Atmospheres
Work in Progress
This documentation is still being expanded and refined. Features, screenshots, and descriptions may change until Talescape's public release. If something is unclear or you need help, please ask on the official Talescape Discord. We're happy to clarify or update pages as needed.
Atmospheres define optional scene-level presentation effects. An atmosphere can contain visual effects, ambience audio or both.
A normal scene can reference one atmosphere. Detail scenes do not have their own atmosphere. Lighting is handled separately and is not part of atmospheres.
1. Atmosphere Presets and Scene Atmospheres
Atmospheres can be stored in two ways:
- Atmosphere Preset: stored on the story and available in the Atmosphere Presets list. You can attach the same preset to multiple normal scenes. Changes to the preset apply to scenes that reference it.
- Scene atmosphere: created from the scene atmosphere drawer and attached to one scene. It is not shown in the Atmosphere Presets list.
Use an Atmosphere Preset when multiple scenes should share the same effect or ambience audio. Use a scene atmosphere when the settings apply only to one scene.
2. Editing Atmospheres
Atmospheres have a type, optional ambience audio and type-specific settings. The available settings depend on the selected type.
In the scene atmosphere drawer, choose one of these modes:
- No Atmosphere: remove the atmosphere from the scene.
- Select Existing Atmosphere: attach an Atmosphere Preset.
- Create Custom Atmosphere: create or update a scene atmosphere for the current scene.
The drawer includes a preview area. If the scene has a background, the preview uses that background behind the atmosphere effect. If no scene background is available, the preview uses a plain background.
3. Using Atmospheres in Scenes
Use the atmosphere button at the top of the scene editor to open the scene atmosphere drawer. The button is available for existing normal scenes.
When a normal scene has an attached atmosphere, Talescape starts that atmosphere when the scene begins. If the next normal scene references the same atmosphere, the player keeps the current atmosphere instead of stopping and starting it again.
Scene music remains part of the scene settings. Ambience audio belongs to the atmosphere.
4. Atmosphere Actions
Atmospheres can also be controlled with actions.
Start Atmosphere starts a selected Atmosphere Preset during play. Stop Atmospheres removes the active atmosphere and stops its ambience audio.
Examples:
- Start a rain atmosphere after a choice.
- Stop a fog atmosphere after an exit opens.
- Replace an ambience-only atmosphere with another atmosphere during a scene.
Most scenes do not need manual atmosphere actions. If a scene has an attached atmosphere, Talescape starts it automatically when the scene begins. Use manual actions when the active atmosphere must change while the player remains in the same scene.