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Checklist for a New Character

There are many variables and definitions you need to set up in order for a new character to work in the program. To ensure you don't miss any steps, this page outlines what the necessary definitions and files are, and what the optional ones are.

Any tasks prefaced with (Optional) are optional. Read the description to determine if you want to implement this task.

Items prefaced with (May be required) are dependent on whether or not you have already implemented a previous (Optional) task. For example, if you have added a character to the character_list variable, you must define a phone contact image, but if the character is not in character_list you do not need to define a phone contact image for them.

Required Steps

☐	Define a ChatCharacter object in character_definitions.rpy under the heading Chatroom Characters. See: Adding-a-New-Character-to-Chatrooms
☐	(Optional) Add your character to the character_list in character_definitions.rpy if you want their profile to appear on the home screen and for them to have a phone contact icon. See: Including New Characters on the Home Screen
☐	(Optional). Add your character to the heart_point_chars in character_definitions.rpy if you want the player to see how many heart points they have earned with this character. See: Showing a Heart Point Tally
☐	(May be required). Define a greet image for your character. This is required if you have included the character in heart_point_chars (see above) AND/OR if you want them to have greetings on the main menu. See: Showing a Heart Point Tally
☐	Define a Character object in character_definitions.rpy under the heading Visual Novel Mode. See: Adding a New Character to VNs
☐	Either: 1) in the definition for your Visual Novel Character, include the voice_tag argument (voice_tag="b_voice" where b is the character's file_id), or 2) add their ChatCharacter object to the novoice_chars list in character_definitions.rpy. See: Note on Voiced Characters
☐	(Optional) Define a layeredimage for your character if you want to display their image during Visual Novel/Story Mode sections. See: Declaring a LayeredImage for a New Character
☐	(May be required). Define a Story Mode/VN Image for your character. Required if you want a Story Mode/VN icon for the character on the timeline screen. See: Story Mode/VN Images
☐	Define a Character object in character_definitions.rpy under the heading Phone Call Characters. See: Adding a New Character to Phone Calls
☐	(May be required). Define a phone contact image for your character. Required if you have added them to the character_list variable. See: Adding a phone call contact image
☐	(Optional). Define a CG Album for your character. Requires a cg_label, album_cover, and two album definitions (one persistent and one regular). Add the character's file_id to the all_albums list. See: Adding or Removing CG Albums
☐	(Optional). Add a spaceship thoughts image for your new character. See: Adding Spaceship Thoughts for a New Character
☐	(Optional). Add a day select image for your new character. See: Day Select Images
☐	(Optional). Add a Save & Load image for your new character. See: Save & Load Images