Homer Doc

Homer Versions history

Homer Docs

What are nodes?

Nodes are elements that facilitate the creation of your story flow.

To craft a non-linear narrative, you need specific tools that can define the multiple potential story paths. These paths depend on the user's interactions and choices throughout the story's development.

Different types of nodes available in Homer encapsulate these tools.

Add a new node

To add a new node right-click on the board and choose the node you want to add.

Nodes with multiple content line

Nodes of type Text, Choice, Conditional, Variables, and Sequence can have multiple content lines. Open the node menu and click the “Add line” command (or use the shortcut UI & Shortcuts) to add a new line to the node.

In the case of nodes of type Text and Sequence you have the option to configure to cycle through the line of content in various ways:

Cycles Type

• List. The text will be displayed sequentially, with each item appearing one after the other in the order you create each time the flow pauses at this node, and it will stop at the last item.
• Loop. ****The same as the List but it will restart from the beginning after the last.
• Random. The text is randomly chosen each time the flow pauses at this node.
• Smart Random. The same as Random but excludes the one already chosen.

Node Types

Start node

The Start node is automatically added to the flow at the flow creation.

It defines the beginning of the flow and must be connected with the node you want the flow to start with.

Connections

The Start node has only one connection to link it to the next step. Connections

Text node

The text node is used to create the narrative of your story; together with the choice node is used to display text.

Each Text node is linked to an actor (Actors) representing the speaker.

In the Text node, you can set and display variables Variables

Formatting text

Text inside Text nodes can have basic formats:

• Bold
• Italic
• Underline

right click on the selected text to display the menu

In line Variations

You can add inline variations using the following syntax: [[LIST 1|2|3]]

you can use: LIST, LOOP, RND (random), and SRND (smart random) to define the order the variations are displayed.

In line Conditions

You have two ways to define conditional content:

Simple way [IF $CONDITION ? "b" : "c"]

where “$CONDITION” is a global or local boolean variable Variables ($BOOL_VARIABLE or %BOOL_VARIABLE) or a condition that returns a boolean.

Complex way

[IF $CONDITION]

First text

[ELSE IF $CONDITION]

Second text

[ELSE]

Third text

[/IF]

In line Special Attributes

To apply an inline special attribute to a snippet of text, follow these steps:

1. Select the text fragment you wish to modify.
2. Right-click on the selected text.
3. Choose the "Special Attribute" option from the menu.
4. In the prompt that appears, enter the name and value of the attribute you want to assign.
5. Once confirmed, the selected text will be encapsulated within a clear and easily interpretable tag, reflecting your specified attribute name and value as for example: [attr color=#DE4E8B]my text[/attr]

Connections

The Text node has only one connection to link it to the next step. Connections

Choice node

The Choice node allows you to outline a series of actions for varying story paths.

Each line within this node presents an action from which the user can choose to advance.

Every Choice node has an associated actor (Actors) to denote the speaker.

The node features a header to summarize the action set.

To retract an action after selection during the execution, simply prepend its definition with [-].

Choices can also set as locked until a specific condition is met by adding this sintaxt before the text: [? $CONDITION ]

The Choice node can contain text, can set and display variables Variables

Connections