Story Architect (STARC) Changelog

What's new in Story Architect (STARC) 0.7.0

Mar 7, 2024

Story Architect 0.7.0 release:
We understand that you were waiting for so long, but we decided to start the year mainly with stabilization, and fixing bugs often takes a lot of time. Of course, there are a couple of new features too, but we'll talk about them later.
IMPROVEMENTS AND FIXES:
In the new version we have done a lot of work on bugs occurring while working in co-authorship mode:
a display of the process of uploading a large document from the cloud is improved;
the ability to go to a document and its specific part that a co-author is editing right now by clicking on his avatar is implemented;
a problem with updating the cloud project poster is fixed;
a crash when exiting the personal account, when a cloud project is opened, is fixed;
a problem with displaying irrelevant cursors of co-authors is fixed;
problems with updating the list of commands in the dialog of creating a new project are fixed.
We also worked on improving the stability of the application and its usability:
when creating a new project, a default name is displayed, so that you can start working right away, bypassing the stage of coming up with a project name;
the speed of comics, plays and audio drama modules with large scripts is optimized;
the appearance of the character line module is finalized;
elements downloading in the script breakdown module is improved;
a read-only mode in the modules of character relationships, location map, worlds, and mental maps is improved - now if the user cannot access these modules, he/she will be able to view information about each element of the scheme.
a problem with creating a folder for a new project if the selected folder was not created on the device earlier is fixed;
a problem with customizing header fonts for a synopsis is fixed;
a problem with applying some application settings when they are turned off/on repeatedly is fixed;
an issue with displaying writer statistics after a long break from the app (30+ days) is fixed;
a problem with placing external documents inside the list of characters/locations/worlds, which led to the application crash, is fixed;
a problem with exporting a novel plan is fixed;
a default keyboard shortcut for text notes is changed to Ctrl+Shift+0 (for macOS Command+Shift+0);
an issue with duplicate characters and locations being displayed in the script breakdown navigation is fixed;
an application crash related to loss of focus in the new draft creation dialog is fixed;
a problem with jumping act and sequence titles when working with a treatment and script at the same time is fixed;
problems and application crashes when trying to change a character/location in the script breakdown module, in a situation where some characters/locations of a scene are not saved in the project bible, are fixed;
a problem with automatic correction of script text on page breaks when there are quotation marks in a line is fixed;
application crashes when trying to open the character line module for multi-part projects is fixed;
a problem with saving empty formatting marks for editorial notes, which led to unnecessary undo operations of the last action, is fixed;
a problem with displaying the quick formatting panel, when some names and hotkeys overlapped with each other, is fixed;
a problem with the display of scene numbers/decoration remarks when exporting script text as PDF on macOS is fixed.
PROJECT LOCK FILE:
Now let's get to the innovations!
What is a lock file anyway? It's a file that the program creates next to the project (usually called Project_name.starc.lock), thus showing other copies of the application that the project is currently open, so that it won't be reopened by mistake and changes made in one of the copies won't be overwritten by changes from the other.
After the program terminates, this file deletes itself and now the project can be reopened. But in some cases, when the application crashes, this file remains on the computer and the program does not allow to open the project, despite the fact that no other copies of the application are running at the moment.
In previous versions of the program this file was hidden, so it was not so easy to help the user to fix this issue. Starting with version 0.7.0, the lock file will no longer be hidden and everyone will be able to easily get rid of this error (and we in turn undertake to solve all problems with crashes caused by the application itself).
EXPORTING LOCATIONS:
In the new version we've added the ability to export a list of locations, as well as a specific location, with all photos and detailed description.
In order to export a list of locations, you need to select "Locations" in the project navigation, and then select the "Export current document" menu item.
To export a specific location, you need to do the same thing, only selecting the desired location beforehand.
Location Scenes Module:
Along with the module of character lines, the module of location scenes has been added as well. Now you can select any location and find out what scenes it is involved in.
Generating a novel from a script and vice versa:
The last feature that was included in STARC 0.7.0 is the ability to generate a novel from a script and a script from a novel using the AI assistant.
In order to generate a novel from a script, you need to open the AI Assistant panel, select the appropriate option and click the "Generate" button. After the process is completed, the generated novel will be added to your project as a separate document.
To generate a script from a novel, the process is exactly the same. The only point worth mentioning is that for the best quality of the generated script, you need to have the novel broken down into chapters, or even scenes.
That's the way it is, friends! We are slowly coming back, and we will try to please you with new updates more often!

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.6.4 (Dec 4, 2023)

Today we’ve brought you the stabilization release of Story Architect 0.6.4. It includes a bunch of fixes for detected issues and a couple of nice little things.
Without a long introduction, let's see what's included in the update:
the ability to customize hotkeys for import and export operations is added (Application Settings - Hotkeys);
display of links in the mental map editor is improved by reducing the area of a cell used to define its borders when calculating the position of links;
a possibility to choose the type of counter displayed in the novel navigator (by words or by characters) is added;
work of limitation of entering several spaces in a row is improved;
when closing and then opening the navigator using the corresponding button, its size is now memorized and correctly restored;
the last selected document type is saved in the dialog of adding documents;
new custom scripts/novels design template is now applied automatically at the moment of creation;
spell check is added to all fields of character, location and world profiles;
detection of when automatic script text corrections are made is improved;
a crash on export is fixed in some cases;
a problem with text clipping / text getting into the input field header is fixed;
an application freezing when trying to select lines in comic/audio drama/play modules is fixed in some cases;
a problem with synchronization of cursor position between text and cards after changing the current document is fixed;
a problem with resetting text formatting when splitting a paragraph into two is fixed;
a problem with applying formatting to text that joins a previous paragraph after line breaks are removed is fixed;
a problem with full-width text display when working in plain text mode for the novel module is fixed;
application crashes when processing characters with two spaces in a row in their name is fixed;
a problem with character photo generation is fixed for some prompts;
a problem with launching the application is fixed on Windows in some cases;
a problem with accent input is fixed on Linux in some cases.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.6.3 (Nov 2, 2023)

Hello, friends!
Today we have prepared an update of Story Architect 0.6.3 with a new mind maps module.
MIND MAPS:
Yes! The new version has a new module to help you extract thoughts and structure them!
We couldn't approach the creation of this module for a long time, as it looked complicated and long... in the end it was decided to declare a challenge to ourselves and create its first version in a week.
So that's what we did. And step by step, day by day, we grew the module. On the first day we realized the possibility to add mind maps to the project.
On the second day we created the framework of the module and the basic parts of the user interface.
On the third day a lot of code of the module's internal logic was written and then the first node of the Story Architect mind map was born.
Day four was devoted to the realization of adding nodes, connections and groups to the map, as well as editing node parameters.
Day five was devoted to implementing the ability to customize the parameters of connections and groups, as well as the ability to remove elements from the map.
On the sixth day, we finally taught mind maps to save into and load from the project file, and added the ability to save the map to an image file so that it can be shared with colleagues and friends, or even printed.
Well, the last day was to finalize everything, plus add the ability to use an AI assistant for collaborative brainstorming sessions. Not surprisingly, 24 hours were not enough :)
All in all, it turned out to be a cool module. We will sure develop it further. We will at least add the ability to insert images to the map, as well as automatic layout of the map in the common form of a tree.
The mind map module is fully available in PRO and CLOUD subscriptions.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
After the Challenge was over, we had some more time to work on improving the existing functionality and here's what came out of it:
each beat is now displayed from a separate line in the cards;
a display of part/chapter/scene word count is added in the novel navigator;
the logic and checking if the required number of credits is available when generating a synopsis is improved;
color selection panel display/hiding is improved in Chrome OS;
a problem with synchronization of offline edits when another author made online edits at the same place in the script is fixed (in this case, a separate version of the script with your changes will be created);
a problem with words starting or ending with an apostrophe being ignored or added to the custom spellchecker dictionar is fixed;
a crash when generating a character photo is fixed;
a problem with module editing accessibility after authorization with an advanced account is fixed;
a problem with exporting specific scenes in a locked screenplay is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.6.2 (Oct 18, 2023)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.6.1 (Oct 3, 2023)

