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Introduction
Welcome to the RichCast Documentation. This guide is designed to help explain the features of RichCast, and provide examples on how to use them. Our Community Managers are on hand in our Discord Server if you need further help.
Terminology
Action Bar is the row of drag and drop Action Tiles across the top of the page in the Editor.
Action Tiles are the building blocks of RichCast, such as Speak, Choice and Logic.
Actor is the term given to each of the characters within an Title.
Cover is the main picture that denotes the title/project.
Creator is someone that writes/creates a RichCast Project.
Flowchart is the collection of Action Tiles and Links.
Index is the first "main" page in a project. This page can’t be deleted.
Keywords are the word(s) RichCast will listen for in the Choice Tile.
Keyword Groups are words that will also be accepted (synonyms.) Eg. “OK” & “Okay” would be in the “Yes” group.
Library/Browser is the opening screen showing shelves containing all the Titles.
Link is a route from one Action Tile to another.
Page is a view into part of a project - where you see a flowchart of Action Tiles and Links.
Player is a person that uses the RichCast Player to play through a RichCast Title.
Profile can be accessed by the icon in the top right of the Library showing options such as screen resolution, microphone settings and release notes.
Project is an individual project that a Creator makes.
RichCast Editor is the tool for making a Project showing the Pages with Flowcharts.
RichCast Player is the app for playing back a Title.
RichCoins (RC$) is the Virtual currency of RichCast.
Shelf (Shelves) are a group of Projects/Titles arranged in a row on the Library - like a bookshelf.
Title / Experience is the output of a Project.
Title Card is the title’s Cover picture with information below it that sits on a Shelf on the Library screen.
Title Details is the Screen with a large picture and all of the details of the title.
Toolbar is the column of buttons on the left-hand side of the Editor.
User is a person that uses the RichCast, either as a Player or a Creator.
Voice is the AI Voice that can be assigned to an Actor so that written text can be narrated.
Shortcut keys
Undo
Redo
Delete Tile/Link
Cut
Copy
Paste
Actors
Test
Settings
Recentre
Group
Windowed Mode
Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Y
Delete
Ctrl + X
Ctrl + C
Ctrl + V
Ctrl + A
Ctrl + T
Ctrl + S
Ctrl + R
L Shift + Mouse /R Mouse Button
ALT + Enter.
Tutorials
We have created a set of in-app tutorials that Creators can access on the top shelf of the Creator Suite. We strongly suggest copying them using the copy button, and then choosing Edit to play them in the test mode. This allows creators to follow along with the tutorial whilst looking at it moving through the flow diagram, with the ability to stop and restart.
We also have created some video tutorials - see the YouTube playlist here.
Getting Set up
On the first launch, a login screen will appear. Sign up, and you'll be taken to the Library (main menu). The profile button at the top right of the Library allows you to change settings such as your microphone and screen resolution, as well as see details about RichCast. The buttons at the bottom of the screen, from left to right is: Home, Community, Creator Suite, Daily Login Bonuses.
If you're having issues with your microphone on Windows, check the right microphone is being used, and is on full volume. To do this, press the Windows Key, go to Sound Settings and select your microphone. Make sure it's active, set as primary, and is on full volume.
Some microphones will also have a microphone boost option, found by right-clicking on your audio icon in the icon tray, then sounds, recording, right-clicking on your microphone and selecting properties. Be wary that boosting your microphone this way can cause white noise/static in other applications, so use this as a last resort, or change it back when not using RichCast.
Some applications ‘steal’ the priority of the microphone, such as video conference apps.
Please note: If using the Microsoft Store version, you will need to have Online Speech Recognition enabled. To do this, go to the Windows Speech Settings, then click the "Speech Privacy Settings" button, and turn Online Speech Recognition to "On."
Library Interface
When Loading RichCast, you will be greeted with the Catalogue (Main Menu). This will have multiple different shelves - such as Recommended Titles, and Continue a previously played Title. There are also Community projects, of which can be accessed by clicking the second button at the bottom.
To load up a RichCast, the Player can click on the Title, and then click play on the bottom right of the following screen.
Creators can access the Creator Suite by clicking the third button at the bottom. This will show three new shelves - Tutorials, My Projects and Shared With Me.
The top shelf hosts the Tutorials we at Panivox have created. Creators may wish to watch them, or copy them by clicking on the Tutorial, and then the copy button.
