Difference between revisions of "Fiction Viewer"

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(it's not my story :))
(3.6.12 is very old; updating the link to 3.7.0)
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[[Image:2_fictionviewer.png|thumb|right|250px|The Fiction Viewer, FS2 style (click to enlarge)]][[Image:FictionViewer.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Fiction Viewer (Wing Commander Saga style) with [http://web.archive.org/web/20010308090656/vbb.volition-inc.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001723.html the first few paragraphs of Tell A Story] (click to enlarge)]]
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[[Image:2_fictionviewer.png|thumb|right|250px|The Fiction Viewer, FS2 style (click to enlarge)]][[Image:FictionViewer.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Fiction Viewer (Wing Commander Saga style) with the first few paragraphs of [http://web.archive.org/web/20010308090656/vbb.volition-inc.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001723.html Tell A Story] (click to enlarge)]]
  
  
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The Fiction Viewer is the first window that will come up in a mission, followed by the Command Briefing—if the mission has both.
 
The Fiction Viewer is the first window that will come up in a mission, followed by the Command Briefing—if the mission has both.
  
==Using the Fiction Viewer (3.6.12. RC1 and newer)==
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==Using the Fiction Viewer (3.6.12 and newer)==
*Create a text file (.txt) that you want to show off with the Fiction Viewer, then put it into FreeSpace 2/data/fiction or FreeSpace 2/<your mod's directory name>/fiction.
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*Create a text file (.txt) that you want to show off with the Fiction Viewer, then put it into FreeSpace 2/data/fiction or FreeSpace 2/<your mod's directory name>/data/fiction.
 
*Open the mission in FRED. Select Editors --> Fiction Viewer and type in the file's name that you want to display, with its extension (for example: intro.txt).
 
*Open the mission in FRED. Select Editors --> Fiction Viewer and type in the file's name that you want to display, with its extension (for example: intro.txt).
*It is necessary to include self-made bits of interface art in your mod, since there is no official Volition art package for this screen. A sample one can be found here: http://blueplanet.fsmods.net/E/FictionViewer.7z The files in that archive must be extracted into the mods' data/interface folder. Without these, the game will not be able to display the fiction texts.
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*The fiction viewer requires additional interface art not provided by Volition, since this is a FSO enhancement. Without this, the game will not be able to display the fiction viewer and will skip right to the standard briefing (or command briefing). These files are available in mv_core in the mediavps, or you can download them separately from http://blueplanet.fsmods.net/E/fictionviewer.7z. The files in that archive must be extracted into the mod's data/interface folder.
*There are two modes for the fiction viewer. The default one is the "FS2" style, which retains the standard layout used by the FS2 interface art. The other is the "Wing Commander Saga" style, which moves the "Accept" button to the lower left side of the screen, and is optimized for the interface art style of WCS. If you have interface art for the "WCS" style, you need to use  "fictionviewerb" as the filename for the main interface background, and a fitting interface mask file named "fictionviewer-mb.pcx". For the 1024x768 resolution art, the filenames must be prefixed with "2_" (2_fictionviewerb, for example).
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*There are two modes for the fiction viewer. The default one is the "FS2" style, which retains the standard layout used by the FS2 interface art. The other is the "Wing Commander Saga" style, which moves the "Accept" button to the lower left side of the screen, and is customized for the interface art style of WCS. If you have interface art for the "WCS" style, you need to use  "fictionviewerb" as the filename for the main interface background, and a fitting interface mask file named "fictionviewer-mb.pcx". For the 1024x768 resolution art, the filenames must be prefixed with "2_" (2_fictionviewerb, for example).
 
 
==Using the Fiction Viewer (pre-3.6.12. RC1)==
 
To use the Fiction Viewer, take the following steps:
 
*Go to [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,50565.0.html this] thread and download the interface art. Extract the VP file from the ZIP file and put it into FreeSpace 2/data or FreeSpace 2/<the name of your mod's directory>
 
*Download the most stable official 3.6.10 [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,64520.0.html here] or get an experimental build from [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/board,173.0.html this] board.
 
*Create a text file (.txt) that you want to show off with the Fiction Viewer, then put it into FreeSpace 2/data/fiction or FreeSpace 2/<your mod's directory name>/fiction.
 
*Create a mission which you want to use the Fiction Viewer, then [[Editing a mission in a text editor|open it in a text editor]], adding the following line before "#Command Briefing":
 
 
 
#Fiction Viewer
 
 
$File: YourFileName.txt
 
 
 
===Pre-3.6.12.-specific notes===
 
*Perhaps most importantly: Every time you save the mission in FRED, this piece of code will disappear! Add the Fiction Viewer code last before publishing the mission.
 
*The Fiction Viewer code must precede the Command Briefing code, otherwise the mission file will be broken.
 
*There is a colon (:) after "File", but there isn't anything after "Fiction Viewer".
 
*The only art style available on these builds is the "WCS" style.
 