Nothing sensational today, just the release of Story Architect version 0.6.1, which has become much more stable.
Working on bugs has one unpleasant property - it can't be planned, because sometimes it takes a long time to find a way to reproduce the problem, but it can be fixed in a couple of minutes. Of course, it happens the other way around - the problem is clear, but in order to fix it and not to break the mechanisms connected with it, you have to spend a lot of time and even try different ways of solving it.
And in this regard, we are very grateful to all of you, our dear, involved and patient users! Thank you, friends! By helping us to find problems, by telling us about your experience with the program, you invaluable help us to improve it. To make it better every day, at least a little bit, but better!
So, version 0.6.1 includes the following improvements:
a check that all fonts required for the application to work are loaded when launching the app is added;
tooltips for breakdown resources, if their names do not fit the width of the navigator, is added;
an ability to save scene numbers when importing a script from DOCX documents is added;
a context menu for screenplay/novel cards is added; it allows you to add elements after the selected card, change its color, delete it, as well as go to the script text module to a selected scene card;
an interface of the synopsis generation panel is improved;
the algorithm of automatic "i" correction is improved, and an option for its activation is added in the settings;
processing of text paragraphs with mixed case of letters is improved;
the logic of text insertion in text modules is redesigned;
a problem with script text correction after loading text when opening a project, as well as after canceling/repeating the last action, is fixed;
a problem with displaying character groups and locations in cloud projects is fixed;
a problem with loading drafts from cloud service is fixed;
a problem with a blank paragraph appearing at the beginning of the text when canceling/repeating/synchronizing the last change, which also led to subsequent problems with synchronization of changes made by a co-author, is fixed;
an application crash when co-author rearranges scenes in collaboration mode is fixed;
a crash when loading cloud projects after all changes have already been synchronized but not saved in the local copy of the project is fixed;
an application crash when searching for all characters/locations by text is fixed in some cases;
an application crash when canceling the last action is fixed in some cases;
a problem with showing/hiding the show/hide sidebar button when restarting the application is fixed;
an issue with displaying the icon of a custom resource category in the script breakdown is fixed;
a problem with deleting resources from the entire script in the breakdown module is fixed;
a problem with displaying scene colors on the timeline when scenes contain beats is fixed;
a problem with the cursor jumping to the end of a paragraph when editing a scene title is fixed;
some typographical errors in the interface are fixed.
Next, we plan to keep moving towards fixing issues and improving the stability of the application's performance one or two releases from now. But, we reserve the right to add something new to the app at the most unexpected moment :)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.6.0 (Sep 3, 2023)

Hello, friends:
Did you know that today is Random Acts of Kindness Day? Same for us:
On such an occasion, we just couldn't leave you without an update, so today we are releasing Story Architect 0.6.0 update with the ability to export character profiles and other improvements.
EXPORTING CHARACTER PROFILES:
Yes, guys, finally you will get the long awaited ability to upload character profiles and share them with the world!
It works in the standard way - open character profile - menu - export - choose the format in which you want to save the profile (PDF or DOCX) - customize export settings and go ahead.
Please note - blank fields are not included in the exported document. One more thing - we don't know how to embed pictures in DOCX files yet (but we will definitely learn how to do it in future versions), so adding photos is available only when exporting to PDF.
Similarly, you can export a list of characters. To do this, open the relationship map - menu - export - select the characters you want to include in the document, their parameters - and go!
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
One of the most important improvements was a fix for an old problem with duplicating editor's notes when exporting a script (and other types of documents) in DOCX format, if a comment or discussion did not refer to text within a single paragraph, but instead captured multiple paragraphs. No more doubles, no matter what text the note refers to!
Another important addition was the ability to customize hotkeys for any of the application's text modules, not just the script. Go to Settings - Hotkeys and customize the app to suit your habits.
In addition, there were a few other tweaks:
a check for sufficient amount of credits before generating a synopsis is added;
import of documents from DOCX format is slightly improved;
export of documents in DOCX format for Arabic and Hebrew is improved;
wording of messages about locked modules is improved;
now when saving images of character/location relationship maps or cards, a small frame is added to make the saved image more visually pleasing;
a problem with reloading the cloud project structure, when losing/gaining connection to the server, is fixed (it returned to the state it was in when opening the project);
a problem with restoring cursor position when opening cloud projects is fixed;
a problem with exporting title page with custom fonts to PDF is fixed;
problems in application behavior when authorizing in the application during preconfiguration is fixed;
a problem with displaying text field for selecting the path to save new projects is fixed;
other small improvements to the application internals

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.6a (Aug 7, 2023)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.6 (Aug 1, 2023)

The release of the updated Story Architect 0.5.6 is coming at you. It features improved AI tools, a list of characters for stage plays and audio dramas, and a bunch of improvements and fixes to make your lives better, friends! :)
Synopsis generation:
Starting with version 0.5.6, it is now possible to generate a synopsis for the whole screenplay with the AI Assistant.
Synopsis generation works as follows - the application takes the text of the screenplay scene by scene, cuts out things like character list, transitions, frames, notes on the text, etc. and summarizes them, combining into a text.
This way, in a few minutes, you have a draft synopsis of your screenplay!
Characters:
The new version also offers the ability to automatically add a list of characters to stage plays and audio dramas.
For this purpose, a corresponding button is added to the toolbar of the title page.
Characters in the list are ordered by the number of lines, so the main characters are located higher, episodic ones are lower. But of course you can always manually customize the list as you need.
Highlighting characters when exporting:
We have added the ability to highlight characters and, if necessary, their lines when exporting to PDF and DOCX formats.
Characters are highlighted in the color that is defined for them in the character's card, so you can highlight either one or several characters at once.
Other improvements:
And we've also fixed a few bugs and added a couple of improvements to the app. Let's take a look at them:
work of the program when deleting large parts of a script/canceling the last action шы optimized;
the path to the currently opened project is now displayed in the window header;
an option to open a project is added to the context menu of the project list;
items of the context menu of the project list and text editor are reordered (the option to split a page is moved to the "Formatting" submenu);
"Delete" item is added to the context menu of text editors;
an ability to search for screenplay scene participants in blocks is added;
an ability to drag and drop images into the gallery from different browsers is improved;
import from DOCX files is improved;
watermarks are now correctly placed on the bottom layer (printed under the text) when exporting to PDF;
white draft color is used when creating new drafts;
a problem with the size of drafts on the application start page when the application interface is zoomed in/out in the settings is fixed;
a problem with image synchronization is fixed;
an application crash when saving a breakdown in case when a screenplay has a location not saved in the project bible is fixed;
a problem with displaying synopsis text in capital letters is fixed;
a problem with saving and restoring card positions when closing/opening a project is fixed;
a problem with rendering of comic book page icons is fixed (when the first page is on the right);
a problem with rendering text darkening in focus mode when page elements are turned off is fixed;
an application freeze when generating statistics in cases when character names contain special characters (dot, asterisk, question mark) is fixed;
a problem with shifting the screenplay text editor to the lower right corner of the window when reopening the program is fixed in some cases;
an incorrect rendering of scene colors in the screenplay text editor us fixed;
a problem with adding a colon after a character's name in plays when working with the US play template is fixed;
a problem with incorrect title page fields is fixed;
behavior of the "Save History As" menu item in Windows is fixed.
So here we go. I hope you enjoy the new version of STARC, and we'll take a short timeout and come back at the end of August with version 0.6.0, which will probably have something interesting inside! ;)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.5 (Jul 17, 2023)

