articy:draft 3
- February 16, 2017
- articy Software
Get on Steamarticy:draft 3 is a comprehensive writing tool for game developers, authors, and writers. It allows users to create and organize storylines, characters, and dialogue in a visual and intuitive way. With features such as branching dialogue trees, real-time collaboration, and integrations with game engines, articy:draft 3 is a powerful solution for streamlining the narrative design process.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Articy:Draft is an incredibly robust tool for organizing and developing narratives, making it especially useful for game writing and planning.
- The software offers excellent export options to game engines like Unity, allowing for seamless integration of dialogue and story elements into projects.
- Customer support is responsive and helpful, providing assistance to users when issues arise, which enhances the overall user experience.
- The program suffers from significant usability issues, including a cumbersome interface, frequent crashes, and a lack of intuitive controls, which can hinder productivity.
- There are serious limitations regarding file management, such as the absence of a manual 'save as' option and automatic overwriting of files, leading to potential data loss.
- The software has not seen meaningful updates or improvements in recent years, leading to concerns about its long-term viability and value for users.
- story17 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight the software as an essential tool for organizing and visualizing complex storylines, making it particularly valuable for developers and writers of narrative-driven games. Users appreciate its rich features for creating branching dialogues and plot flows, although some aspects like text export and localization need improvement. Overall, it is highly recommended for anyone involved in story writing or game development.
“Creating conversations is a breeze, and enabled our writer to dive in and start hammering out the story.”
“This software is an incredible tool not just for mapping out games but even just as a storyboarding tool.”
“If you need a platform to not only write a story but to also formulate plotlines and create branching conversations, while keeping track of who is where doing whatever, then this is an excellent resource.”
“Some stuff, like the export text option and lack of a proper localization system need work, but in general this tool is a must for all devs working on story-driven games.”
“It does not make games but it's designed to hold all the information on the narrative of a game or story/novel.”
“If you need a platform to not only write a story but to also formulate plotline and create branching conversations, while keeping track of who is where doing whatever, then this is an excellent resource.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, with frequent program freezes occurring during tasks like saving edits or loading projects. The lack of proper support and updates for the Unreal Engine 4 integration exacerbates these problems, leading to an unreliable user experience.
“In fact, that is such a poor practice that if a problem happens, like trying to save some new template edits, it freezes the program and makes it unresponsive. You can't go back to an older file that actually works, and now every time you try to load your project and edit a detail, the whole program freezes.”
“Official Unreal Engine 4 support and integration is lacking. There's a plugin, but it's open source because they don't care about UE4 and don't want to support it. It's buggy as heck and is being improperly updated, with no branch per engine version.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that Versions 2 and 3 are perceived as cash grabs rather than genuine improvements, leading to a reluctance among users to invest further in the product.
“Versions 2 and 3, in hindsight, seemed like cash grabs rather than true enhancements. This is another reason I just don't plan on spending any more money on this product, if it ever gets updated again.”
“The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without constantly being bombarded by ads and in-game purchases.”
“It's frustrating that the game locks essential features behind a paywall, forcing players to spend money to fully experience what should be a complete game.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for lacking consideration for players who are involved in writing or creating game mechanics, suggesting it may not appeal to those with a deeper understanding of game design.
“But it's just not designed for anyone who either writes or creates game mechanics.”
