Best way to submit scripts for voice work

[ameliori]

Hi everyone! So here is the problem.. I write my story directly into Ren'py.. Not sure if this is weird or if this the industry standard. I just thought that it would make things more efficient somehow.

Now... As good as this process is (no more funky characters and indent problems), I was just wondering how to pack this said script for a voice work submission. Is there a more efficient way than copy-pasting? I've tried the "Dialogue" Feature in Renpy, and I still had to edit a lot of it, especially the order.

How would you approach this? Is there a coding trick for this as well? Thank for the help everyone!

[RotGtIE]

I write my story directly into Ren'py..

No! Bad writer, bad! No cookie!

Well, since we're past the point of deciding where to write your script in the first place, the damage is done, and it's time to un-fuck yourself. If it were me, I'd grit my teeth and peel my way through the whole thing manually and transport all of the prose into a proper word processing document, even if it's just a .txt file. For one thing, it'd realistically be the only way to be absolutely sure I got everything right. For another, it would be my just desserts for having made the mistake in the first place.

Just roll up those sleeves and get crackin'.

[ameliori]

Oh lol @ RotGtIE! Your reply made me laugh! But it's not entirely my fault! I remember asking the forum the best way to write scripts and everyone was unanimous when they said I should do it directly into Renpy. I was but a wee impressionable lass! http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... =4&t=26301

But I guess if there is no other way around it, I'd have to copy-paste the whole thing... >_< (I was afraid of that...)

[Arowana]

Ah no, please don't start copying-paste your script out of Renpy! I'm 99% sure that's unnecessary for what you're trying to do. Renpy’s “Extract Dialogue” feature is by far the best method, especially if you're using Automatic Voice.

Once you extract the lines, you can use Excel to automatically filter them by characters. You shouldn't have to edit them that much. IIRC “Extra Dialogue” lists lines in order of their appearance in each .rpy file (where the .rpy files themselves are arranged alphabetically). Is that not the order you want?

I remember asking the forum the best way to write scripts and everyone was unanimous when they said I should do it directly into Renpy. I was but a wee impressionable lass!

I think it’s more efficient to write directly in Renpy, too. You’re saving a lot of time by avoiding the copy-pasting step. (I’ve used Word since forever and am too set in my ways to change, haha, so I speak from experience!)

If it were me, I'd grit my teeth and peel my way through the whole thing manually and transport all of the prose into a proper word processing document, even if it's just a .txt file.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantage of using a .txt file? You can open .rpy in a text editor too, just like you would with a .txt. I often read .rpy files in Notepad++, for example.

[ameliori]

Thanks for the help Arowana! Arranging the excel file by character is a good suggestion. I might try that. As for the rpy arrangement.. err, yeah, the scripts are descriptive and not arranged alphabetically. Also, the choices is in a separate rpy file, so it doesn't appear with the rest of the story. :<

The Notepad++ suggestion is actually pretty good too. Looks like I may have to do some copy and pasting either way. I'm curious about the Automatic Voice feature tho!

[Arowana]

As for the rpy arrangement.. err, yeah, the scripts are descriptive and not arranged alphabetically. Also, the choices is in a separate rpy file, so it doesn't appear with the rest of the story. :<

Perhaps you could number most of the scripts in the order that you want? It's interesting that all the choices are in a separate file, though; don't know if I've ever seen that before. ^^

From what I've heard from friends, though, you don't usually show VAs your whole script, just the lines for their character. So I'd imagine the order of the lines is not as important, since they're out of context anyway. My friends say that you're supposed to write notes next to each line, explaining the tone, emotion, etc. you are looking for. So as long as you give good directions, any order might be fine?

I'm curious about the Automatic Voice feature tho!

I would definitely recommend using Automatic Voice. Else you will have to manually code in the voice files for every line, and that's a huge pain.

[ameliori]

Perhaps you could number most of the scripts in the order that you want? It's interesting that all the choices are in a separate file, though; don't know if I've ever seen that before. ^^

O_O Oh I didn't realize that was weird. I just call labels from the choices rpy. With all the branching, I thought the code would look neater that way.

From what I've heard from friends, though, you don't usually show VAs your whole script, just the lines for their character. So I'd imagine the order of the lines is not as important, since they're out of context anyway. My friends say that you're supposed to write notes next to each line, explaining the tone, emotion, etc. you are looking for. So as long as you give good directions, any order might be fine?

Ohh really!? That just made things simpler then! Is it advisable to have the VAs, or at least, the director play a sample of the game? Eh.. That seems a bit out of scope, isn't it... Hmm..

I would definitely recommend using Automatic Voice. Else you will have to manually code in the voice files for every line, and that's a huge pain.

That was one of my concerns in the Voicing aspect. It sounded tedious. At least this way, I only have to match the identifiers, right? Or... that's the way I understand how this works.

[Arowana]

O_O Oh I didn't realize that was weird. I just call labels from the choices rpy. With all the branching, I thought the code would look neater that way.

Oh, I see! No, that totally makes sense! I thought you were putting all the scene variations for every choice in one file or something, haha. If you're just calling labels from "choices.rpy," I assume there won't be many VA lines (if any) to extract from that file, so should be fine. ^^

Ohh really!? That just made things simpler then! Is it advisable to have the VAs, or at least, the director play a sample of the game? Eh.. That seems a bit out of scope, isn't it... Hmm..

Hmm, I think my friend just sends character-specific lines to each VA without showing them the rest of the script/game, since they might not have time to look at it. But maybe this varies from person to person? If you're working with a VA director, you can ask them what they prefer. And I guess it can't hurt to provide a sample link if you have one!

That was one of my concerns in the Voicing aspect. It sounded tedious. At least this way, I only have to match the identifiers, right? Or... that's the way I understand how this works.

Yeah, just name the sound file using the line ID generated by Renpy. Should be lots easier.

[ameliori]

Thanks Arowana! This is all helpful advice!