Connect scene to scene

[jgbourque]

Why this task matters

It is important to make sure that one scene flows smoothly to the next. This task will help you connect scenes together in the right order.

Steps

Git Setup

1. Update your local repository. Open Git Bash and navigate to your project folder. Before creating a new branch, switch back to the main branch and pull the latest changes from your team's GitHub repository. This makes sure that the new branch you are about to create will have the latest updates from your team's StoryQuest.

   git switch main
   git pull

2. Create a new Git branch
   Now, create a new branch for your work:

   git switch -c new-branch-name

   In general, choose a branch name that reflects what you're doing, like intro-outro-tilemap or add-custom-path. This keeps your work organized. Click here for a more detailed guide and more information on updating your local repository and creating a branch.

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3. Open your scene in Godot by double-clicking the .tscn file for your scene in the File System (e.g., intro.tscn).
4. Set the next scene. Select the Cinematic node (for intro/outro scenes) or the CollectibleItem node (for mini-game scenes) in the Scene Tree, and find the Next Scene field in the Inspector (screenshots below). Drag in your next scene (e.g., stealth.tscn from your StoryQuest folder), or use Quick Load.
5. Preview the scene. Click the Play Scene button (clapperboard icon) to test your changes.
6. Save your changes. Use Scene → Save All Scenes.

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Save To Git and GitHub

7. Stage and commit your changes. In Git Bash, here is an example of how this flow will generally look:

   git status
   git add scenes/quests/story_quests/yourStoryQuest/
   git commit -m "Add your message here - explain to your team what you changed"
   git push --set-upstream origin your-branch-name

• Make sure the file path shows your actual story quest name, write your own descriptive commit message, and use your actual branch name.
• You can use git add to add more than one file simply by putting a space between file paths you paste in.
• You only need to use --set-upstream the first time you push a new branch to GitHub.
  Click here for a more detailed guide and more information on saving and pushing your changes to GitHub.

8. Submit a pull request. Go to GitHub, navigate to your fork, and click Compare & pull request. Write a clear title and description indicating what you changed and why, then click Create pull request.
   Click here for a more detailed guide and more information on creating a pull request to your team's forked repo.

Tips

In mini-games, the way to set which scene comes next is a little different:

Use CollectibleItem, Not Cinematic, for Scene Switching

In intro and outro scenes, you may have used the Cinematic node to switch to the next scene after some dialogue. In mini-games, you should not do that. Instead, you should always set the next scene path inside the CollectibleItem node (the one that appears when the game is completed). Why? Because if you use the Cinematic node, the scene could change before the player has actually completed the mini-game.

Intro Scene: Set next scene with Cinematic

Mini-game Scene: Set next scene with CollectibleItem

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Always share your work with others to catch things to refine as early as possible!

You can always playtest on your own (actually, you should do this often), but if you need more eyes on what you're working on, we recommend you to create a playable link of your prototype to share with people (you'll need to do this eventually, but you don't have to wait until you're done: the sooner you ask for feedback, the better).
Check this discussion about How to enable web builds on a Threadbare fork to be able to share and gather feedback!