CYOA press

Denim Demon · Jul 7, 2015

CYOA Press is a tool for compiling Codex CYOA-style Let's Plays to a single page, with only the authors posts and a style that is optimized for reading.

List of compiled books:
The Codexian Saga
Epic - Book One
Epic - Book Two
LEGEND
Myth: A New Age
Overlord
Test-Run
Warhammer: 41K

How to compile a LP?

The easiest thing you can do is to provide me with an LP index that I can feed to the program. The index is a flat list of chapters where each entry is in the following format:

<chapter-title> (| <post-url>)

For example:

一 · A Meeting with the Ashina | http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?posts/2843437

Note that the URL is optional, this is for including chapters that only organize the document structure but do not have any content. For example:

Prologue
一 · A Meeting with the Ashina | http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?posts/2843437
...
Chapter One: Wanderings of Adolescence
一 · Punishment and Exile | http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?posts/2849976

For a complete sample of an index you can check out this post by Nevill.

***

If you are comfortable with using NodeJS you can actually clone / download the repository and use the tool by yourself. The code is open source and hosted on Github.

Each book should have it's own folder that contains an index.txt - have a look the repository folder structure to get the idea. There you will also find samples on how you have to structure the index (Example: Legend) if you want to feed it to the program.
Note that the out/ folder will be cleared by the tool each time it is executed! Do not put any custom stuff in there!

To execute the tool you have to run the index.js and provide the path to the folder with the book that you want to compile. For example:

node index.js book=../books/legend

Note that the path is relative to the folder where node is executed. So in the example above you would have the following folder structure:

cyoa-press/

src/

index.js
...

books/

legend/

index.txt

Where node is executed from within cyoa-press/src/.

To-do:

Improve styles for spoilers - reduce text size for once
Improve styles for quotes - could basically use the same style as spoilers?
Improve index rendering - Use bulleted or numbered lists, use indentations for conveying chapter hierarchy
Compile WH42K
(Allow for switching backgrounds in settings menu)

OP:

Experiment: What if you could take a Codex CYOA LP and put it in a more readable form, with just the authors posts on a single page and a more readable text style?

So I wrote a little tool (Github) to do just that and applied it to treaves Legend LP. After reading the first chapters the result is (imo) pretty cool. I decided to post it here so I can get some feedback on what you guys think of the idea.

The tool can basically be applied to any other LP, so if there is interest I'll write up something on how to use it.

Baltika9 · Jul 7, 2015

You are a genius. Drown this man in fists.

a cut of domestic sheep prime · Jul 7, 2015

awesome. All of treave's lps absolutely deserve to be immortalized in ~~anime~~ book-like form.

Nevill · Jul 8, 2015

Denim Demon said:
I decided to post it here so I can get some feedback on what you guys think of the idea.

Cool, but I think there was at least one instance (possibly more) where two updates had a 'missing link' - a course of action or a plan buried somewhere in the DISCUSS - that is not immediately apparent from the updates themselves.

But then again, for those who want to know everything there is always the original thread.

As for the feedback about the program - it treats apostrophes funny and does not recognize italics:
Battle's End
Chapter Three: <i>Jianghu</i>
Otherwise everything is fine.

a cut of domestic sheep prime · Jul 8, 2015

Really though, I wish the LPs could be retooled into a more readable novel-like form. It'd require rewriting portions of them of course in order to provide more exposition and not have the choices. Then take those novels and have someone make a manga, then take that manga and have someone make an anime.

It seems a shame for so much content to go to waste, sitting on an internet form and only being read by a few hundred people.

Jester · Jul 8, 2015

Lambchop19 said:
It seems a shame for so much content to go to waste, sitting on an internet form and only being read by a few hundred people.

On other hand its nice to be one of those few hundred people. :obviously:

Denim Demon · Jul 17, 2015

treave · Jul 17, 2015

Denim Demon said:
I made a small update that fixed some missing chapters - looks like the LP index had a few broken links:

@treave Not sure if it's worth fixing in the OP?

Hm, the links aren't broken for me when I click on them from the OP post.

Also what the hell were you guys doing with the "quickloads"? I thought that would mess up the whole thing but it looks the story continues seamless on Icy Heart.

Yeah, that was fun. :troll:

Denim Demon · Jul 17, 2015

Weird.

For example the Pirate in Black in the OP links to: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/lp-cyoa-傳.85971/page-226#post-2952139

However when browsing the thread I find that post on page 225. The post id however is correct.

Is there some user settings on this forum that translates links within the forum? Something like number of post per page.

treave · Jul 17, 2015

I think it's likely that post ID is an overriding factor. You could try this format:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?posts/2952139

Kz3r0 · Jul 18, 2015

Barbarian

Rahdulan · Jul 18, 2015

Lambchop19 said:
Really though, I wish the LPs could be retooled into a more readable novel-like form. It'd require rewriting portions of them of course in order to provide more exposition and not have the choices. Then take those novels and have someone make a manga, then take that manga and have someone make an anime.

