Custom Script Compiler

Script compiling is the process of transforming source scenario text (contained in .nani files) into data structures, which are then used to control the game flow. For example, the compiler will transform the @hide Kohaku line into a HideActor command with the ActorId parameter set to "Kohaku".

It's possible to tweak or even completely change how the compiler behaves by providing a custom implementation. Like other custom implementations, this is done by creating a new C# class that implements a specific interface—in this case, IScriptCompiler.

A script compiler can be selected in the scripts configuration menu via the Script Compiler property:

NOTE

After switching the script compiler in the configuration, you need to re-import the script assets (right-click the folder containing the assets and choose Reimport) for the changes to take effect.

Below is an example of a custom compiler that automatically inserts wait commands after each ... found in the source scenario text:

public class CustomCompiler : ScriptCompiler
{
    public override Script CompileScript (string path, string text,
        CompileOptions options = default)
    {
        text = text.Replace("...", "...[wait 1]");
        return base.CompileScript(path, text, options);
    }
}

When this compiler is selected and a ... appears in the game, a one-second delay will automatically be added, even though it's not explicitly written in the script. Be aware that this naive implementation is only for demonstration purposes. In a real project, you'd likely want to modify the generic line sub-compiler to ensure this only affects printed text, and/or use regex for more precise matching.

Notice that instead of implementing the IScriptCompiler interface from scratch, the example above inherits from the built-in compiler and overrides one of its methods. You can further tweak the built-in compiler in this way, overriding sub-compilers used for comments, labels, commands, and generic text lines. For example, you can create a custom generic line sub-compiler and override it like this:

using Naninovel;

public class CustomCompiler : ScriptCompiler
{
    protected override GenericLineCompiler GenericLineCompiler { get; }
        = new CustomGenericLineCompiler();
}