Have a good day everyone:
This time the release didn't keep us waiting! Story Architect 0.5.5 is ready to please you with a lot of improvements in terms of stability of its work. Plus, the new version has got the development of the statistics module for audio performances.
It was TEAM now it’s CLOUD:
Before we tell you about the innovations and improvements, we would like to mention one important organizational moment. After the STUDIO subscription appeared, many people had a fair question - how does it differ from TEAM?
The difference here is fundamental - TEAM subscription is personal and gives access to the advanced features of the application, including the cloud service, only to the owner of the subscription. And STUDIO is a corporate subscription, which allows you to connect several employees to one account and all of them will have full access to the application's features while working on studio projects.
To avoid such confusion and to make it clear, we renamed TEAM subscription to CLOUD.
Improving the user experience:
If you're new to STARC and got here after working with another program, you'll love the new ability to customize the appearance of the application to fit the style of the application you're used to working with.
At the moment, there are light and dark themes that look like interface of the following programs: KIT Scenarist, Final Draft, Arc Studio Pro, Fade In, Writer Duet, Highland2 and Trelby. If you have any requests for us to customize the interface of any other application, let us know and we will help you with it.
Audio Drama Statistics:
The Audio Drama Statistics module has received a major update, inheriting all the available reports and graphs of its big brother, Screenplay.
Now you can get detailed statistical information on characters, locations, scenes and many other components of your podcast in a flash.
To access advanced statistics, all you need to do is double-click on the "Statistics" line in your project's document navigator.
Advanced audio stats are available for accounts with PRO and CLOUD subscriptions.
Application improvements:
This section is, as always, dedicated to you, our beloved users!
Thank you so much for your activity! For your bug reports! For your posts on social networks and everywhere else! For the screencasts that you kindly make for us, so that the detected problems are easier to identify, reproduce and fix! Thank you for your help, friends! This is a huge contribution to the future of the project and to your own comfort when working with the application.
Version 0.5.5 includes the following fixes and improvements:
the ability to upload script and audio drama statistical reports in PDF format is added;
import of DOCX files is improved;
an appearance of the user's personal profile is slightly improved;
the ability to change the case of selected text is added to the formatting section of the context menu of text editors;
a crash when launching the application in some situations is fixed;
crashes when working with the title page are fixed;
fixed problem with hiding the current project on the start screen with the list of projects
a problem with the cursor jumping to a new line when adding a scene title in some situations is fixed;
a problem with cloud projects sorting on the home screen after launching the application is fixed;
a problem with an extra empty space on the left side of the project list after expanding the app to full screen is fixed;
a problem with updating scene numbers in the editors of audio dramas, stage plays and novels is fixed;
errors in generating a report with gender statistics are fixed;
a problem with recursive renaming of locations is fixed;
a problem with sorting order of characters and locations in the script breakdown report is fixed;
multiple issues when working with cloud projects when several co-authors are working on a project at the same time are fixed;
issues with displaying co-authors' names in the text editor when working simultaneously are fixed;
issues with displaying co-authors' cursors in invisible blocks are fixed;
application crashes when working with comments and bookmarks are fixed;
various problems that caused application crashes during text editing in different text modules are fixed;
a crash in the statistics module after switching the active screenplay is fixed;
multiple issues with copy, paste, and undo last action in the audio drama, comic book, and stage play modules are fixed;
a problem with deleting multiple lines in audio drama, comic book, and stage play modules are fixed;
an ability to scroll text line by line using Ctrl+up/down hotkeys is added for Windows and Linux.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.4 (Jul 4, 2023)

It's been a while since we released an update, but today is the day! Meet Story Architect 0.5.4 with Teams, a cool redesigned card dragging mechanic and a bunch of other improvements on board!
But before I tell you about the new release, I'd like to thank everyone for actively participating in the life of the project! It's cool that you share your comments, suggestions, ideas, participate in social media discussions and talk about the project! The last few days were really busy, so we haven't had time to respond to everyone yet, but we'll definitely respond to everyone! Your emails and messages are very valuable to us. Thank you!
Studio version:
So, as we told earlier, we're now working hard to adapt the application to studio needs.
The first step was the implementation of the team management feature. This is necessary to ensure that all the studio's employees have full access to all the features of the application, regardless of their personal subscription to the service. Also, it simplifies the process of coordinating authors when working on a large number of projects.
Once teams are set up, new projects can be placed within teams, organizing them and giving the right group of authors access to projects at once.
In the list of projects teams are displayed as groups with projects inside them.
Right now we provide access to the Studio version only by request. If you would like to make processes in your studio/author room automatic, let's discuss it via email or social media ([email protected]).
Dragging and dropping cards:
If you've worked with cards in previous versions, remember that dragging and dropping them was not very convenient, especially when working with acts and multiple sequences due to the fact that the application tried to immediately rearrange the document structure by moving the card to a new location.
Besides, an additional inconvenience was the fact that behind the cards flying around on the screen, it was easy to lose the place where the dragged card was originally placed.
In the new version, all of these points are no longer relevant.
Now cards don't fly to new places until you let go of them. And the place, where the card will be put in, will be easy to see, because the other cards will move apart.
This change gave not only improvements in the usability of the cards and their responsiveness, but also made it possible to remove multiple application crashes when moving cards between each other.
Saving Characters and Locations:
When working with large multi-part projects, it turned out that when you automatically save characters and locations, the project's bible gets overloaded with unimportant entities.
The initial assumption and solution in the form of a list of only the main characters and characters from the text of the series turned out to be a kind of half-hearted solution that helps only when working with the text. Therefore, another improvement of the new version is the ability to abandon the automatic saving of characters and locations during typing.
Characters and locations from the script text will still be present in the dropdown lists when working on the text.
You can set up saving or turn it off in the settings of each of the text modules.
Other improvements:
And a few other improvements that were made as part of today's release:
options for more customized tuning of the displayed character and location name tooltips are added;
an ability to access a specific project document (in the context menu of the documents) is added;
by default, the audio drama duration is based on 140 words per minute;
when working in split mode, the order of the characters and locations is now stored within each script, and does not affect the general lists of characters and locations;
the angle of the watermark is adjusted, so it is located exactly how everyone is used to see it;
numerous improvements to the export of audio drama in PDF format is made;
displaying the navigation on the contents of a folder text is now prohibited, because it often led to confusion with the contents of the folder itself;
an issue with unexpectedly logging out of the account is fixed;
an issue with displaying settings of script and comic book modules is fixed;
an issue with exporting line numbers to PDF is fixed;
logic of the scene numbers skipping is fixed;
a crash when renaming characters/locations is fixed;
a crash when searching for all characters/locations in project scripts is fixed;
a crash that would cause saving characters with a space at the end of the name is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.3a (Jun 5, 2023)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.3 (May 31, 2023)

Today is the new release of Story Architect 0.5.3 and there is a new generator based on artificial intelligence, and many improvements in terms of stability and performance of the application! Here we go!
Character Parameter Generator:
We've been thinking about this idea for a long time... back in the days when nobody even heard about neural networks. We imagined this generator as a vast set of predefined values that could be shuffled around randomly to get a random character. But now that we can easily use all the power of artificial intelligence, we can solve this problem in a much more elegant way, and in a much better way, as well.Yes! The Intelligent Assistant is now also built into the Character Editor! You can use all the standard features of the assistant, plus the ability to generate all the character parameters and even a photo!
To do this, just type the prompt, select the necessary sections of the character profile you'd like to fill in, and click the "Generate" button. After a little thought, the AI will fill in all the necessary fields with the invented values, and you can breathe life into them, if necessary, or completely redesign.
Like most intelligent assistant tools, the character generator is designed to help you activate the creative flow of consciousness and get away from the problem of a blank sheet, not to do all the work for you :)
So experiment, choose, create! And know that the intelligent assistant is always here for you, and always ready to make a brainstorm with you!
Stabilization:
In the new version of the application we put a lot of effort into stabilizing and speeding up all the text modules.
So, Story Architect 0.5.3 includes the following improvements and fixes:
the ability to display duration is added to the script counter lists;
a "Speech" field is added to the character profile to describe his/her speech traits, frequently used words, etc.;
user experience when working with scene parameters is improved;
the tilt angle of the watermark is corrected to make it more standard;
the application works faster when selecting text (especially large blocks of text);
the application works faster when changing the text in large documents;
a lot of crashes when undoing the last action in comics, plays and audio plays modules are fixed;
a problem with saving scene tags when working with scene parameters from the text editor is fixed;
an issue with rechecking the spelling of the text in the document when changing the dictionary is fixed;
a problem with hidden selection in the Add Documents dialog is fixed;
an issue with the application freezing when changing the name of a character in some cases is fixed;
application freezing during text substitution in special cases is fixed;
an issue with loading drafts from the cloud is fixed;
a crash when exporting script breakdown in some cases is fixed;
many little things in the appearance of the application are improved.
What's next?:
Here's the thing, guys - we got our first contract with a production company, so the next couple of releases will be mostly focused on new project management tools. By the way, if this topic is important for you too, then don't hesitate to write us - let's talk and think together, how we can make the most flexible and convenient tool for big and small teams.
Along with this process, of course, we will be engaged in fixing bugs. Stabilization will again be one of our top priorities in these two releases.
And the third point is the adaptation of the remaining functionality of KIT Scenarist in terms of working with scripts. KIT Scenarist support will be stopped in the end of July, so we want to make sure all the basic tools are adapted and authors can migrate to Story Architect without loss, but instead gaining a lot of new and useful tools.
This is roughly what the plan looks like for the next month, and what comes next... wow... it's breathtaking to think about the future!
We'll be informing you step by step, but for now, download the new version, try it and share your impressions, ideas, suggestions and other comments!
Have a great day, everyone, guys! Hugs!

