List software you use here

[Samu-kun]

I couldn't get Anim8or to work on Windows7 (even using XP compatibility.) The troubleshooter just reported it as "incompatible".

I'm still using Vista x64 so I don't know how to get it working.

Try browsing through this for help.
http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html

[pinkmouse]

I'm windoze only (XP and Win7).

Graphics:
Gimp - colouring scanned-in pencil or ink drawings.
I used to use Photoshop, but then had to switch to a cheaper (i.e. free) alternative. I found the switch difficult because of a few small but nonetheless irritating UI decisions. To be fair, I think that a large part of the problem was because the two programs are so similar. I'd be using GIMP quite happily, get absorbed and then absent-mindedly do something the PS way. It of course wouldn't work and I'd be rudely jerked out of "the zone."

The only thing which still irritates me is that when moving part of an image that's on a separate layer, you have to click on a non-transparent pixel, otherwise it moves the highest layer with a non-transparent pixel at the point you clicked. (Usually the background layer, since that has no transparency permitted.) This makes adjusting the line-art layer a real PITA at times.


Inkscape - trying to learn this but it's a slow process for me.
Bamboo Fun tablet - bought ages ago, but my old machine didn't have enough oomph to cope, so I'm having another go now since hardware death forced me to upgrade my laptop. It doesn't seem to talk to GIMP too well, but that could just be me.

Text:

I'm finding it difficult to write story text and dialogue directly into RenPy - I get distracted, not only by all the programming syntax but by the display requirements too, which screw with my paragraphing. So I write the "story" elsewhere, and then paste it into RP and add the scene, character etc bits then.

Ywriter (Free) - a word processor designed for writing novels. It deals with a large text by splitting it up into smaller scenes and chapters. I use a scene for each "label" in RenPy and a new Chapter each time the plot-line forks. The program can also store Character information (bios, descriptions, plot arcs etc) and Location information (which I don't use, much). It can also store reference images, but I haven't used that at all. I like it because the program is obsessive about auto-saving, and auto-backups, and all of the content is saved as .rtf files, so you can always open them with something.

Jarte (Free version) - It's got a simple, uncluttered interface, and a very small footprint, which means it's very quick to open and scribble down notes in. BEWARE though that you have to switch auto-saving on, as it's off by default. I once lost almost a day's work through forgetting to do that after reinstalling it. Admittedly that was a pretty big file - about 50k words, but it soured me on the program for a while.

TiddlyWiki (Free)
Very useful for making notes during research, and it's a single html file so it's easy to copy and carry about. Each little chunk of text (called a Tiddler) can be linked to other chunks, and they can also have keywords associated with them. I found it very simple and intuitive to use.
There's also a variant called TWINE which is designed for writing CYOA games, but I found it too inflexible. YMMV.

FreeMind (Free)
A computerized version of the "pattern notes" first popularized by Tony Buzan in the '70s, where the subject is shown as a node in the centre of the page, and concepts are drawn as branching tree structures radiating from it. Good for when I'm learning a new subject and have done so much research that I'm getting muddled.

QML (Free)
Designed for writing text CYOA games, so I thought it might be useful for roughing out a RP game, but I found the addition of images changes the text so much that I'm now not sure if it's a useful way of working. Parsing the XML can be a pain in the butt, too.

[number473]

Re: GIMP, I think what you're looking for is

You can make the background layer transparent. When you open a new file, select advanced options, fill with, transparency.

[chronoluminaire]

I don't think that's the problem. He's already referring to using the Move tool, and using it in "Move the active layer" mode. The issue is, when you mouseover a layer and click to start moving it, if there's transparency there on the selected layer, it won't grab that layer, but whatever one has nontransparent colour at that pixel.

This is particularly irritating when you want to cut and paste a chunk of nearly-transparent pixels: there can be /nothing/ to grab on that layer, and in order to move it around at all you need to draw something solid to give you a handle. It's irritating.

Anyway, off topic.