The My Projects shelf is where Creators can find any projects they have created or copied, and can make a new project with the New Project button on the left. Name your project (can be changed later) and click submit to enter the RichCast Editor.
The Shared With Me shelf shows all projects the Creator has been added to.
To re-open a project, return to "My Projects", click on the project on the "My Projects" shelf, and edit.
Editor Interface
This section covers the buttons in the Editor and a brief description of what they do.
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Top: Action Bar. To use, drag the Tiles out from the bar.
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Speak: This tile adds narration to a Title.
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Choice: This tile listens for Keywords that a Player speaks.
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Audio: This tile allows Audio files to be added.
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Visuals: This tile allows Images, GIFs and Videos to be added.
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Logic: This tile allows variables to be added, checked and used through If and Else statements.
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Page: This tile allows a new “Page” to be added—a fresh workspace. Double click to enter.
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Interface: Add some UI to your Title such as Health, Ammo, Keys collected etc.
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Junction: Junctions are blank tiles, used for organisation, that allow multiple links to be connected to them.
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Comment: Provides a sticky note that comments can be written on. Great for organisation.
Left: Tools Menu
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Group: Click and drag across the page to group tiles together. Pin and name a group for it to become permanent. This allows movement of multiple tiles. Multiple colours can be chosen.
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Recentre: Moves the camera to a highlighted tile, or START tile.
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Undo: Undo the previous action.
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Redo: Redo the previous action.
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Delete: Removes the selected tile/link. DEL Key can also be used.
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Cut: Cuts the selected tiles/link.
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Copy: Copies a selected tile (can copy multiple by grouping.)
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Paste: Pastes a selected tile (can paste multiple by grouping.)
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Script Editor - Allows easy finding and editing of Speak Tiles using filters. Also allows script to be exported for Voice Acting.
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Page Manager - Provides an overview of all pages. Can move page order by hold clicking to alter page bar order.
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Manage: Allows access to the Keyword Group and Variable Editors, Actors, Media, Analytics and the Users button to add collaborators.
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Test: This feature allows the Title to be tested from the start, or a highlighted tile in the Editor using a mobile screen and debug console.
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Settings: This feature has multiple options, including renaming the project, adding tags and descriptions, copyright information and a cover image.
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Quit: Returns you to the main menu.
Basic RichCast Loop
This section provides a step-by-step tutorial on a basic RichCast loop.
Drag a Speak Tile into the workspace and double click to open. A title can be added at the top, and an actor can be selected via the dropdown to the right. In the middle, text can be added to be spoken by the actor, and notes can be added at the bottom. Voice Acting can be added using the file import - this will stop the text to speech from playing.
For this example, “Hey” has been added to the dialogue box.
Clicking the cross in the top right will exit the Speak Tile.
Drag out a link from the outer edge of the Start Tile to the Speak Tile. Every tile must be connected with a link for it to run. Multiple links can both enter and exit a tile. Tiles can be moved around by dragging the middle of the tile.
Choice Tiles allow players to interact with the RichCast. Once a Choice Tile has been dragged out, it will open. The tile can be named at the top, and Keywords can be added beneath.
Keywords are words that the Creator wants the system to listen out for. For example, if we want the player to say Hi back, we can list as many synonyms of Hi as possible, for example hey, hello and hiya. Keywords need to be on separate lines. The system will listen for an exact match, going down the list until it finds one. If it doesn’t find one, it will ask the player to repeat what they said.
“Other” and “Nothing” can be used in a separate Choice Tile. These will activate after the system has looked at every other option. These can be selected using the dropdown where it says Keywords.
Creators may wish to create a Keyword Group to speed up creation (i.e if a character is known by multiple names). This can be done using the button at the bottom of a Choice Tile, selecting "User" and clicking the plus at the bottom. Name your group, and add the keywords in the box below. Click the plus to save. You can add or remove keywords at any time on the right hand side. There are some groups already made, such as Yes and No. Keyword Groups are underlined in the Choice Tile when active.
Clicking the cross will exit out of the Choice Tile. The tile needs to be linked to the prior Speak Tile to activate. For this example, we also want a response for if the user says Goodbye, which can be done using another Choice Tile.
This is the core RichCast loop for a RichCast. You can see this, and more, in action by watching this video.
