4. Your first conversation

Walk in, talk, leave, and come back later. The people you meet remember you.

Walk in

Click (or tap) the building and your character walks there. When you arrive, the building's card appears with the people inside. Choose Enter, or press E.

You can only enter once you're standing close to the building, so if Enter is missing, click the building to walk over first.

The conversation view

The interior fills the screen and everyone present sits in the row of portraits at the bottom.

Choose the portrait of the person you want to talk to.
Type what you say or do in plain sentences, with spoken words in quotes, and press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line). See Writing your messages.
Their reply plays out line by line: what they say, what they do, and what's happening in the scene.

You speak first. People don't open the conversation when you walk in. The exception is Story Moments, where you walk in on something already happening.

How they respond

Nothing is scripted. Each reply comes from the character's profile, the place they're in, what they know about the world, and what they remember about you.

Strangers don't know your name. They go by how you look and what you're wearing. Tell them your name and they'll use it.
More than one person in the room? Speak to someone by name ("Mara, what do you think?") to turn to them. Others may chime in on their own.
Change the playback speed in Atlas → Settings → Dialogue speed.

Leave, and come back

Choose Leave, or press Esc.

When you leave, each person who took part forms a memory of the conversation, and their feelings toward you may shift a little. Next time you visit, they'll remember what happened, and they'll know your name if you gave it. That's the heart of RPBuddy.

You've got the core loop

Everything from here builds on it. Read on in order, or jump to whatever interests you:

5. The screen — every part of the interface
6. Your character — make yourself someone the characters react to
7. Moving around — travel, rooms, finding people
8. Your first settlement — a whole town, ready-made or your own
9. Filling the world — more places, people, lore and danger
10. A living world — what happens while you're not talking to anyone
11. Your first fight — enemies and combat
12. Sharing your world — publish it, or play someone else's