[number473]

I checked, it does move the active layer even if you click on a transparent area as long as you've got 'move the active layer' checked.

But returning to the topic, I'll mention the we browser which I use which is Opera. The new Opera 10.50 has a sleeker design. I used to use chrome and liked the minimalistic features, but the new Opera is comparable in aesthetics. Also, you do not want to be using Chrome if you're on a slow connection, which I often am. Opera Turbo, however, will compress the website you are viewing for you and save bandwidth, essential on a slow connection. It has many built-in features which I have gotten used to (like mouse gestures and searching in the dress bar by keyword) that you would need an extension for in Firefox. The only thing I don't really like is the IRC client built in.

[LVUER]

I use Opera 10.10. Even right now, I'm using it to reply this post ^_^

Indeed opera now is definitely better than other browser (for me at least). I haven't use Chrome but IE and Firefox tends to hang a lot and works very very slow.

And I love Opera's login, "no image/cached image" option.

[Jake]

I use Opera 10.10. Even right now, I'm using it to reply this post ^_^

Then you should upgrade! :3

(Seriously, I find early releases in a major Opera version to be relatively unstable.)

[luminarious]

My list of software is ever-changing as I keep looking for _the best_ program that would make me a better person. For example, I am now trying out Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, because it allows me to storyboard my game, while also being good enough for lineart (it's vector-based but exports raster only).

As for Gimp, I absolutely hate programs that have multiple windows open at the same time.

• Opera -- for browsing, ever since v6 I think.
• Artrage, Photoshop, Irfanview -- for graphics
• Sketchup -- for 3D work
• Notepad2 -- for editing
• q10 -- for fullscreen writing
  I'm looking for an alternative, something more suited for screenwriting
• Office 2010 Onenote -- for story notes, character sketches etc
• MusicIP Mixer -- for music listening
• JDownloader -- for easy downloading from rapidshare, megaupload and so on

[electric]

Renpy + scite for visual novel ( free obviously )
Wordpad for writing
a combination of Sai, Artrage ( starter edition, free ) and Photoshop CS2 for coloring, line art , photo manipulation and textures.
Blender for 3D, free, awesome 3d modelling, animation and rendering software.
After effects CS3 for video editing
Irfanview , free, to visualize pictures and drawings
Super for video encoding ( free ).
Don't know about the audio part yet, I wish I had a mac, because I hear Garage band is easy to use to create loops.

In general, I like simple and straightforward software with clean user interfaces.

[dstarsboy]

Photoshop for art. Scrivner for script. Textmate for general text.

[KomiTsuku]

Photoshop Elements 7 (Because CS2 doesn't work the way I want it to)
Scite (the text editor)
Several dozen notebooks with more sketches, random ideas, and gibberish than the average computer can hold.

I'm old school. I have more programs on this computer than I know what to do with (legal too) but it is easier for me to continue using what I know.

[filsduloup]

i use:

- Flash mx for drawn, coloring and animation !
- Open office (free) for text, it is similar as Word
- Gimp (free) for filtre and effect !
- Dreamweaver for making website
- Renpy for make my visual novel
- ACID pro 0.6 for make sound !

[IonicMomo]

Well, from the perspective of a newbie...

Word: for writing.
Onenote: for planning, webbing, mapping, etc.
Inkscape: for art, although I have only scratched the surface level of its capabilities. I downloaded Gimp once, and it was scary.
Picasa: for photo viewing/editing.

[Meems]

Photoshop or Gimp for graphics editing - Photoshop if I'm using my desktop computer, Gimp if I'm on my laptop. My desktop's the one with the tablet installed, so I mostly use Photoshop.
Google Sketch-Up for building 3D environments - they get screenshotted and painted over in Photoshop/Gimp later on to make backgrounds.
Microsoft Word (on desktop) or OpenOffice Writer for general writing. If it's only quick notes, I'll occasionally use Notepad or WordPad instead. If it's song lyrics, I always use Notepad. No clue why.
OpenOffice Draw for making flowcharts. This is how I keep track of choices and branches in my VN. Though I'll often use a pen and paper instead.
I write dialogue directly into RenPy. I code at the same time, or if I can't (required sprite not ready, etc) I comment the line out so it can be easily added later.