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.2 (May 16, 2023)

PARTIAL ACCESS:
You can now share access not only to the entire projects, but also to just some of the documents inside.
How it works:
An additional button "Configure Access" appeared in the section of project co-authors management (or you can right click on one of the co-authors who have already been granted access and select a similar item in the context menu).
You will see a dialog window where you can set which sections or documents your co-author will have access to and specify the level of access.
If necessary, the co-author can always be given full access to the project, then he/ or she can work with all the documents that are already in the project, as well as see all new documents created in the project as you keep on working on it.
The "Grant Access" button will apply the specified access configuration and send notification to the co-author (if he or she has not been previously connected to the project).
When the co-authors open the project, they see only the documents they now have access to.
The next step in the collaboration development will be the management of the co-authors writing room. Team management in its full meaning.
INTELLIGENT ASSISTANT:
Yes! As promised in the last release, we've added an AI assistant to all text modules. Now it can help you no matter what project you're working on, whether it's a comic, a play or just text notes.
We'll be expanding the influence of the AI assistant further. For example, we really liked the idea suggested by one of our users: why not to ask the assistant to generate a detailed character profile? The ability to generate a photo based on the data from the questionnaire will come right after.
If you have more ideas how to develop this direction, welcome to discussions in our social networks or in the feedback form.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
The 0.5.2 release received several other smaller improvements:
the option to use smart quotes now takes single quotes into account as well;
the option "show hints for characters and locations which are important or present in the current script" is now enabled by default;
typewriter scroll mode now work by pressing any key on the keyboard, not only when typing;
an ability to quit the application using Ctrl+Q for Linux (Command+Q for macOS) is added;
an issue with displaying a writer's stats separated by different devices is fixed;
a lot of problems with availability of controls in read-only/commenting mode is fixed;
an issue with resetting scene parameters when switching between projects is fixed;
an issue with importing a script with multiple acts from KIT Scenarist projects is fixed;
an issue with displaying all the tags of cards is fixed;
an issue with the width of the drop-down list of tags in the scene parameters is fixed;
and other small fixes of the application's appearance and typos are done.
SOCIAL NETWORK:
Another hot topic for us during these past two weeks was social media content.
We really want to grow the community and be useful/interesting to you even outside of your work environment, as well as to engage you in the process of creating the app and sharing experiences with other authors. That's why we're doing experiments with content.
If you have something to say about this, by all means write to us. Let's discuss it!

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.1 (May 1, 2023)

It's been a couple of weeks, and we're back with an update. Story Architect 0.5.1 has a major improvement of the Intelligent Assistant, as well as updates to the stability of the app.
Intelligent Assistant:
In the current version, we have completely redesigned the intelligent assistant and rethought the principle of working with it.
Concept:
Script generation is a cool thing and sometimes a lot of fun, but we all know that the AI can't make up stories better than you can. However, what it can do is to help you with smaller, routine tasks. For example, it can help you create a brief description of a scene, or paraphrase lines in the style of Shakespearean characters.
So we've highlighted a number of small features that can be useful in an author's daily work and put them in a separate intelligent assistant panel.
You can turn the assistant on (and off) by using the magic wand button on the top toolbar. Apart from that, like all auxiliary tools, it is accessible through the sidebar.
Usage:
In conjunction with the change in approach to using the capabilities of artificial intelligence, we have also changed the approach to the system of credits for the use of AI tools. Now, 1 credit will be spent per 1,000 words processed by the AI helper. At the bottom of the panel, you will be able to see the number of words available for use, as well as the ability to replenish the credit balance.
At the moment, the intelligent assistant is only available in the script text editor module. In future updates, we're planning to embed it in all other text modules as well.
Guys, if you have any ideas how to improve the intelligent assistant to make it even more useful to you - share your thoughts with us, we will be happy to discuss them with you!
Report on characters' lines in the script
Another new feature of version 0.5.1 is a report on characters' lines in the script statistics module.
Here you can see the lines of all the characters or just the ones you select in all scenes of the script, and even export it into xlsx-file to work with it, for example, during the stage of movie editing.
Other improvements:
It is worth admitting - the last release was not the most successful in terms of stability. Some innovations have brought problems in the work of previously debugged functions.
But all of these problems have been fixed. The most critical ones were fixed in the 0.5.0a hotfix release, and the rest were fixed in the 0.5.1 release.
We're sorry these problems ever occurred. While the application is very actively developing and growing, such issues may appear from time to time. But we are committed to fixing them as quickly as possible. So if you notice a degradation, or any other problem, please tell us about it right away so that it can be fixed.
So, the new version includes the following improvements and fixes:
additional pages with data on characters, locations, and all elements are added to the unloadable xlsx-file with a script breakdown;
the algorithm for comparing scene numbers is optimized;
character/ location/ world maps can now be moved within the highest level of the project's document hierarchy;
it is now forbidden to delete a world map from the project;
it is now forbidden to open the bin with deleted files in a separate window;
an issue with positioning of the cursor after canceling of the last action in some cases, when the cursor was moving to the end of the document, is fixed;
an issue with deleting a single character when pressing the cut text key combination at a moment when there is no selected text is fixed;
a crash when renaming a location to a sublocation is fixed;
a crash when creating new scenes or deleting current scenes, if scene isolation mode is enabled, is fixed;
an issue with automatic text correction on page breaks, which caused extra blank lines to appear in the middle of the script, is fixed;
an issue with updating scene parameters when switching between scenes in the script navigator is fixed;
a crash when splitting the screen into two, if the statistics module is opened at the moment, is fixed;
an issue with loading spelling dictionaries on Windows is fixed;
keyboard shortcut handling on macOS is improved (moving to the beginning and end of the line, and removing the word ahead/behind the cursor).
That's all for today, guys.
Have fun and go ahead to try the new version of the app!
P.S. With this update, we're re-launching our promo code StarcAI. If you didn't have a chance to use it, it's time now! The promo code activates 5 credits for working with AI tools and will be valid until the end of May.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.0a (Apr 20, 2023)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.5.0 (Apr 18, 2023)

