Lemma Soft Forums

Poll: https://linkto.run/p/WX28SJA3
Hi, there.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, so if I'm wrong, sorry about that.
I wanted to know if anyone would be interested in a Ren'Py dialogue editor.
Basically, it would be a text editor where you would be able to type your dialogue like you would type in a program that would support bold text, italics and all those other things Ren'Py text supports.
You would be able to export it as actual Ren'Py code, which you would then simply paste into your script.

I would write it using the .NET Framework in C# using WPF. However, if enough people are interested, I would write it in a different language or use a different system for the UI.

Anyway, what do you think? Would you like such a program? Does one already exist?

I'd use it if it worked okay. Been thinking of a similar thing myself (though by using Ren'Py)

I'm not sure I've heard of one existing before, but this would be extremely useful! I would definitely consider using something like that. Being able to export it as renpy code would effectively reduce the time to takes to put together the script. I like the efficiency it could bring to the table.

Put up a pool.

Not sure how much efficiency would be added compared to typing in Atom or Sublime if the writer is doing the programming. However, if it were able to convert, say, a Word file into renpy script, I could see it being useful for teams where programming/writing is separated (e.g., a writer who is unfamiliar with Atom/Sublime/renpy code writes in a separate word processor, which is converted by the programmer using your program).

Using Word macros? Someone would be able to write their dialogue in there, then export it to Ren'Py with the supported formatting intact.
Still, a separate dialogue editor might be better than that.

I certainly would be! My question/suggestion is how would defined characters be handled? That's the biggest feature I would want. For example, give a name and the actual tag for the character (for example "Eileen" "e") and then use it either like you would italics in a word processor (perhaps a key command like ctrl+1-9, or else just a simple button you can press). Color coding would be an even better (but obviously more likely to be difficult/tedious to implement) option.

This is mainly because I have no problem with typing dialog; it's a matter of having dyslexia somehow leading me to consistently mixing up character tags, especially if what I'm writing has a "main" character in the scene who speaks more often than the others. There's no spellcheck for that! It reaches a point where I have to straddle the line between typing the full name every single time, or using the more convenient (and tidy) shorter name tags. And even then, no matter which method I use, there's always some that slip through, and always some that get missed even during my own testing...

One more thought as well though for why I would support this kind of program: special characters. Sometimes it's hard to predict or recall which characters need to be escaped with a back slash, and it's annoying to look up the list every time or, alternatively, just put a back slash in front of every special character used. While I'm not new to programming and know the obvious ones, some languages have different rules, especially when between different game development programs (I'm looking at you, choicescript.) I can only imagine how overwhelming it might be to a new programmer.

TL;DR a way to match dialog to characters would make writing in ren'py infinitely more accessible, and I think processing characters that require an escape would be an additional boon

I think this sounds like a cool idea! I think it would help make ren'py feel more accessible to writer who don't want programming special cases to get in the way of writing. I know I was kind of reluctant to write directly into the game files at first because I thought I either had to program as I write (which seemed distracting) or program after I wrote everything (which is just tedious). I'm more used to writing and programming now at the same time, but an editor where I can just export a file with all the right coding for ren'py would be really nice. If you decide to make this, good luck!