  
 
==General notes==
 
==General notes==
 
*You must provide the file's extension (.txt), otherwise the game engine will assume the file has no extension, and look for that.
 
*You must provide the file's extension (.txt), otherwise the game engine will assume the file has no extension, and look for that.
 
*Since the text file is not in the mission file, semicolons (;) and double quotation marks (" ") will not break the mission code.
 
*Since the text file is not in the mission file, semicolons (;) and double quotation marks (" ") will not break the mission code.
 +
*The length of the text is effectively unlimited, since it is loaded on the fly and not subject to any of the hard-coded string limits.
 
*Color tags such as $r and $h will work.
 
*Color tags such as $r and $h will work.
 
*Characters that are not in the English alphabet (such as á, é) will not be displayed.
 
*Characters that are not in the English alphabet (such as á, é) will not be displayed.
 
*The interface art can be modified by extracting the files from the VP.
 
*The interface art can be modified by extracting the files from the VP.
*In 3.6.12 RC2 and later, the filename for the main interface screen has changed from "fvw" to "fictionviewer", to better follow the precedent set by the rest of the interface. Old interfaces must be adjusted for this, else it will cause a "No interface graphics found for the fiction viewer" error.  
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*In 3.6.12 and later, the filename for the main interface screen has changed from "fvw" to "fictionviewer", to better follow the precedent set by the rest of the interface. Old interfaces must be adjusted for this, else it will cause a "No interface graphics found for the fiction viewer" error.
 +
*In 3.6.12 and later, the fiction viewer allows a music track and a font to be defined for the fiction viewer. The font must also be listed in [[fonts.tbl]].
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 
*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,50565.0.html Fiction Viewer release thread]
 
*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,50565.0.html Fiction Viewer release thread]
*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,64520.0.html Official FreeSpace Open 3.6.10 release thread] (There are newer builds, but this one the most stable one)
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*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=70692.0 Official FreeSpace Open 3.7.0 release thread] (There are newer builds, but this one the most stable one)
*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68190.0 FreeSpace Open 3.6.12. Release Candidate 1] (The first build to allow Fiction Viewer management in FRED)
 
  
 
[[Category:FRED]]
 
[[Category:FRED]]
 
[[Category:Source Code Project]]
 
[[Category:Source Code Project]]

Revision as of 19:27, 3 September 2013

The Fiction Viewer, FS2 style (click to enlarge)
The Fiction Viewer (Wing Commander Saga style) with the first few paragraphs of Tell A Story (click to enlarge)


Fiction Viewer is a feature of FreeSpace Open 3.6.10 implemented by Goober5000. It is sort of an advanced Command Briefing that mission designers could use to deepen the story that they want to tell without using the actual Command Briefing.

The Fiction Viewer is the first window that will come up in a mission, followed by the Command Briefing—if the mission has both.

Using the Fiction Viewer (3.6.12 and newer)

  • Create a text file (.txt) that you want to show off with the Fiction Viewer, then put it into FreeSpace 2/data/fiction or FreeSpace 2/<your mod's directory name>/data/fiction.
  • Open the mission in FRED. Select Editors --> Fiction Viewer and type in the file's name that you want to display, with its extension (for example: intro.txt).
  • The fiction viewer requires additional interface art not provided by Volition, since this is a FSO enhancement. Without this, the game will not be able to display the fiction viewer and will skip right to the standard briefing (or command briefing). These files are available in mv_core in the mediavps, or you can download them separately from http://blueplanet.fsmods.net/E/fictionviewer.7z. The files in that archive must be extracted into the mod's data/interface folder.
  • There are two modes for the fiction viewer. The default one is the "FS2" style, which retains the standard layout used by the FS2 interface art. The other is the "Wing Commander Saga" style, which moves the "Accept" button to the lower left side of the screen, and is customized for the interface art style of WCS. If you have interface art for the "WCS" style, you need to use "fictionviewerb" as the filename for the main interface background, and a fitting interface mask file named "fictionviewer-mb.pcx". For the 1024x768 resolution art, the filenames must be prefixed with "2_" (2_fictionviewerb, for example).

General notes

  • You must provide the file's extension (.txt), otherwise the game engine will assume the file has no extension, and look for that.
  • Since the text file is not in the mission file, semicolons (;) and double quotation marks (" ") will not break the mission code.
  • The length of the text is effectively unlimited, since it is loaded on the fly and not subject to any of the hard-coded string limits.
  • Color tags such as $r and $h will work.
  • Characters that are not in the English alphabet (such as á, é) will not be displayed.
  • The interface art can be modified by extracting the files from the VP.
  • In 3.6.12 and later, the filename for the main interface screen has changed from "fvw" to "fictionviewer", to better follow the precedent set by the rest of the interface. Old interfaces must be adjusted for this, else it will cause a "No interface graphics found for the fiction viewer" error.
  • In 3.6.12 and later, the fiction viewer allows a music track and a font to be defined for the fiction viewer. The font must also be listed in fonts.tbl.

External links