SCRIPT BREAKDOWN MODULE:
The breakdown module gives you access to all the classic tools for filling a script with elements (props, vehicles, background actors, makeup, costumes, animals, etc.).
Breakdown module is available for users of the TEAM version. It can be activated from the modules panel, which is located in the upper left corner, to the right of the main application menu display button.
NAVIGATION:
The best way to get started with the breakdown module is with the navigation tools it provides. The Navigator gives you access to four types of navigation:
SCENES:
The first is the standard navigation through the list of scenes.
CHARACTERS:
Here you can rearrange scenes and move between them, using the list as a sort of table of contents for the script.
Here we have a list of characters that are directly involved in the script. For each character, you can see a list of scenes and their Board ID.
When the cursor hits a particular scene of the script, the characters involved in the current scene are additionally highlighted in the list.
Using the context menu, the list of characters can be easily sorted alphabetically, or by occupation in scenes. It also has the option to edit the character, so you can immediately add brief information to the character, or rename them.
In addition to sorting characters using the context menu, you can rearrange them in this list manually to organize the list in a way that is convenient for you.
LOCATIONS:
Location navigation is very similar to character navigation with one big exception - it is able to build the structure of locations with sub-locations. The program automatically parses the names of locations and groups them in such a way as to show you the most compact structure of the list of locations while providing it in a tree-like form (from the general to the particular).
You can also reorder locations using the context menu, or by dragging and dropping them, edit and navigate to specific scenes of each location.
ELEMENTS:
Finally, navigating through the list of script elements.
Here you have access to a list of standard elements categories. You can edit it by changing the names, dragging and dropping them in the order you want, as well as by deleting and adding new ones if you don't have enough of the standard ones.
When specific elements are added to the script, they will all appear in their categories and can also be edited.
BREAKDOWN:
Once you've got acquainted with the navigation, it's time to take a look at the central workspace and explore in detail how you can fill a scene with elements.
To add an element to a scene, you can highlight the text the element will refer to and click the Add button in the toolbar that appears to the right of the highlighted text. The sidebar will open the add element page, where you can customize the quantity, description, and even specify the details that apply only to a particular scene.
If there is no text in the scene for which you want to add an element, or if you just don't like too colorful script, you can click the Add element button, which is in the upper right corner of the right sidebar.
The added element will then appear in the list of all the resources and you can change it if necessary, or remove it from the scene using the context menu in the elements list.
And you'll find more options for adding elements to the scene when you click on the three dot button in the upper right corner of the elements list panel. There you will find options for adding a list of elements of a specific category, as well as options for copying a list of all elements from another scene to the current one and vice versa.
EXPORTING:
After the script has been filled with elements, Story Architect will give you the option to export all the information about it as an excel file (.xlsx).
To save it, click the appropriate button in the central toolbar, and then specify the file where you want to save the script breakdown table.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
Today's release includes other improvements to the program, namely:
the ability to mark an editor's note as done, or delete it, is added directly into the review mode's auxiliary toolbar;
the color palette of standard themes of the application is improved in terms of error display;
the default poster size for the project is corrected, now it does not differ from the user-generaget posters and the start page looks more neat;
display of the list of co-authors of the previous project when you open another project is fixed;
an issue with saving the order of characters and locations when synchronizing a cloud project is fixed;
an issue with updating and rewriting the project structure when you reconnect to the cloud server is fixed;
an issue with the rendering of co-authors' avatars is fixed;
an issue with co-authors cursors jumping when adding text is fixed, now they are displayed accurately in the places where the co-author's cursor is located;
the problem with renaming complex locations, when the script has locations of the type "HOUSE" and "HOUSE - KITCHEN" is fixed - renaming the main location now leads to renaming of the sublocations;
a crash when working simultaneously in several text editors on the same script is fixed;
crashes while dragging and dropping items in the treatment are fixed;
crashes when adding new lines in some cases when working with comics are fixed;
an issue with updating line numbers at the end of large comic book scripts is fixed;
an issue with interline indentation when dragging the first scene in a structure is fixed;
a crash when launching on some versions of 32-bit Windows is fixed;
an issue with the display of fonts in Windows is fixed (first of all, this applies to fonts which characters have different width, such as Arial).

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.5 (Apr 2, 2023)

Hello, story architects! :)
Today we publish another stabilization update of Story Architect 0.4.5 with compact mode on board!
COMPACT MODE:
The compact mode was one of the most often requested features by our users since the very first version of STARC.
Modern visual design systems always emphasize the necessity of "free space" in the workspace, the elimination of redundant elements and visual identification through the grouping and separation of elements. And this works fine when there is enough workspace, but when we are dealing with small screens, it turns into a very big problem with constant scrolling up and down...
And to solve this problem, Material Design (the design system on which Story Architect's interface is based) offers an interface flattening feature, which aim is to reduce the vertical indentation between interface elements.
Of course, we didn't just implement it in the standard version, but subjected it to creative rethinking within the objectives of our application and now offer you to try it out!
You can turn on the compact mode in the "Appearance" section of the application settings.
Try it and be sure to share your impressions with us.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
The compact mode required a lot of attention and time, as we had to thoroughly work through each screen of the application and test it. Nevertheless, the release of 0.4.5 has gained a few more improvements aimed at improving the stability and usability of the application. This includes the following things:
location map icon is updated;
the number of items in dropdown lists is increased;
scene parameter fields in the script card/text modes are adjusted;
quick format bar got the ability to show/hide hotkeys for all text modules;
identifying of the character line numbers is improved;
line numbers are added to the character line report;
synopsis styling for plays is improved;
a crash when transferring structure elements in comics, podcasts, and plays is fixed;
an issue with creating worlds from a universe map is fixed;
a crash when synchronizing offline changes in cloud projects is fixed;
an issue with synchronizing script guides is fixed;
an issue with creating redundant documents in cloud projects when syncing for the first time in some cases is fixed.
WHAT'S NEXT:
Moving on to version 0.5, which will expand Story Architect's universe of features and bring the ability to work with script breakdown, an improved intelligent assistant and the first showrunner tools.
It's going to be very exciting! Subscribe to our social networks, so you don't miss any news! ;)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.4 (Mar 19, 2023)

HELLO EVERYONE:
It's time to publish the update of Story Architect 0.4.4. It includes a revamped project backup system, as well as many improvements to stabilize the application.
BACKUPS:
We understand how important backups are and that's why we put a lot of emphasis on this aspect of the app. That's why version 0.4.4 has evolved the backup system.
You can now set the number of backups that the application will keep. With each backup, a new copy of the current project is created, and old copies that exceed the maximum number of backups for one project will be deleted in order not to clog up the hard drive.
Such backup system is the simpliest, the most clear and effective, and will allow you to forget about the lost changes which earlier, though occasionally, took place.
Saving charts and cards to an image
We also added the ability to save characters, locations, worlds maps, and even cards to an image file.
Now you can save and print all these schemes to hang them in your workplace like a real detective, or to share theis beauty with friends :) By the way, if you do, be sure to tag us on social media and we'll share your creativity with everyone!
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
And of course, here are some stabilization improvements to the new release:
an algorithm for determining locations for auto-complete is improved;
an ability to turn off line numbers in the comic module is added;
search for the characters and locations in the current script is improved;
application behavior when trying to create a project in a folder where the user cannot write data is improved;
translation of the application into Telugu is added;
an issue with updating the line height of formats that have a custom line height set is fixed;
an issue with word and character count in novel statistics is fixed;
an issue with pasting scene titles from the clipboard when scene numbers are locked is fixed;
several problems that caused crashes when viewing statistics are fixed;
a crash in the comic book module when cancelling the last action after pasting the text of the character's lines from the clipboard is fixed;
an issue with a single character of a character's name being overwritten in a comic when pasting the text from the clipboard is fixed;
an issue with exporting specific scenes is fixed;
an issue with updating timing when changing a script template is fixed;
an issue with updating translations in some parts of the application when changing the interface language is fixed;
an issue with refreshing the size of the dropdown list of formats after turning on/off the beats display mode is fixed;
a freeze when selecting text in scene mode in some cases is fixed;
an issue with adding an extra act/folder/part/chapter completion block when changing formats is fixed;
an issue with defining blocks of character names when generating a script is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.3 (Mar 1, 2023)

