it now overestimates within a 2% margin of error compared to most word document programs)
Testing Suite now informs users if a page/scene number exceeds the number of pages existing.

The hotfix is now downloadable on the website, all guides and licenses remain unaffected.

CavusRex

Update 1.1.1 has been released for public download and contains a few significant changes and bug fixes along with a new cool feature of the stat screen. Here's a full list of changes:

New features:

Added the option to create bars in the stats page to visually show the value of a stat. These bars can be customized independently and take in number variables to determine their fill amount

Testing suite changes:

Added the stats page as an element to be tested through the testing suite. Now any errors made in its setup will be shown in the same way as when testing game scenes.
Minor changes to how test logs are displayed for improved clarity.

Game bugfixes:

Fixed an issue where after a fresh install pressing play didn’t change the theme to the default one. The issue should also be fixed for when the player clears all preference files.
Multiple fixes centered around game UI and automatically scaling to better match device resolution and avoid menu overflow, especially on phones with narrower screens.