Nodes and lines

Nodes

A node is one part of the story, like a scene in a play. A file holds as many nodes as you like. The game starts a conversation at a node, and moves between nodes with jumps and hops (Options, jumps and hops).

Add a node

Click Node at the top of the map, type a name and press Enter. Esc cancels.

Write the name in plain words, like Fishing Spot. In the file, the name becomes one word: FishingSpot. The Story Writer shows the plain words, with the file’s name beside them.

Typing > jump to a node that doesn’t exist also makes it.

Delete a node

Right-click its box on the map, then Delete node…. Tsumugi says what is in it, and how many jumps lead there. Those jumps then show as broken.

To get it back, undo straight after.

Rename a node

Double-click its name in the Count tab. Tsumugi changes every jump and hop to it, in every file. See Names and renaming.

Narration

A line with no name in front is narration. The game shows it without a character.

The gate creaks in the evening wind.

Tsumugi underlines lines that no character says, in case you forgot a name. If your game shows narration with no name on purpose, turn off Warn about lines no character says in Settings.

Characters

Type the character’s name, a colon, a space, then what they say:

Ayumi: Welcome, traveller! You look hungry.

• Names are one word in the file. Type Old Woman: and Tsumugi writes OldWoman:.
• Start typing a name and a menu lists your characters.
• Click a name to change the line to another character, or a new one.
• To type a name over, put the cursor at the start of the words and press ←. The name shows as it is in the file.
• Each character’s lines can have their own colour. See Settings.
• Copying lines brings each line’s name with it, so they paste with the same character speaking.

Portraits and expressions

A portrait is the picture of the character beside their words. The menu lists each character’s portraits, like Ayumi (happy). Pick one, and the line uses it. In the file it is saved as Ayumi_Happy:. The part after _ is the expression.

Point at a portrait in the menu to see it big before you pick it.

A character with no portrait yet gets an amber mark. Click their name to:

• Make a portrait…: a placeholder, a plain stand-in your artist replaces later.
• Use my own picture…: pick a PNG file.
• No art needed: for a voice, a sign or a narrator. Tsumugi stops asking for a portrait.

See Missing art and code.

Comments

A line that starts with // is a note for you. The game ignores it.

// TODO: Ayumi should sound more tired here.

Hide comments with the Show menu (Find and filter).

Text styles

Your game draws text with Scribble, so Scribble’s tags work in your lines:

Ayumi: The sea is [wave]so calm[/wave] tonight.

• ⌘ I makes text italic, for thoughts.
• Tsumugi knows Scribble’s own tags, and the colours, sprites and effects your game adds. A tag it doesn’t know is flagged, in case of a typo.
• To show a real square bracket, write [[.
• {$name} shows a variable’s value in the text.

Text that fits the box

Your game shows dialogue in a text area. Only so much fits. Tell Tsumugi its size under Game Text Area in Settings.

After that, any line that is too long gets an underline on the part that won’t fit. Tsumugi measures the text with your game’s own font, the way your game wraps it.

Pages

Some games show several lines at once, as one page, until the next option or wait. If yours does, set Lines shown at once to Several together under Game Text Area. Tsumugi then warns when a page is too long. Type > wait before a line to start a new page there.

Tidy style

Auto-fix style (in Settings, on unless you turn it off) keeps the file tidy while you write. It fixes spaces, indentation and blank lines, writes each name as one word, and takes away options you added but left empty.

Tips

Now and then, a faint tip at the end of the line you are on shows a Chatterbox feature that fits there. Click its × to stop that tip. Turn tips off with Show tips while writing in Settings.

Spelling

Misspelt words are underlined. Point at one for suggestions.

• Add to dictionary: for names and made-up words everyone on the game uses. The word is saved in tsumugi.json, so your team shares it.
• Just for me: keeps the word on your computer only, for every game.

British and American spellings are both accepted. To check one only, pick it under Spelling in in Settings. To turn spelling off, untick Check spelling.

Spelling checks dialogue, narration and options. It skips commands, tags, variables and comments.