And today we're presenting Story Architect version 0.4.3 with a brand new module for prose writers!
Novels:
What a cool adventure it was!
Yeah, yeah, yeah... — my brain, which had no rest for a week, thought.
Anyway, now you can open Story Architect and create a new project with a set of documents for a novel, or you can add it directly to an existing project!
The novel document set includes the sections you're already familiar with. You can customize the necessity of displaying each of them, as usual, in the novel's parameters.
Title page and synopsis:
The title page and synopsis provide access to the text editors of these documents.
The title page uses a blueprint from the template you use, but you can modify it completely to your liking. Also, you can add additional pages that you'd want your novel to begin with, such as a dedication, technical information about your work, etc.
Outline:
A novel outline provides an opportunity to sketch out the structure of your novel and describe the main points of the chapters and scenes, which you can then use as prompts for yourself as you work through the text.
Text and Cards:
The next document is the actual text of the novel.
When working with the text, you may find such tools as the review mode (to add comments to the text) and the 'focus mode' for chapters and scenes (to leave only one chapter in front of you and completely focus on it) useful. These modes are activated using the corresponding buttons in the toolbar at the top.
In addition, the structure navigator is very useful for easy navigation and management of the structure of your writing. To activate it, either click on the arrow pointing to the right or double-click on the text document of your novel in the list of documents (on the left).
To activate card mode, use the mode switch at the top of the navigator (to the right of the menu button).
Statistics:
In the statistics document you can see summary information about the novel, such as the number of pages, words, characters, and the ratio of parts, chapters, and scenes.
In fact, this module appears to be more detailed, but it's not yet clear what kind of statistical information would be useful to authors. If you have ideas, please reach out and we will implement them, improving the app for everyone.
Exporting:
After the novel has been embodied, it's time to export it from the program to send it on its further journey.
To do this, you can use the Export menu item.
Choose what you want to include, customize the format (at the moment the program supports only PDF and DOCX, we plan to add EPUB and markdown) and additional options. For example, if you don't want to put scene headers in the final document, you can specify to have them replaced with decorative breaks.
Once all the settings are complete and the "Export" button has been pressed, all that remains is to select the folder to save it to and specify the name of the file in which your work will be saved.
What else has happened in the meantime:
In addition to implementation of a new module, we have managed to simultaneously improve other parts of the app:
the ability to configure the modules you use the first time you run the app is added;
an automatic text correction option is added;
a replacement of two dashes with an em-dash is added;
banning of several spaces typed in a row is added;
a possibility to specify story days for scenes is added;
user experience with scene tags is improved, now when you add a tag, a list of already created tags is shown and you don't have to enter the tag all over again;
two dashes can now be used as a scene time delimiter;
the ability to set sequence descriptions in cards is added;
a new area at the top and bottom of the scene / document lists is added, it scrolls the list to move the scene to the areas that are not currently visible on the screen;
in the template parameters, an option of specifying a paragraph mark for block formats is added;
the speed of the cards module is optimized;
an issue with the width of the found characters/locations list dialog when searching for all characters or locations in a project is fixed;
a crash in the comic strip module in some cases when updating panel and line numbers is fixed;
an app crash in isolation mode when the format of the scene title block is changed to another one is fixed;
an issue with displaying a blank uneditable page in front of a script/comic is fixed;
an issue with deleting empty sequences in the script is fixed;
an issue with displaying the scrollbar in text editors with some application theme settings is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.2 (Feb 19, 2023)

Hi there, guys!
Today is a great day to publish the new version of Story Architect 0.4.2, in which we've redesigned the way we work with beats in the treatment, added the ability to isolate scenes for full concentration, and fixed a lot of bugs! Here we go!
Treatment or Outline?:
The biggest change we've made is probably concentrated in our approach to working with the treatment.
The beat approach didn't appeal to everyone. We got a lot of messages from writers that it would be great to simplify it so that the descriptions added to the scenes wouldn't create extra lines in the script itself.
We took it in and looked for a solution. And it seems that it has been found. In the new version of the program, we came up with a way to combine both approaches in one tool and still make it easy to use.
Now the beats added to scenes in treatment are not visible in the script itself until you want them to be! You can simply add scene descriptions and not interact with them at all within the script (except checking the outline while working on the scene text).
Or, you can activate the beats display in the script (with the corresponding button in the toolbar) and add scene content within the beats so that you can manipulate them afterwards.
Isolating elements of text documents:
Another new feature in Story Architect 0.4.2 is the ability to isolate a scene, or a group of scenes in a script, a page, or a comic strip panel, etc., in text documents so that you can focus on it as much as possible.
Isolation mode can be enabled in the toolbar, and then you can navigate between scenes using the document navigator, or the comment or bookmark navigator.
Other improvements:
The application is getting more stable at a rapid pace. During these two weeks, more than 30 problems and defects have been fixed in total. Here is a detailed list of the most notable improvements:
text formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough) can now be applied without selecting the text
context menu of spell checking now works for the words selected in a text editor;
an ability to independently test translations for dev-versions of the application is added (more details at https://starc.app/translate);
an option of forced opening of the project for cases, when a file you were working with was locked by another instance of the application, which crashed, is added;
an option to disable the forced conversion of the paragraph style from a line to a remark when entering the opening parenthesis is added (Settings - Components - Script - Text Editor - use an opening parenthesis to switch to a remark in a line);
the list of characters is now displayed in upper case of the script navigator;
an issue of the cursor constantly thrown to the beginning of the script/last paragraph of the scene title, when entering text, is fixed;
an issue with saving a script that had custom scene numbers and then the scene numbers were locked is fixed;
an issue with loading beat display settings in the script navigator is fixed;
an issue with moving local projects to the cloud if that project had previously been saved locally from the cloud is fixed;
a crash when creating relations in the Character Relation Map is fixed;
a crash when working with text, when a paragraph of text with an editorial note was below the cursor and moved to the next page, is fixed;
an issue with the editorial note being highlighted in the list if you set the cursor at the end of the paragraph that is included in the note is fixed;
an issue with the comic, play, and audio text breakdown after deleting lines is fixed;
an issue with incorrectly pasting beat scenes from the clipboard is fixed;
an issue with duplicate beats when moving scenes in the navigator is fixed;
an issue with exporting specific scenes that contain beats inside is fixed;
a crash in statistics when it is opened for an empty scene is fixed;
a crash when undoing the last action in some situations is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.1 (Jan 31, 2023)

Hello, guys!
I know you've been waiting for this - the new version of Story Architect 0.4.1 with OpenAI's generation tools is now available for download!
Script generation using neural networks:
Yes! We're diving into AI and thinking about how you could use it for your creative process to remove writer's block and give more room for creativity and new ideas.
The first tentative step we're taking in this direction is the option to generate the script's text.
Please keep in mind its still in Beta but we're in the future already so why wait?
How to generate:
In order to generate a script text, you need to right-click in the script text and select the "Generate Text" context menu item.
A dialog box will appear in front of you to enter prompts for the AI with a hint how to make it.
Once the prompt is there, the "Generate" button starts the process and all you have to do is watch the magic happen right on your screen.
Impressive, isn't it?:
Working with a generative neural network is like communicating with a genie, it requires skill and understanding of what you want from it. That is why the best results are obtained with the most fully formed requests. The more detailed your request description is, the more accurately and qualitatively it will be executed.
Describe the genre, the mood, the characters, the world of the story, and all of these points will be taken into account by the system when creating a new script text, if possible.
What languages it works with:
The best results will be obtained for the English language, but you are not limited to it!
You can describe requests in any language. Then our system will automatically recognize the language in which your prompts are written, translate it into English, make a request to the neural network, and return with the answer in the language of the prompts.
Okay, it might not be perfect so please don't get offended
Credits:
The text generation service is not free, so you will need "credits" to use it within the app. One "credit" means one script generation.
Starting with this update credits will be awarded for activation of the PRO and TEAM versions of STARC subscriptions as follows:
PRO subscription - 5 credits * number of months of subscription
PRO lifetime - 120 credits
TEAM subscription - 10 credits * number of months of subscription
You can also buy packs of 50 and 200 credits separately from the plans.
All the available credits will be shown in your personal profile in the app.
What's under the hood:
Text generation uses OpenAI's Davinci model (text-davinci-003).
How to try it:
To celebrate the launch of the service, especially for our newsletter subscribers, we're offering a promo code StarcAI to get 5 credits to check out the AI tool.
Try it, experiment with it and share your findings!
Other improvements:
Despite the fact that we were very inspired by the work on the generation of the script text, we have also made few other improvements
the process of deleting projects from the start page is improved (now the app will not ask you to save the deleted file if you have deleted a project that was opened at the moment of deletion);
a page describing the backup system operation is added to the process of the first acquaintance with the app after installation;
a new option of inserting HASH of a theme using the context menu of the user theme preview block is added;
ability to select several items in the text documents navigator (including script texts) to give them a common color;
an option to move a cloud project to a local computer is added (using the context menu of the project in the list);
when adding co-authors, ENTER in the email entry field now opens access to the project;
a selection of photos in the poster editor and when generating character photos is improved;
the option to display bits in the navigator is now separated for the storyline and script text;
canceling the last action in the text editors now returns the cursor to the correct position;
a crash when starting an app when two or more projects were deleted and the app was closed is fixed;
a crash when trying to open the project, the file of which was deleted while running the application, is now fixed;
an issue with creating a cloud project structure when importing while creating a project is fixed;
a header overlapping the text in the text field when adding documents is fixed;
an issue with the ability to edit text in items of a drop-down menu with a list of text editors' formats is fixed;
rendering of scene numbers on the right side is fixed;
an issue with exporting user customized fonts on the title page in DOCX is fixed;
an issue with positioning pop-up menus and windows for small screens is fixed (now they don't go off the screen);
an issue with displaying the field for adding a bookmark, when no bookmark page was active in the sidebar is fixed;
for all documents opened in separate windows, window title is correctly set now (according to title of the document which the user is editing)
colors for graphs displaying are slightly improved.
P.S. If you all have any ideas or experience of how AI tools could be expanded / updated and how to provide more useful tools for creative work - please share it with us in social networks or via contact form. We're here for you.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.4.0 (Jan 18, 2023)

