Hybrid Choices?

Hello everyone, long time no see :slight_smile:

I am hunting around for a not-incredibly-complicated extension/workaround to have CYOA moments in an Inform 7 game. Mostly for use in dialogs, but perhaps also for short scenes in which I want the player to do A or do B, instead of killing the vibe by examining things, etc.

I have read high praise for AW Freyr’s “Hybrid Choices” extension, and I have managed to find it and install it (I am very rusty).

So my question is twofold:

  1. Can anyone suggest a better method or extension, if in your opinion there is a better one?
  2. If the answer to 1 is “NO”, can anyone kindly point me in the direction of Hybrid Choices’ documentation?

Thank you! :smiley:

I can vouch for Hybrid Choices. In my current game, the extension is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Mostly dialogue and some actions. For the documentation, it’s viewable in the Inform 7 IDE. Click the extensions tab, then click the extension in the catalogue.

2 Likes

Make sure you have the latest version. This is one of the extensions that’s not in the Inform 7 IDE library, and was available from the I7 website extension section which wasn’t accessible last time I checked.

HC has really good documentation, although it may seem complicated at first. Both I and Steph C have used it extensively in games like Zozzled, Brain Guzzlers… and Fair. Once you comprehend the flexibility, it manages to do a lot of things other than just present choices.

I attached a copy of v7 to this message:

I’m happy to assist if you need specific help with it. I got it to do even more complicated things, and worked with AW Freyr to figure out code that essentially diverts any parser interaction with a character or a potentially complicated implementation to a choice menu.

2 Likes

Thank you both, 6f and Hanon! :slight_smile:

I did manage to find the documentation, and I am liking it rather a lot.

Heh, and that link is exactly where I stole it from, Hanon :smiley: Your help is much appreciated, and I will surely get back to you once I find the time to tinker a bit more with it and decide what I want to do. It is looking very promising indeed!

1 Like

Hello hello, I am reviving this topic (apologies for this wee bit of digital necromancy), because I’ve downloaded Hybrid Choices again (new project, new laptop, data loss, long boring story) and it doesn’t seem to be working?

I’m using the latest Inform, and I notice the other extensions contain .html files instead of .i7x ones. I wonder if this indicates some sort of incompatibility between the older extension and the new Inform? If so, what’s a good extension for handling multiple choices in parser that works? If not… what is my dumb, sleep-deprived brain doing wrong now? :smiley:

Thanks!

I’ve installed the i7x file at the friends of Inform repository and have it working in a project. Chances are, in the case of HTML files, you need to look at/download the “raw” format (near the top right) while viewing the source on GitHub. I’m not aware of any .html extensions.

Do you mean “can’t install” or “my code doesn’t work” or “won’t compile”? Or something else? Do you have the latest version? I think that a lot of extensions have been updated since the release of the built-in library that is installed with the IDE.

GitHub - i7/extensions: Inform 7 extensions – some may be ready for public use, others may be barely working experiments. Enjoy!

4 Likes

Make sure you have the most recent version. For some reason the Inform Public Library has an older version and it never got updated.

Also the extension author @AnotherWannabe does lurk and has been spotted in the recent past.

If the extension works, there is a bit of a learning curve how you code choice pages; it’s not plug and play. If you have specific questions I can try to help, but it’s been a while.

1 Like

Hybrid Choices is not in the 10.1 Public Library, but the updated for 10.1 Hybrid Choices is in the Friends of I7 repo.

Hybrid Choices v7 for 9.3/6M62 isn’t in the 9.3/6M62 Public Library, but it’s been in the Friends of I7 repo for a couple years now.

When you think I7 extensions, think Friends of I7-brand I7 extensions! ℠

(joke, joke, there isn’t such a thing…)

4 Likes

Hey guys, thanks for the inputs! Yes, downloading the newest version solved it. Turns out it was a bad idea to use the 3-year old one in this thread, with the newest version of Inform… who’d have thought?

(Not me, at any rate.)

2 Likes

When will this t-shirt be available?

2 Likes