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Checking and publishing

Before a reader opens your adventure, the validation report shows you what is wrong, the trial run shows what actually plays, the settings show how the adventure is presented, and publishing shows what will go online.

The validation report, the trial run that explains why a choice is hidden, the adventure's settings and the publication of an immutable version.

This chapter is a reference: come back to it when an adventure needs it. If Fatum is new to you, start with the first step of the path: What the engine can do

Validation

The report sorts its findings into three levels: blocking, warnings and information. Only the blocking ones prevent a publication. A warning deserves a look and has never stopped anyone from putting their adventure online.

Each finding names the object it targets and takes you there in one click, on the right field. They are written to say what to do: "this fight offers no attacks: add at least one".

The validation report of an adventure with no errors: the message saying so, then the in-depth analysis section and its button.
The report reads the saved draft. If you have just been typing, a banner offers to run the check again.

A filter separates structural findings, which carry no language, from those about a given language's text. That is what lets you sort the graph out without drowning in missing translations.

The playtest

Aperçu plays your draft with the same engine, the same rolls and the same rendering as a real run, and saves nothing. The left panel decides where you start and with what: any scene, and a starting amount for items, values and resources.

Starting somewhere other than the beginning skips the scenes that led there, so their entry effects do not happen. That is deliberate, it lets you test a scene in a second, and the panel reminds you of it for the whole playtest.
Aperçu mode: the draft being played in the middle, in the adventure's theme.
"Restart the trial run" starts again from the up-to-date draft: corrections made during the trial are picked up in the next run.

Why is this choice hidden?

Under the playtest, a list shows every choice of the scene, the offered ones and the ones that are not. Each hidden choice names the check that failed, and unfolds into the detail, row by row, in the very sentences you wrote the rule in.

A hidden choice's inspection: the check that failed, then each condition marked "not met".
This list exists only in the editor. No reader sees it: so it can be blunt.

A row can be "not met" or "impossible to evaluate", and those are not the same. The first is the game working; the second is a rule the engine cannot read, and it says why.

The adventure's settings

The "Settings" page gathers what concerns the whole adventure rather than one scene. Each panel saves on its own: a line at the top of the panel says "Autosave", then "Saved at" followed by the time. The left menu divides two families: "Adventure", which applies right away, and "Game rules", which applies at the next publication.

Theme, character creation and inventory change nothing for readers until the next publication, and runs already started keep those of their version. Every other panel applies right away.
  • General information. The title, required, and a short description, optional.
  • Cover. One image per adventure language, in JPEG, PNG or WebP format. A language with no cover displays the default language's, and a missing cover never blocks publication.
  • Ambience music. Your playlist, chosen from those the site offers, played "In order" or "Shuffle". Music never starts on its own: the reader presses the play button. A change also applies to runs in progress, and as long as the list is empty, no music is offered.
  • Ratings and comments. Two checkboxes, "Allow ratings" and "Allow new comments and replies". Unchecking a box erases nothing: already-published ratings and comments stay visible.
  • Address and visibility. The adventure's public address shows here, ready to copy. It follows the title and the author's name while nothing is published, then is fixed at first publication and never changes, even if you rename the adventure. The choice between "In the catalogue" and "Out of the catalogue" is in the same panel (see below).
  • Theme. Eight themes to choose from: Parchment (the site's own), Dark fantasy, Inquiry, Horror, Warm, Modern horror, Neon and Simple reading. A theme changes the colours, the typography and the mood, without touching the rules or the results.
  • Character creation. The place of classes in creation: "No class", "Optional class" or "Required class". For the creation screen to show, the start scene must have the role "Character creation". Trait groups set in the library.
  • Inventory. What the character can keep: "No limit" (the starting setting), a fixed number of "Slots", or a maximum "Bulk", each item having its own. Limits per tag (for example two weapons at most) add to this choice, and exempted tags take an item out of the count.
The Theme panel of the settings: the preview mode selector, then eight theme cards, each with its name, description and a thumbnail of the read page.
Each thumbnail shows the adventure as the theme renders it: chapter title, text, choices and button. The chosen theme is the one on the highlighted card.

Four themes open in dark mode for a reader who has not chosen theirs; their card carries the note "Dark mode by default.". The "Preview in" selector (Default, Light, Dark, Contrast, Dark contrast) lets you see the eight themes in each mode before publishing.

Publishing

Publication mode displays nine checks, each with its state ("Checked", "To fix", "To review" or "Not checked yet") and, when there are findings, their count. The first seven check what can block publication: no blocking errors, one start scene and only one, at least one path that completes the adventure, all references valid, valid inventory rules, version information present and the version compiling without error. The last two, "Warnings" and "Analysis findings", are grouped under "Optional review": they never block publication.

Publication mode: the list of nine checks, each with its state, the last two grouped under "Optional review".
While a check's result has not arrived, its line shows "Not checked yet". A checkmark appears only on a confirmed result.

The confirmation before publication announces what is going to happen: the languages that will be published, those left aside and why, the number of warnings still present in the report, and the version that new runs will use (runs already started keep theirs). On the first publication, the confirmation also states whether the adventure will appear in the catalogue or stay out of it, reachable only by its direct link.

Versions

Publishing never overwrites anything. A published version is frozen: publishing creates a new one and retires the previous one. The left panel lists them, from newest to oldest, with their number, their state ("Active version" or "Retired"), their date and their languages. Selecting a version opens its sheet, with the number of scenes, choices and endings.

A run already under way stays on the version it started, until it ends. Republishing breaks nobody's run, and does not fix theirs either: your corrections wait for their next run.

Catalogue, deletion and copy

By default, "In the catalogue" is selected: your adventure appears in the public catalogue from its first publication, and anyone can find it. To keep it out of the catalogue, choose "Out of the catalogue" before publishing, in Publication mode or in the "Address and visibility" panel of the settings. As long as the adventure has not been retired, you can change this choice at any time afterwards, in the same places.

The public catalogue: the list of published adventures, with their title and description.
An adventure appears there once published, if "In the catalogue" is selected.

Mind the exact meaning: taking an adventure out of the catalogue does not unpublish it. It stays playable at its address, which only a direct link can reach, and runs in progress continue: only its presence in the list disappears.

Delete the adventure is another action. It is the last entry in the settings menu and, under the name "Delete", on the "My adventures" page, in both cases after a confirmation. The scenes, the choices, the rules and the definitions disappear, the published version too, and runs already started cannot be resumed. There is no trash.