Hola, amigos!
Happy first update of 2023! Story Architect version 0.4.0 with motivational innovations comes out today!
STATISTICS ON WORKING WITH THE APPLICATION:
So, the main addition in this version is the ability to monitor your own productivity.
Now STARC will remember how many words you've added today while working on each project and then show you with charts and diagrams how productive the previous week, month and even year has been!
To open the statistics page you need to click the statistics button in the main application menu.
In addition to the history of work in the program you can see your averages, which allows you to understand your rhythm and plan your working hours better.
And users of PRO & TEAM versions Story Architect can see the stats from all devices you work with at once!
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
For the rest, as planned, we stick to the course on stabilization, so basically this release includes fixes and improvements to existing functionality:
in the text document navigator, item colors are now displayed in accordance with the nesting hierarchy;
in the text editor, the colors of scenes and folders are now also displayed with consideration of the elements nesting;
the crop dialog now allows you to rotate an image;
when adding worlds, the "Add to folder" checkbox has been removed, as the worlds are displayed in the list;
an ability to use the character name generator in the dialog of adding new documents is added;
icons for categories are added to the navigator of world settings;
the map of characters' relations and maps of locations and worlds run faster;
an algorithm for calculating the line height for different Courier styles is improved;
problems with deleting documents are fixed (issues with deleting a document from the Recycle Bin manually, with deleting versions of text documents, as well as deleting documents in the cloud projects);
a problem resetting a name generator category filter is fixed;
an issue with word/symbol count for acts and folders in screenplays is fixed;
an issue with rendering text darkening for focus mode in comics, stage plays, and audio plays is fixed;
an issue with identifying character lines coming after remarks for the character lines module is fixed;
an issue with loading font settings in user templates is fixed;
the correct date of the last change now displays in cloud projects;
an issue with synchronization of project document structure is fixed;
a crash when a co-author continues working in the project when you switch to another project is fixed;
a crash when copying text from a part of a line that is split into separate pages (and also when selecting it in Linux) is fixed;
a problem with the pipette function in macOS is fixed;
a problem with displaying the application window in some cases in macOS is fixed;
typos and misspellings in the interface are fixed;
We appreciate your activity and feedback as always! Together we can create the most valuable and handy assistant for your daily creative work!

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.3.4 (Jan 2, 2023)

Welcome to the New Year's Eve release of Story Architect 0.3.4 with tools for creating story worlds, speech consistency checker, and other improvements.
Creating worlds:
Yes! Now you can not only create and manage characters and locations, but also create entire worlds and describe their structure in details, for a deeper elaboration of your work.
The principle of operating the module of worlds is completely identical to the modules of characters and locations. In order to create a new world, you just need to click the "Add Document" button and select the appropriate element in the dialogue that appears.
You can create as many worlds as you want, work out their details and even draw a world map of your story.
Do you feel how your possibilities are growing with this update? :)
Speech consistency checker:
Ready to see what your characters say in every episode of the first season? Then go ahead and master the new tool that will give us a glimpse of them!
In order to see all character's lines, you have to select that character in the list, and then switch to the appropriate module in the top bar (to the right of the menu button).
All his/her lines in each of the screenplays of the current project will appear on the screen (and if you have not only screenplays in your project, but also comics and podcasts in the same universe, the character's lines will be shown for each of them).
If you click on a line (or on a scene title), the program will send you to the appropriate place in the text. And to make it more convenient to work with this tool, you can split the screen into two panels (option in the upper right corner of the navigator - split window), and then by clicking on a line you open the text in the adjacent panel, where you can organize the navigation through the replicas.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
Like every update, this one, as well, has its own little list of improvements and fixes.
IMPROVEMENTS AND CHANGES:
update download error handling has been implemented, now the app displays an error correctly if the update could not be downloaded;
lists of characters and locations doesn't appear in the project structure until the first character or location is created;
poster generator is improved;
text exposure customization is added;
an ability to upload additional photos is added;
the mechanism of automatic text correction on page breaks is improved;
cursor synchronization when working with cards and the script text is added, now you do not lose the current context when switching between the editors;
the algorithm for determining the contrasting colors is improved (now the text, which is rendered on colored elements, such as cards, tags on cards, etc. is read better);
the appearance of the dialogue window of adding new documents is changed;
operation of the color picker in Windows is improved;
ADDED:
sorting scenes by order in a screenplay for the location report is
counting the number of scenes and lines for character profiles and gender analysis is
identifying silent characters for character profiles is
FIXED:
an issue with inability to undo more than one last action in some cases is
an issue with refreshing the navigator toolbar when switching between the panels in the double-panel mode is
an inaccuracy in statistical reports is
a crash when inserting text with comments from the clipboard is fixed;
a crash when inserting text from the clipboard into a scene with beats is fixed;
an issue with inserting multiline text into text fields that don't support line breaks is fixed;
an issue with splitting the beat into two parts in the scene editor is fixed;
a problem with project file update when switching from the old versions to the new ones is
an application crash when working with the character/location map after searching for all the characters/locations in the text is fixed;
an issue with importing .fountain files if there are empty lines at the beginning of the file is
switching between panels in a two-window mode is improved;
a problem with applying changes in options for modules opened in separate windows is
a crash when inserting the text with duplicated dialogues (the usual dialogues for the comics, plays and audio plays) in some cases is fixed;
a crash when deleting documents from Recycle Bin in some cases is fixed.
Plans for 2023:
The first thing we will do is to raise the price of the PRO Lifetime subscription by 50% from January 1st. That means there are only 5 days left to catch up and become a happy licensee. PRO Lifetime not only opens up access to the advanced features of the app, but also provides a permanent 20% discount on the TEAM subscriptions. Invest in the future today!
As for the app development plan, we have three main directions for 2023 that we will be working hard on:
STABILIZATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE APP:
The priority of the year will be fixing all the detected problems, increasing the speed of the application while working with texts and other data of any size.
MOBILE VERSION:
We're going to create a full-fledged mobile version of the application which will be almost as good in functionality as its older brother. And this will require a lot of resources, which we plan to involve the next year.
ECOSYSTEM FOR AUTHORS:
In the new year, we plan to introduce a platform which will give additional opportunities for sharing writing experience, for presentation and promotion of your projects, as well as for talent scouting.
Anything else:
Yes! There's so much more! We're going to add features for prose authors in the coming year, to experiment with artificial intelligence, and of course, to add new useful tools for your creativity!

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.3.3 (Dec 5, 2022)