Would it be possible to skip certain parts of the posts? Like, I don't know, if all the "crunch" and given options were put under a spoiler tag so you would exclude spoiler section in order to keep just clean posts? Of course, this would apply to future CYOAs and alike because I doubt anyone would go and retool existing threads.

Denim Demon · Jul 24, 2015

Added features:
- Chapter titles now link to posts
- Added LP introduction texts

Added books:
- Test-Run (not sure how this one works out with its unique style of choices but it wasn't much work anyway)
- Overlord

I'll try to keep the Overlord one up to date as soon as new chapters are added.

After having read the Legend LP in its entirety I have to say I really like this format. The readability is just so much better than on the forums. Of course you miss out on a lot of context - and possibly fun, I mean it's pretty awesome to read some peoples analysis on what choices to take! Still if you're not in the mood for that or the LP is over anyway I think the compiled versions are a nice alternative.
As for choices, treaves writing style always includes a reference or some such on what choice was taken so that I was never at a complete loss at why things happened. It was very much possible to just read it like you would read a book.

Besides that it was a very entertaining piece of writing, so thanks @treave! Guess my next tool would be one to automatically brofist each of your LP posts

Denim Demon · Jul 24, 2015

root said:
You're a saint. Do the barbarian's 4x

edit: why cant I tag the barbarian?

I'll definitely plan to compile other LP's in the future when I'm in the mood. As for the barbarians 4x - it looks like the index is broken. The links are all in the style of the previous forum so they are no longer working. If someone can provide me with a working index (chapter names + links to the posts) I'd do it.

Nevill · Jul 24, 2015

Denim Demon said:
If someone can provide me with a working index (chapter names + links to the posts) I'd do it.

I volunteer. :salute:

Denim Demon, done.

Denim Demon · Jul 24, 2015

Whoa, that was fast! Thanks Nevill :salute:

Also the index was pretty much in the perfect format, if anyone else wants to have something compiled this is pretty much what I need.

Anyway here it is: The Codexian Saga

Reading this one isn't as smooth as there's a lot of 'out-of-character' talk from the barbarian in his posts which is a bit jarring. Maybe I'll clean up the scraped posts at some point.

Nevill · Jul 24, 2015

Well, let's try Myth this time. That one is still in progress, though.

It might not work very well, since the second half tends to get more and more freeform with each new chapter and a lot of information gets communicated outside of the updates (and sometimes completely new choices appear in-between the updates), but it should not affect the main body of the story too much.

Also, if you read Legend, did you also read the interludes that come with it? The links to them can be found on second-to-last page. A few of them are canon (the ones about Zhang Jue), so they might be worth including.

I'll probably add the 'CYOA press' support as a feature to the LPs in our database, with the corresponding links.

Nevill · Jul 25, 2015

root said:
i wonder how my 42k would fare. acts 1 and 2 were interesting, though 3 and 4 went to shit. maybe the first two could work as standalones

Let's see.

Needs the LP introduction text, like Legend. Also CODE tags were probably not the best ideas for extras - the program might not understand them (and it is a pain to view them as it is).

Also, why does everyone call it WH42K when it is set in the 41st millennium?

Denim Demon · Jul 25, 2015

So I added the Myth one:

Myth: A New Age

This one uses a lot of rather long spoiler tags which were just rendered as block quotes. So I added a little script that can expand / collapse spoilers just like on the forums. Works pretty well so far, although there are some issues where the text in the spoiler area is too long and overfloats the page width. This is mainly because the text size of the compiled version is bigger and there is less horizontal space than on the forums - both for reasons of readability. But it's still a big improvement.
I also updated Legend since it also makes use of spoilers.

WH42k is next.

Denim Demon · Jul 25, 2015

Nevill said:
Also, if you read Legend, did you also read the interludes that come with it? The links to them can be found on second-to-last page. A few of them are canon (the ones about Zhang Jue), so they might be worth including.

I found the Zhang Jue ones when trying to find out what happened between the Quickloads, but totally forget about them. Guess I'll add all those as Extras at the end.

Nevill said:
I'll probably add the 'CYOA press' support as a feature to the LPs in our database, with the corresponding links.

I already saw that, that's very cool. Though maybe the link should say something like Compiled or Single page, since CYOA press is just the name of the tool?

And thanks again for compiling the indices that's helping me a lot!

Nevill · Jul 25, 2015

Denim Demon said:
I already saw that, that's very cool. Though maybe the link should say something like Compiled or Single page, since CYOA press is just the name of the tool?

Well, I was thinking about 'CYOA Press link' (to the book) when I did that, but the whole 'press link' didn't sit well with me, so I left that word out.

I'll change it to 'read with CYOA Press'.

Nevill · Jul 25, 2015

Denim Demon said:
Works pretty well so far, although there are some issues where the text in the spoiler area is too long and overfloats the page width. This is mainly because the text size of the compiled version is bigger and there is less horizontal space than on the forums - both for reasons of readability.

Since spoilers are not technically a part of the update, I think separate rules could apply to the text within them. It can be made smaller than the rest of the story.

