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Dialogue files .soot

Table of contents

  1. Basic dialogue
  2. Speakers
  3. Name evaluation
  4. Markdown
  5. BBCode Evolved®
  6. Inserting state values
  7. Animation control
  8. Calling functions during text animation
  9. Calling node functions inline
  10. Lists
  11. Inserts
  12. Multi-line dialogue
  13. Meta keys
  14. Multi file
  15. Symbol cheat sheet

Basic dialogue 

Text without a speaker.

john: Text spoken by John.
: Text spoken by last speaker, John.

Speakers

Text with a : before it will have a speaker tag

mary: What year is it?

When no name is given, it will use the last one:

jane: As I was saying...
: These things happen for a reason.

Multiple speakers can be included with a space:

john mary jane paul: We all agree!

You can wrap a name in " to have it as is:

"Mysterious Stranger": Howdy.
: You don't remember me do you?
: (chuckles)

He removes the mask.

paul: It's me, Paul!

To use a : without a speaker, escape it like \:

My score\: [~score].

Name evaluation

The speaker tag(s) will be used to:

  • Look in State:
  • If it finds an object with get_string it calls get_string("speaker_name").
  • If it finds an object without get_string it looks for a name field.
  • If it finds a string, it uses that.
  • Otherwise it just output itself.

Markdown 

Some *italic*, **bold** and ***bold italic*** text.

BBCode Evolved®

Sooty’s BBCode works different, in that multiple tags can go inside a set of brackets. There are also a lot of new tags.

Learn more

Some [b;tomato]bold red text[] and some [i;deep_sky_blue]italic blue text.[]

Inserting state values

BBCode tags starting with ~ will evaluate as an evaluation.

Two plus two equals [~2+2].
Double my score is [~score * 2].

Stylize score as bold and red [~score;b;red].

Values can be piped into a function with |.

jane: I have over [~jane.money|commas] dollars!

In GDScript this would look something like:

return State.commas(State.jane.money)

Animation control

The caption animation can be paused, sped up, or held till user input.

Learn more.

We can pause[wait] the text.
We can hold until the user presses something.[hold] And then show some more text.
We can [pace=2]speed up the speed of the speaker.[pace=0.25] Or slow it down.

Calling functions during text animation

State functions $ ~ and node functions @ can be called at points in the animation by prefacing with a !.

Actions can be called at a point [!@camera zoom 2.0]. Got it?
Like any other tag [!@camera zoom;!@camera shake;!~score += 20] you can combine multiple in one.

Calling node functions inline

You can include node actions in ():

Learn more

john (jump): What was that!

# is like doing:

@john.jump
john: What was that!

Lists

Lists display one line per visit. So the next time you see them they will be different.

Learn more

# pick a random line
{<rand>}
    mouse: Eeks
    cow: Moos
    dog: Barks

They work in text as well.

jane: I love <rand|apples|pears|grapes|bananas>[].

# and with bbcode. note only one closing tag would be needed at end.
jane: I love <rand|[red]apples|[green]pears|[purple]grapes|[yellow]bananas>[].

Inserts

To make stylized lines easier to read and write, there are inserts:

WARNING: The whitespace on their sides is stripped before inserting.

# this is hard to read and write
mary: I love <rand|[red]apples[]|[purple]grapes[]|[yellow]bananas[]>, don't you?

# here is the same line, using inserts
mary: I love &abc, don't you?
    &abc=<rand|&a|&b|&c>  # now we can see &abc will be a 'list'
    &a=[red]apples[]      # it's items easier to read and style
    &b=[purple]grapes[]
    &c=[yellow]bananas[]

Multi-line dialogue

For blocks of text where you want whitespace preserved there is """":

""""
You can place *lots* of formatted text in one block.
        *Tabs*
            will
                be
                    preserved.

As will **whitespace**.
""""

If it has a speaker, they come first, and a condition can be placed behind.

paul: """" {{score > 20}}
I don't care what [b]they[] say, it's not happening.

    (He turned to look at the shore.)

Not now, not ever.
""""

If translating, add the #{} on the first line.

paul: """"  #{long_intro}
Once upon a time, a long time ago
  there lived a king
    in a castle...
""""

Meta keys

Files can have meta data for some internal uses.

Key Desc Example
#.IGNORE Don’t load this dialogue. Useful for debugging. #.IGNORE
#.id Manually set an id, instead of using file name. #.id: new_name

Multi file

Multiple dialogues can exist in one document.

Seperate them with --- and use #.id: dialogue_id

#swamps.soot

=== start
  Where to?
    |> Swamp castle. => swamp_castle/start


---
#.id: swamp_castle

=== start
    I never knew there was a castle in this swamp.

Symbol cheat sheet

Pattern About Example
--- New document.  
# comment These are just for you, and are ignored by the system. # TODO: Rewrite these lines.
#.meta File meta properties. #.id: dialogue_id
#{line_id} Line ids. Used for translations, lists, and choices.  
=== flow id The start of a flow; a series of steps to run through. === chapter_1
text Text to show the user. Once upon a time...
name: text Text with a speaker. robot: Are you sure about this?
&id=text Inserts itself into parent text. &name=[b;deep_blue_sky]Mr. Blue[]
>>> option text Option for a menu. \|> Yes, take me there.
+>> option text Options insert menu. +> quest_*
=> flow_id Goto a flow. => chapter_2
=> soot_id/flow_id Goto a flow in a different file. => day_2/morning
== flow_id Call a flow, then return back to this line. == describe_scene
== soot_id/flow_id Call a flow in a different file, then return back to this line. == funcs/reset_stats
>< End the current flow. If called from a ==, this returns, otherwise ends the dialogue. ><
>><< End the dialogue. Optionally you can pass a message that will be signaled. >><< end_msg
__ Does nothing. Represents an empty step in the flow. __
(()) Add’s properties to a line. ((flag pos:20,30 tint:red))
\|\| Add following lines below self. >>> Go west. \|\| You travel west. \|\| @sfx wind_blows
{[list_type]} List. ` `
> command    
@node.function Call’s a node group function. @damage player 20 fire:true
$state.function Call’s a state function. $player.damage 20 fire:true
~state evaluation Evaluates an expression on state data. ~score += 20 * score_multiplier(player.stats)
*varout Returns a var.
Useful for state machines and MATCH.		 *true 0.1 tint:blue on:true
Will output:
[true, 0.1, {"tint"="blue", "on":true}
{{condition}} For only displaying lines that pass. mary: Oh wow, you brought it. {{talked_to_mary and player.item_count("spoon") > 1}}
{(case)} Case. Used with MATCH.