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Author Workflow: From Idea to Finished Story

A step-by-step route for writing a new story in the story editor.

1. Create a story​

On the editor's home page, create a new story. Fill in its passport (info.json):

  • the title and description the player will see;
  • the story's icon;
  • access — early on, it makes sense to leave this as TESTER, so you can test the story yourself/with your team before opening it up to all players (USER). More details in Publishing and Access.

2. Plan the chapters​

Break the plot into chapters — major narrative blocks (setup / development / resolution, or by location, or by NPC quest givers — whatever suits the specific story). One chapter is one graph of stages plus its own set of points/squads on the map.

3. Build the chapter's stage graph​

In the chapter editor:

  1. Create the first stage (usually of type "scene" or "dialogue") — this is the chapter's entry point.
  2. Add texts — what the player sees/hears, with conditions wherever the text should depend on progress (see Stages and Dialogues).
  3. Add transfers — the player's reply options, each pointing with an arrow to the next stage.
  4. Keep going, expanding the graph, until you reach the resolution stages (the end of the chapter/story).
Build the graph from the endings backward

Many people find it easier to first sketch out the ending nodes ("success," "failure," "quest declined") and then draw transfers to them from earlier stages — it's easier to keep every branch of the plot in your head that way.

4. Add actions and conditions​

On stages where you need to grant a reward, change faction relations, show a notification, or play music, add actions through the action builder (see Building Actions and Conditions in the UI). Conditions for texts/transfers are built the same way.

5. Place points and squads on the map​

Switch to the chapter's map editor:

  • Add points — quest markers tied to specific stages (data.chapter + data.stage), traders, stashes, transfers.
  • Add squads of NPCs from the relevant faction, if the story calls for combat or the presence of guards/enemies at the location.

6. Build a quest journal entry (optional)​

If a task is completed not just through dialogue but through an action out in the open world ("find," "bring," "clear out") — add a mission and checkpoints through the mission builder (see Missions and Checkpoints).

7. Test and publish​

Save the story — the editor will check the graph for obvious errors (broken transfer links, etc.). Test the story in the game under the TESTER role, then raise access to USER once the story is ready for release — see Publishing and Access.

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