Also, is it possible to include chapter numbers in the index? To compare - the Legend has its numeration system and chapters, the Barbarian's Saga has update numbers, but in Myth everything is lumped together:

Prologue: Winds of the Steppe
一 · A Meeting with the Ashina
二 · Horseplay
三 · Art of the Wolf
四 · Shadow Wolf
五 · A Parting with the Ashina
Chapter One: Wanderings of Adolescence

1. The Choicening
2. The Consequencing
3. The Future is Here
3b. The Future is Here: The Second Attempt
4. A Great Penis Across the Stars
5. Oh, noes!

Prologue
A New Age
The Scavenger

[...]

The True Price of Power
Interlude: Preparations
Preparations 1 (Great Figures and Artefacts)
Preparations 2 (History and Geography)
The Eagle and the Crows

It would be nice to see the index just as it is in the thread:

Prologue:
Chapter 1: A New Age
Chapter 2: The Scavenger

[...]

Chapter 1: Through the Dark City:
Chapter 1: The Guardhouse

The same probably should apply to WH42K. It would make navigation through the LP easier.

Oh, and great work! :salute:

P.S. Also, 'The Last Campfire' in the Overlord LP reads:

The Last Campfire
null

Not sure why, though - a few days ago it seemed to work just fine.

P.P.S. Also, I know you've made this tool mostly for your own use, but can the font size or the width of the sheet be made adjustable? It looks great as it is, but on a widescreen monitor and in a browser that scales everything up to 1.5 times there is still a lot of unused space:

Denim Demon · Jul 26, 2015

Nevill said:
Since spoilers are not technically a part of the update, I think separate rules could apply to the text within them.

I'll try to find a more suitable style for spoilers then.

Nevill said:
Also, is it possible to include chapter numbers in the index?

Actually I removed the 'Chapter XYZ' notation from the index manually because I thought it was distracting. Now that you mention it, it is actually helpful when browsing the (rendered) index. So I restored your original version.

However the rendered index needs some work anyway. My idea so far is to use indentation any maybe bulleted / numbered lists to make it more readable. Something like this:

* Prologue

* A New Age
* The Scavenger

[...]
* Chapter 1: Through the Dark City

* The Guardhouse

Nevill said:
P.S. Also, 'The Last Campfire' in the Overlord LP reads: null

Not sure what that was, but should be fixed now.

Nevill said:
Also, I know you've made this tool mostly for your own use, but can the font size or the width of the sheet be made adjustable?

Well of course I want the books to be used by other people, so customization is planned. Today I quickly hacked together a settings menu where you can change the page width and font size. The settings should be stored in a cookie and restored whenever you open the book again. The settings should also transfer to the other books as long as they are hosted on the same domain. Maybe you could give it a try and see how it works for you? Javascript is of course required for it to work.

I guess I'll also add a small To-do list to the OP for the stuff that I intend to improve.

Nevill · Jul 26, 2015

Denim Demon said:
My idea so far is to use indentation any maybe bulleted / numbered lists to make it more readable. Something like this:

Looks good. :thumbsup:

Denim Demon said:
Maybe you could give it a try and see how it works for you?

Works fine. I found my sweet spot with 900px width, thanks.

Two notes, though.

Overlord said:
Prologue: The Man Who Slew the Demon Lord
The Last Campfire

This example is from Overlord, but it applies to the rest of them, too. The 'major chapter' names - like 'Prologue' - are not supposed to be clickable, because there is nothing to read there. This is also true of Legend, Myth and WH41K.

Second, about the options menu implementation. If you click the up/down buttons, the page is resized in the background, allowing you a nice preview. However, that happens only when you click - or rather, holt the cursor over - the buttons. When you use a mouse wheel to adjust sizes, the background doesn't change.

Denim Demon · Jul 26, 2015

Nevill said:
The 'major chapter' names - like 'Prologue' are not supposed to be clickable, because there is nothing to read there.

Not sure about this one. There is still a point in a document (the heading 'Prologue') that you can jump to, which is not really the case with the thread. Also I think the users expectations might change after improving the index style to:

Prologue: The Man Who Slew the Demon Lord
- The Last Campfire

Then one could assume that Prologue might have no content.

Still, even then, I don't see what would be improved by removing those links?

Nevill said:
Second, about the option menu implementation.

I agree that this is inconsistent, however that seems to be the default browser behavior. The same effect happens with the default input method - when you just enter a value by hand. To actually commit the value you have to press enter or remove focus from the text field (which automatically happens after clicking on 'Close'). As I said it was a rather quick implementation, so of course there is a lot of room for improvement. Personally I would also like to include a slider with sensible steps instead of experimenting with number values directly. However for now I'm fine with this basic solution.

Thanks for your input!

CYOA press

Educated

Arcane

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest

Arcane

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest

Arbiter

Educated

Arcane

Educated

Arcane

Arcane

Omnibus

Educated

Educated

Arcane

Educated

Arcane

Arcane

Educated

Educated

Arcane

Arcane

Educated

Arcane

Educated