Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

General discussion of the House Party CSC, or get help making your own story.
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SignOfTheRaven
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:28 pm

Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

HP 0.13.3
Unity 2018.3.13f1
Getting Started Guide
GUIDE IS NOW DONE TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES - SORRY FOR ALL OF THE EDITS


Hey everyone. This will be my first post on Eek Forums. This guide will attempt to help newcomers who are just starting out trying to make their own custom story. Fair warning, this is no easy feat at the moment.

If you have already read through the guide, or know all it has to teach already, simply scroll down to the bottom of this post and check out the simplified steps. You may also want to read through my final notes; they can also be found at the bottom of this post.



WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE AND/OR KNOW
Keep in mind that this guide is ONLY for use with the current latest version of House Party (0.13.3)
- The game can be found on Steam, buy it.

Keep in mind that this guide is also ONLY for use with the Custom Story Creator version (HPCSC.0.13.3)
- Here is a link to the official CSC - http://games.eekllc.com/custom-story-cr ... load-page/

Keep in mind that this guide is also ONLY for use with Unity version 2018.3.13f1
- Here is a link to the official Unity Download Archive - https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

This guide assumes that you have already installed Unity 2018.3.13 and extracted/setup the Custom Story Creator (HPCSC.0.13.3). If that has not been done already, you can find the official guide/steps/information here - http://games.eekllc.com/custom-story-creator/




DISCLAIMER
This guide does not go into great detail on how to modify or edit your custom story/prefab/characters, or what is actually possible with the Unity program itself. This guide is simply a tool to help you get started by teaching you all about prefab files and how to export your custom story, so that you can play it in game.



INTRODUCTION
OK so I had some trouble figuring out how to do simple things with the Unity program and HP editor (Such as exporting a story file). I searched all over Google for any tutorials or guides to no avail. The only help I could really find was an old Youtube video, but that only covered an outdated version of the game and editor.
So I went to work messing around with files and after many hours, had some success editing a custom story of my own. I am by no means a professional at this, but with trial and error, I at least found out how to edit characters, and export a custom story. This guide will be a toe in the water situation for most of us, and hopefully, you guys can toss in some experience of your own. Feel free to do so.




STARTING STEPS
1.) Start up Unity 2018.3.13 You should then have a program open that looks similar to the picture below.
Image

2.) In the top right corner, click on the Open button. Then in the new window that opens, browse to the folder that has the two folders you extracted from the Custom Story Creator archive file. (This folder should contain both the Assets and ProjectSettings folders. It will most likely have other files/folders in there, but the other two are required.)
Image

3.) Click the (Select Folder button) in the bottom right corner, and Unity will load up the creator files. You should then be all set to begin. Be sure that your Unity program looks like the image below, and that you have all of the shown Assets loaded (You should only have the Assets that I have boxed with the red highlighter; the orange Xs are not files that you should have at this point/time).
Image




MAIN STEPS (Creating a prefab file)
1.) Now that you have Unity setup and running the CSC in it's base form, you must now, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, double click on the file: StoryCreator - Load Me First (Double Click).

2.) Once you do that, you will need to navigate the file tree in the top left corner of the program, under Hierarchy. Click the grey arrow to the left of the Stories folder in the file tree. This will expand the Stories folder.
Image

Now that you have expanded the Stories folder and located the Original Story folder, time for an important step. Click and drag the entire Original Story 3D cube from the file tree, and down into the Assets box, next to where StoryCreator - Load Me First (Double Click) is. Make sure that a new big blue 3D cube appears down in the Assets box before doing anything else.
Image

3.) Double click the new big blue 3D cube named Original Story to load it instead of the StoryCreator - Load Me First (Double Click) file. Once that is done loading, Go to File in the top left and Save as. Name the file: Enter your name here. Enter the name in the File name box, make sure that you are saving as type: Prefab and hit Save. This file should be saved in your CSC Assets folder, it can not be saved anywhere else.
Image

You should now have these items down in your Assets box (The one with green squares around them.)
Image

CONGRATZ you should now have two prefab files, and the beginnings of your new custom story!




MAIN STEPS (Working with your new prefab)
1.) Create a new folder on your desktop or somewhere of your choice called (My Stories) Inside that folder, create a new folder with the same name as the custom story prefab that you created earlier(Enter your name here), minus the .prefab extension. Remember that folder location for the future.

Now double click the big blue 3D cube called Enter your name here. Once it loads, you are good to start working with your prefab/custom story. As far as I know, you can only edit Characters in your story, nothing else. So most of your modding and/or time will be spent in the Characters file tree under Hierarchy and Enter your name here.
Image

After doing any modifications to your prefab, make sure to File-Save.

HOWEVER, BEFORE DOING ANY EDITS ON YOUR PREFAB, CONTINUE TO THE NEXT SET OF STEPS BELOW!

CONGRATZ for making it this far! You now have a clean custom prefab file that you can work on. From now on when you open the Unity program, double click the Enter your name here big blue 3D cube before anything else. Do not delete any of the files we created that are located in the Assets box area of the program. Those must always be left where they are.




MAIN STEPS (Exporting your custom story file)
1.) Now that you have your custom prefab file, we need to learn how to create an actual .story and .character file(s) before doing any editing or modifications.

Left click on the big blue 3D cube named Enter your name here, down in the Assets box, and then left click on the Open Prefab Button in the top right, located in the Inspector column.
Image

2.) Left click the Export Story button in the bottom right of the Inspector column. In the new window, navigate to the My Stories-Enter your name here folder that you created earlier on your desktop, hit the Select Folder Button. No need to name anything here, as it will not effect the file(s) at all.
Image

3.) Let the Unity program work on exporting for about 5 seconds, and then you should have all the exported files you need located in your My Stories-Enter your name here folder. This includes all .character files, and the main custom .story file. (Your new custom .story file!) You may now rename the file(s) to whatever you want, but make sure not to mess with the extensions (.story and .character must always follow the name of your custom story/files).