[tigerkidde]

Really liking the potential for yWriter. The only two drawbacks personally are lack of active spell check in yWriter (the WhiteSmoke software is a way around this) and that it does not support my favorite little post script font that I've been in love with for the last few years.

TiddlyWiki didn't work out too well in the past for me. Not sure if they changed anything, but it was more difficult to port information over to a web page after I worked on TiddlyWiki.

But I think I'm converting most of me appropriately suited writing to yWriter since it's the closest offline exportable wiki-ish application that I can get me Gollum-like hadns on with the least amount of production overhead. I've spoken too much of it, it's time to sign off and use it! Mwee hee hee, my precious!

I'm windoze only (XP and Win7).

Graphics:
Gimp - colouring scanned-in pencil or ink drawings.
I used to use Photoshop, but then had to switch to a cheaper (i.e. free) alternative. I found the switch difficult because of a few small but nonetheless irritating UI decisions. To be fair, I think that a large part of the problem was because the two programs are so similar. I'd be using GIMP quite happily, get absorbed and then absent-mindedly do something the PS way. It of course wouldn't work and I'd be rudely jerked out of "the zone."

The only thing which still irritates me is that when moving part of an image that's on a separate layer, you have to click on a non-transparent pixel, otherwise it moves the highest layer with a non-transparent pixel at the point you clicked. (Usually the background layer, since that has no transparency permitted.) This makes adjusting the line-art layer a real PITA at times.


Inkscape - trying to learn this but it's a slow process for me.
Bamboo Fun tablet - bought ages ago, but my old machine didn't have enough oomph to cope, so I'm having another go now since hardware death forced me to upgrade my laptop. It doesn't seem to talk to GIMP too well, but that could just be me.

Text:

I'm finding it difficult to write story text and dialogue directly into RenPy - I get distracted, not only by all the programming syntax but by the display requirements too, which screw with my paragraphing. So I write the "story" elsewhere, and then paste it into RP and add the scene, character etc bits then.

Ywriter (Free) - a word processor designed for writing novels. It deals with a large text by splitting it up into smaller scenes and chapters. I use a scene for each "label" in RenPy and a new Chapter each time the plot-line forks. The program can also store Character information (bios, descriptions, plot arcs etc) and Location information (which I don't use, much). It can also store reference images, but I haven't used that at all. I like it because the program is obsessive about auto-saving, and auto-backups, and all of the content is saved as .rtf files, so you can always open them with something.

Jarte (Free version) - It's got a simple, uncluttered interface, and a very small footprint, which means it's very quick to open and scribble down notes in. BEWARE though that you have to switch auto-saving on, as it's off by default. I once lost almost a day's work through forgetting to do that after reinstalling it. Admittedly that was a pretty big file - about 50k words, but it soured me on the program for a while.

TiddlyWiki (Free)
Very useful for making notes during research, and it's a single html file so it's easy to copy and carry about. Each little chunk of text (called a Tiddler) can be linked to other chunks, and they can also have keywords associated with them. I found it very simple and intuitive to use.
There's also a variant called TWINE which is designed for writing CYOA games, but I found it too inflexible. YMMV.

FreeMind (Free)
A computerized version of the "pattern notes" first popularized by Tony Buzan in the '70s, where the subject is shown as a node in the centre of the page, and concepts are drawn as branching tree structures radiating from it. Good for when I'm learning a new subject and have done so much research that I'm getting muddled.

QML (Free)
Designed for writing text CYOA games, so I thought it might be useful for roughing out a RP game, but I found the addition of images changes the text so much that I'm now not sure if it's a useful way of working. Parsing the XML can be a pain in the butt, too.