The Alias Library ( Screenshoticus Gratuitous )
The Alias Library was created to help GMs and players alike speak 'in character'.
At the most basic, the Alias Library allows you to enter your chat text in a multiline edit. This can be much easier to hit with a mouse than a single edit line, which can be a lifesaver for a GM in a hurry. The Alias Library provides all of the same functionality as the chat window: activity notification ( typing/idle ), text entry, and text formatting ( bold, italic, etc ).
Additionally, the Alias Library allows you to post your chat under an assumed name, an 'alias' if you will. You can manually add to this list, aliases you intend to use for an extended period; you can also quickly import miniature labels from the map, useful if you need some 'throwaway' aliases for a short period ( two slavers discussing plot information the players need to overhear, for instance ).
Finally, the Alias Library allows you to 'filter' your chat text through a series of regular expressions ( regex for short ). As you will see, this is perhaps its most powerful feature.
Currently, the Alias Library is found in the Templates/Tools branch of the OpenRPG gametree. Simply double click on the "Create New Alias Library Tool" tree node and an Alias Library will be added to your gametree.
Opening the Alias Library in Use or Design mode brings up the tool for use, Pretty Print currently does nothing. The Alias Library is now ready for basic use.
Typing in the large empty text entry space is very similar to typing in the chat input line. Your status will be updated normally, there is a history, autocomplete can be turned on or off, etc. There are, however, a few significant differences.
Since the Enter key already has a function in a multiline edit, to send the text you must click on one of the action buttons ( Say, Do, Whisper, and Send Raw ) at the bottom of the Alias Library window. Alternately, you can press the Enter key while holding down the Ctrl key. What the Mac analog for Ctrl is, I have no idea.
Likewise, the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys also have a purpose in a multiline edit; so moving through your sent text history is accomplished by holding down the Ctrl key while pressing Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys.
Your status text and the autocomplete are governed by the normal OpenRPG settings.
Need to discuss action buttonsText formatting in the Alias Library works identically to text formatting in the chat window. If there is text selected when a formatting button is clicked, the format will be applied to the selected text only. If no text is selected when the button is pressed, the format will be applied to all of the text in the text entry area.
·Bold text
·Italic text
·Underline textTo add a long term alias, simply click on the New Alias button. You will be prompted for the name under which you wish your chat to appear. The new alias will be added to the list, which is sorted in alphabetical order for convenience. You are not permitted to add duplicate aliases to the list.
To edit an alias, select the alias you wish to change and click on the Edit Alias button. You will be presented with a dialog box where you can change the alias in question. Note that you both dismissing the dialog ( clicking Cancel ) or accepting the default value without changing anything will leave the alias in its original form.
To delete an alias from the list, select the doomed alias and hit the Delete Alias button. You will be asked to confirm your choice, just in case.
It is possible to import miniature labels from the map as temporary aliases. To do so, click on the Import Aliases button. The new aliases will be added to the list in alphabetical order, but they will not remain in the alias list when you close the Alias Library.
There are a number of potentially undefined situations associated with temporary aliases: I do not remember if temporary aliases are duplicate checked before addition to the list, I do not remember if temporary aliases remember filter associations, or if they can be edited and deleted.
It should perhaps be noted that the available aliases in the screenshot provided are "bob" and "fred".
·Import Aliases
·New Alias
·Delete Alias
·Edit AliasTo use an alias, simply select it from the list. You can freely change the alias that you are using at any point up until you actually send your chat text.
Filters are cool. Filters are your friend because they can help you 'speak' in character. Simply put, each rule in a filter is like a "Search and Replace" operation that is performed on your chat text after you send it and before everyone else sees it.
You can use filters to simulate radio interferance, as seen in the "Static Communicator" or to effect an accent as with "Rogue or Pirate". I use it to replace nicknames for characters with long or torturous names ( csis for Isilmaniel, f'rinstance ), or for characters who speak formally by expanding common contractions ( "don't" becomming "do not" ).
Text sent to chat will not be filtered unless the Filter Text checkbox is checked.
To create a new filter, simply click the New Filter button. You will be asked to name your new filter. Please note that at the time of this writing there is no way to rename a filter short of exporting, renaming, and importing the filter again. This is a glaring oversight, but there you are.
To edit an existing filter, select it and click on the Edit Filter button. You will be presented with a new dialog in which you can add, edit, delete and rearrange filter rules. Filter rules are discussed later.
Deleting a filter from your list is accomplished by selecting the doomed filter and clicking the Delete Filter button. You will be asked to confirm the deletion.
It is also possible to import/export filters so that you can share them with others. To export a filter, select it from the filter list and click on the Export Filter button. The filter will appear as a new node in your gametree. To import a new filter into your Alias Library, drag the filter node in your gametree onto the Alias Library you wish to add it to and drop it.
Using a filter is as simple as selecting an alias, selecting a filter, and ensuring the Filter Text checkbox is checked. These steps can be performed, and changed, at any point before the text is sent to chat. Note that aliases remember if they are to filter text ( or not ) , and which filter to use if so. Once you have assigned a filter to a particular alias, that filter will be selected whenever you choose that alias.
Editing filter rules is not for the faint of heart. In the Edit Filter Dialog, you see a partial list of all the rules that comprise the "Rogue or Pirate" filter. Each rule is a pair if regular expressions, and each is applied to the outgoing chat text in turn.
For example, in "Rogue or Pirate": first, all occurances of "ia" are replaced with "'a", next all occurances of "it is" surrounded by 'whitespace' are replaced with "t'is", and so on. If the rules look like gibberish, don't worry. They are, they just happen to be meaningful gibberish, and with a little persistance you can learn how to write your own.
The use of regular expressions is a huge topic that cannot be reasonably covered in this tutorial. Furthermore, it has been this author's experience that regex syntax varies depending on which application one is using.
The regex syntax used by the Alias Library is described in the Python
Documentation for the re module. I suggest
budding filter writers look through a predefined filter with the
Python documentation at the above link handy. Things will make a
lot more sense.
Available filters in the screenshot are "Rogue or Pirate" and "Static Communicator".
·Export Filter
·New Filter
·Edit Filter
·Delete Filter