Hello, my dears!:
This is the tenth month of this incredible sprint... For three hundred days, we've been trying to put out an update every 15 days. Whether in time, or delayed, but steadily moving forward. And today we're releasing the 17th Story Architect release in 2022, version 0.3.3.
What's my point? I'm just a little tired of the pace. Of course, I really want to give you all the features we've planned as soon as possible, but fairly, there are so many of them that I'd probably need another year to live at the same pace to create all that we've sketched and designed :)
And in order to be well prepared for the new sprint it's time to take a little time out, to reflect on what has happened to us lately. To breathe out, to look at the results and to plan another strong year, which will bring us closer to the dream, which is the best software for authors.
I want to say a huge thank you to all of you. Thank you for your support, for your criticism, for your kicks and for your kind words! Thank you for every word you said to us! The fact that we have you - users who care about the project - indicates that we are on the right track. Thank you, guys and gals!
I also want to send hugs to our entire team. Boris, Michael, Polina, Polly, Slava, thank you! We are definitely creating something great and I'm very happy to have your company! Thank you for your hard work and your creativity!
Oh, feels so good to be thankful :)
And now, let's go back to the update and see what Story Architect 0.3.3 is bringing us!
Scene number:
In version 0.3.3 we have made a lot of features for working with scene numbers.
Locking:
Yes, now if your script has gone into production, scene numbers can be locked so that newly added scenes don't throw off the old numbering.
You can lock scene numbers in the scene parameters section. Here you can lock them again, after changing the subsequent accepted drafts, as well as unlock them if necessary.
Template:
Here, in the script parameters, you can now specify not only the text that comes before the scene number, but also the text that comes after the number. This allows you to configure the numbering of the scenes exactly as you want it.
To configure it, you need to enter the scene number template in the corresponding field.
CAUTION: the scene number itself in the template must be specified as a # symbol, otherwise the numbers will not be displayed in the script.
By default, the program uses the scene number template with a dot after the number, which looks like this
If you want to have only numbers, you can remove the dot at the end of the template, or if you want to give numbers a prefix as a series number and leave a dot at the end, such a template will look like this (for the fifth series)
Try to experiment! If necessary, you can always reset the scene number template to the default by using the corresponding button inside the template text box.
Flexible customization:
In addition to all the features above, starting from version 0.3.3, you can also set scenes to their own numbers (regardless of whether scene numbers are locked or not).
In order to give a scene its own number, you need to open the scene parameter panel. You can do this by selecting the appropriate option item in the Navigator (three dots in the upper right corner of the Navigator) of the script editor, and in the card editor, by selecting the desired scene card.
Next, you need to uncheck the switch from automatic scene numbering mode and you'll see a field to set the number and an additional checkbox that allows you to skip the logical scene number. It sounds complicated, but it works very simply :)
If you specify the need to "skip scene number" which comes third in your script, the program counts the next scene as third (rather than fourth, as it should be if you count them in order).
Script text counters:
And another innovation of the new version is the display of script counters in the navigator.
In order to see a summary of the number of pages, scenes, words and characters in your script, you just need to open the script navigator (you can do so by double-clicking on the script text document or on the right arrow icon located on it), and you will see a line with this info at the bottom.
To choose which counters you want to see, click on the line with the information and select available counters in a drop-down menu.
Other improvements:
And finally, some last but not the least improvements:
the appearance of the timeline is improved - now it shows the approximate interval of the script duration, which is displayed on the screen;
the scene description is now displayed in the scene navigator, if it is specified; if not, the script text is displayed as before;
ability to display the scene parameters in the script text editor is added (this can be enabled via the script options);
rendering of various elements of the application interface is improved;
double-click on a card to edit its title, and double-click on a folder to minimize or maximize it;
the option to display the current script beat is removed from the navigator (due to the fact that the beats can now be seen in the scene settings panel);
an issue with removal of the local project via the context menu is resolved (the project will definitely be removed now);
a problem with changing a title page font when several paragraphs are highlighted is fixed;
an issue with the script editor focusing for newly created comic, play, and audio plays is fixed;
multiple app crashes when editing text and undoing the last action are fixed;
an issue with pasting text from the clipboard into an empty scene title block is fixed (this caused phantom scenes without a title to appear in the script)
a crash when pasting from the clipboard scenes that have a title is fixed;
a problem with hiding paragraphs of text beats and the script itself in the scene and story editors is fixed;
an issue with creating the first beat for scenes that already have script text is fixed;
a problem with loading cards when opening a cloud project is fixed;
an issue with updating scene numbers in cards is fixed;
an issue with drawing characters without a specified role on the attitude map in some custom themes is fixed;
an issue with displaying a black rectangle instead of the background process bar in the bottom right corner of the app is fixed;
issues with rendering project list, typewriter sounds and image selection on some Windows devices are fixed;
the build of Open Source version of the application is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.3.2a (Nov 16, 2022)

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.3.2 (Nov 16, 2022)

Expanded Location Editor:
As we wrote earlier, updates to the 0.3.X version of the app will be focused on improving the LOR's crafting capabilities. That's why today we are pleased to introduce you to an expanded location editor.
It includes the ability to set several pictures of the place where the action of your story takes place, as well as lists of features, working on which you will be able to set the atmosphere of the place and get a better feel for it.
Image Gallery:
Another new feature is the ability to add image galleries of any sort to your projects
You can add images to the gallery either from files on your computer, or by dragging and dropping images from the internet.
Besides, we have improved the photo previewer. Now you can control it not only with the mouse, but also with the keyboard! You can move from one photo to another using any method convenient for you: with arrow keys, or with the spacebar and backspace, and you can always close the preview with Escape.
Cards:
Cards have not been neglected either!
Search/Filtering:
In the new version, you can apply a text filter to the cards to find the scenes you want.
You can search the entire text of the card, or just the titles, or the tags.
Print:
Yes, for those who are tired of working long hours at the computer and want to disconnect from it while continuing to improve the script, we've added the ability to print the cards.
You can specify how many cards to place on one sheet of paper, how to arrange it, and whether you need the colors you've assigned to the cards in the app. The program will then create a PDF file, which you can print, cut along the cutting lines, and lay out your cards on an analog corkboard.
Other improvements:
In addition to the large strokes, we have of course made smaller ones:
an ability to reset all app settings is added (a corresponding button has been added at the bottom of the settings category list on the settings page);
a word counter for the logline is added;
interaction with the scroll bars is improved, now they will not jump when you put the cursor past them;
interface of the character profile is redesigned;
a panel with additional photos is now hidden until you set the main image;
a block with parameters for describing the story is added and moved to the beginning of the extended questionnaire;
when adding a script to the project, the program now activates its script text for further work with it;
an ability to display the number of words spoken by a character is added in the characters report;
an issue with displaying the right panel drop-down button when exiting the dual-panel mode is fixed;
an issue with changing the project poster is fixed;
an issue with changing the main character photo is fixed;
an issue with the appearance of two questions about changing a character's name/location when changing it from the relationship scheme is fixed;
an issue with the placement of beat text fields when adding them in card mode is fixed;
an issue with rendering card artifacts when adding new scenes is fixed;
a crash when undoing the last action after dragging a card from one folder/act to another is fixed;
cards put into a closed folder are now placed last instead of first;
an issue with focus (setting cursor) of a selected editor is fixed, so that you don't have to click on it additionally;
an issue with incorrect behavior when deleting text between two folders/acts in a script is fixed, as well as crashing when trying to undo the last action later;
an issue with script text corrections on page breaks when exporting part of the script scenes is fixed;
an issue with editing text at page breaks in dialogues that have an inline note dividing a line;
a crash when pasting text from the clipboard that contains comments is fixed.

New in Story Architect (STARC) 0.3.1 (Nov 14, 2022)

Happy new update to you! Today we're releasing Story Architect version 0.3.1, which got a little better for you!
The main direction that will go through version 0.3 will be the expansion of story world development capabilities.
Character Profile:
Oh, yes! Now you can compile a dossier for each of your characters in a convenient (and of course beautiful) way.
The program will help you look at a character from all angles, dive deeper into his/her own story, and think about his/her goals, actions, and reasons.
And another nice bonus is that now you can add more atmospheric reference photos.
Welcoming New Users:
The number of authors using STARC is growing rapidly, so we decided to update the first run of the app to improve the user experience and ease the first steps of getting used to the app.
Help Center:
But writing code wasn't the only thing we were doing all this time!
We finally created and started filling out the help section on our site, and made a working button on the project list screen in the application itself. Now, at any time, you can open our help center and read one of our articles.
What else:
Well, of course we have fixed bugs and made some improvements in the new version!
support for emoji, both in text editors and in text fields (comments, titles, etc.) is added;
user experience while working with frame titles in comics when using Tab & Enter buttons us improved;
look of review panel is changed (divider between items for adding note and choosing its color is added)
size of application is reduced by removing additional/unnecessary fonts from it (now they will be loaded during work only if they are needed)
an app crash on canceling last action in some cases is fixed;
an issue with navigator hide button size when zooming interface elements in settings is fixed;
an issue with naming new projects is fixed;
indentation parameters for lyrics in US template is fixed;
problem with exporting scene numbers in the storybook is fixed
an issue with extra blank lines when exporting a stage book is fixed;
a crash when deleting beats in the beat sheet is fixed;
an issue with displaying scene titles at the end of the page in the storybook is fixed;
a crash after changing the order of cards/scenes in the script navigator is fixed;
an issue with displaying an incorrect number of panels in a comic book after it is loaded is fixed;
an issue with text input in the title of a comic strip panel is fixed;
an issue with the appearance of the text field breaking, if you do undo the last action in an empty field, is fixed;
an issue with using the spell checker dictionary right after loading it is fixed;
a work of a color picker for macOS & Windows is fixed.