Storyboard suggestions

[pyremius]

A few ideas from creating my first plots.

Visual "completed" flag that is not revealed to the players. This would allow the GM to track what is / is not completed, including for those elements about which the players have no knowledge.

Topic Points. Objects that are nothing more then links to a specific topic. Very useful for tables or frequently-used references for which you want a reminder immediately present.

Staggered Plot Points. When there are parallel Plot Points, stagger the row's distance from the branch point. with each branch's elements at the same level, the total width becomes quite large in the Vertical layout. Staggering the branches would allow a much tighter arrangement, especially when using the plot for navigation.

[AEIOU]

+1 +1 +1

[rob]

Originally Posted by pyremius

Visual "completed" flag that is not revealed to the players. This would allow the GM to track what is / is not completed, including for those elements about which the players have no knowledge.

So would this just be a "checkbox" or something along those lines? That's what it sounds like to me, but I want to be sure this is what you're envisioning.

Originally Posted by pyremius

Topic Points. Objects that are nothing more then links to a specific topic. Very useful for tables or frequently-used references for which you want a reminder immediately present.

How is a "Topic Point" different from a plot point? You can associate a topic with a plot point, and the plot point even inherits the name of the topic if you leave it empty. So what different behaviors would there be for a "Topic Point"? Please help me understand so I can add this to the todo list accurately.

Originally Posted by pyremius

Staggered Plot Points. When there are parallel Plot Points, stagger the row's distance from the branch point. with each branch's elements at the same level, the total width becomes quite large in the Vertical layout. Staggering the branches would allow a much tighter arrangement, especially when using the plot for navigation.

Have you tried a "loop friendly" layout as an alternative? I'm adding this request to the todo list, but I don't see it being as urgent a need as many other tasks on the list. So hopefully the "loop friendly" layout can give you a workable interim solution.

[Farling]

Originally Posted by rob

So would this just be a "checkbox" or something along those lines? That's what it sounds like to me, but I want to be sure this is what you're envisioning.

This sounds suitable, since it is merely a way for the GM to know which parts of the plot the party have encountered.

[pyremius]

Originally Posted by rob

So would this just be a "checkbox" or something along those lines? That's what it sounds like to me, but I want to be sure this is what you're envisioning.

Any form of visual marker on the plot point itself. Currently they change from blue to green if the contents have been revealed. However, in the situation where the PCs aren't supposed to know the information at this time you don't want to reveal it. (So long as the plot itself isn't revealed the plot point could be, but any accidents could give away information).

A possible scenario: If the PCs publicly destroy the local cult chapter (as opposed to doing so quietly and not taking credit), a cult informant leaves town to notify the rest of the cult about the PCs. This trip will take 11 days, 2 more days are needed for deliberations, and then 15 days to notify an assassin and have them arrive in the original town. Being able to flag the "Runner sent" plot point somehow would provide a reminder that this path is "active" in the game. Possible reasons it's not active are: the PCs kept their part in the cult's destruction quiet (perhaps the government takes credit, and the cult has other plans for them); the PCs spot the runner and ambush him, preventing the cult from knowing to send the assassin.

Originally Posted by rob

How is a "Topic Point" different from a plot point? You can associate a topic with a plot point, and the plot point even inherits the name of the topic if you leave it empty. So what different behaviors would there be for a "Topic Point"? Please help me understand so I can add this to the todo list accurately.

There are probably better ways to do this. Basically, I wanted to use the storyboard to show not only the adventure's plot, but also some key tables and other data sets. Having them look different from the plot points would serve as a reminder the contents might be relevant even while the party is within multiple plot points.

Originally Posted by rob

Have you tried a "loop friendly" layout as an alternative? I'm adding this request to the todo list, but I don't see it being as urgent a need as many other tasks on the list. So hopefully the "loop friendly" layout can give you a workable interim solution.

I just tried looking at the "loop friendly" version, and it's actually spaced things out even wider, to the point where I can't really use it for navigation as there's not enough plot points on screen to see the adventure's flow. It's definitely cleaner, although starting at the bottom-right and working up is a bit strange since both other choices start at the top-left. The current vertical layout works well enough for navigating, so I doubt I'll bother voting it up on the survey. The next time that part of the code gets revisited for a larger overhaul, it might be an easy add, though.

[Dark Lord Galen]

Originally Posted by Farling

This sounds suitable, since it is merely a way for the GM to know which parts of the plot the party have encountered.

Or have already past without the party even acting on it.

I can see various situations that the PCs might go path "A" and could go path "C", but path "B" may no longer be available to them because timing or situations may have changed.

[Dark Lord Galen]

Originally Posted by pyremius

I just tried looking at the "loop friendly" version, and it's actually spaced things out even wider, to the point where I can't really use it for navigation as there's not enough plot points on screen to see the adventure's flow. It's definitely cleaner, although starting at the bottom-right and working up is a bit strange since both other choices start at the top-left. The current vertical layout works well enough for navigating, so I doubt I'll bother voting it up on the survey. The next time that part of the code gets revisited for a larger overhaul, it might be an easy add, though.

It would be helpful if the connectors from one element ( or even better relationships too) could have "grips" allowing you to lengthen or even rearrange how they are displayed. Sometimes my story plot lines get very long, and would be helpful to arrange (and rearrange) as things get added or changed.

[Farling]

I hadn't realised that this was referring to the Story Plot display.

I was thinking that this should be applied to topics also, so that I can see which topics have been seen/bypassed by the players.

[Caktus]

+1 for plot point/topic completed flag. I currently use DONE identifier for scenes, quests and storylines but this does not reflect to storyboard plot points (Except when hovering the plot point and it shows the associated topic name and identifier).