Also note that you must rename both the .story file and the stories folder located in your Documents-Eek-House Party-Mods-Stories before the custom story will register in your game. AKA, work with the game (More info below).

Sadly, this must be done every time you make edits to your prefab, and then export the entire .story and .character files. What I mean is, you will have to rename the (Original Story.story) file that you get from exporting your (Enter your name here) prefab each time you choose to update your .character files (Make an edit or modification to your custom story). Good news is, you get to choose a name for your custom story every time. (Just try and keep it consistent. Trust me.)
Image



CONCLUSION
Alright so this is as close to complete information and detail as I can stand to get into. It is tedious, it is annoying, it can be a lot of work, and it can take a lot of time to get used to. Not to mention how much trial and error you will have to face when actually diving into modifying the .character files (Luckily that is the most fun part). However, this is also the only way that I myself have been able to create my own custom story, using the current versions of everything. There may be an easier and better way to do it in the future, or even now, but I've been told that I always do things the hard way; I guess I'll just stick to what I know. Alright, so now I'm going to lay out some simplified steps below.




"Simplified" Steps to creating a custom story for House Party
1.) Set up/start up Unity and the CSC
2.) Create a prefab file/load an existing one that you have already created by double clicking it
3.) Modify the prefab file (Edit characters, change item interactions, edit dialogue, etc.)
4.) Save your prefab and any changes that you made
5.) Export the prefab file to the My Stories folder you created in this guide
6.) Rename the Original Story.story file that you get from exporting your prefab to whatever you wish to call your custom story. Example: Enter your name here.story (Keep the extension .story)
7.) Create a folder in your My Documents-Eek-House Party-Mods-Stories that shares the same name as your exported custom .story file and drag and drop the .story and/or .character files into it
8.) Start the game and find your custom story in the drop down list (If it does not appear, you did not do the previous step correctly
9.) Start a new game with your new custom story loaded, or load up a save that you might have made previously
10.) Repeat steps 3-9 each time you modify or edit any characters in your custom story for changes to take effect





FINAL NOTES
(Prefab) - Quite possibly the most important step. You need a prefab! Prefabs are the collection of .character files that you will be working with/modifying in the Unity program. A prefab in essence IS your custom story, and the steps must be taken to create and back up one, or better yet, two prefabs, before you can even think of making a custom story for House Party. A good prefab can go a long way, and hopefully, you will only ever need to do this step once (or twice).

(Exporting) - Knowing how to export the .story and .character files from your prefab is also very important. While the easiest step to master, this just so happens to be the worst part about making a custom story too. No matter how big or how small the edit or modification to your prefab/custom story is, you will still need to re-export the files, re-name them to match their containing folder in My Documents, and maintain a backup of the originals in case trouble brews, before the changes you make will take effect in game.

(Creation) - Yay the best part is last! Working with your custom story files can be very fun. From making girls flash you when walking into a room to watching all the guys of the party beat the hell out of Frank repetitively, modifying the .character files has almost limitless possibility, and that is why you are here. Have fun with it, use your creativity. But don't think of this step as a cakewalk. It will take time to learn what you can do with the files, and for some, that might be a deal breaker. Good luck and have fun.
Last edited by SignOfTheRaven on Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:42 pm, edited 7 times in total.
SignOfTheRaven
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:28 pm

Re: Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

Hey can someone tell me if the picture links are working or not? If they aren't, I'll have to upload them to Imgur or something.
SignOfTheRaven
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:28 pm

Re: Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

peter980 wrote: Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:25 pm They are not working...
Thanks. I'll get on fixing that very soon.
Edit* All done. Thanks again.
chimneyfish
Posts: 491
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:57 pm

Re: Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

Thanks for making this detailed tutorial. I think there are a couple of shortcuts you missed that might make life easier, though...

To create a prefab to start from, I find it more convenient to right click on original story (or blank story template depending on what you want to start from) and select "duplicate." This keeps your custom story prefab in the same tree as original story and is useful if you want to refer back and forth. The official video here explains this process better than I can (skip ahead to about 8 minutes): https://vimeo.com/332503599/e6aa428d2e? ... 400a240610

More importantly, if you skip to about 8:45 in that video, it shows how to rename your story within the story creator. If you do that, you will not need to do step 6 (rename the exported story file) every time you export your story! It will export with the correct file name.
SignOfTheRaven
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:28 pm

Re: Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

chimneyfish wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:00 am Thanks for making this detailed tutorial. I think there are a couple of shortcuts you missed that might make life easier, though...

To create a prefab to start from, I find it more convenient to right click on original story (or blank story template depending on what you want to start from) and select "duplicate." This keeps your custom story prefab in the same tree as original story and is useful if you want to refer back and forth. The official video here explains this process better than I can (skip ahead to about 8 minutes): https://vimeo.com/332503599/e6aa428d2e? ... 400a240610

More importantly, if you skip to about 8:45 in that video, it shows how to rename your story within the story creator. If you do that, you will not need to do step 6 (rename the exported story file) every time you export your story! It will export with the correct file name.
Oh nice tips. Thanks. I never found that video when searching for information. Guess I didn't look hard enough.
chimneyfish
Posts: 491
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:57 pm

Re: Get Started Making a Custom Story (Guide for HP 0.13.3)

Eek only recently created these updated videos. They're all linked in this post: https://forum.eekllc.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35
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