Sometimes a single line — "Yeah, got it." — is all you need. Other days, you're craving the kind of scene-painting where your character unspools a whole chapter. Response Length is the dial that controls exactly that. You decide how much your character gives you with every reply.
The good news first: the default is free for everyone. You only spend a little SP when you want longer replies. No tricky settings, no hidden traps. You'll have it figured out in about a minute.
Response Length is the setting that decides how much your character writes back. It's just like asking a friend at a café to "keep it short" or "tell me everything." You're giving the AI a heads-up: "Make this reply about this long."
Turn the length up and your character gives you richer descriptions, deeper emotional beats, and longer lines of dialogue. Keep it short and you get a quick, snappy back-and-forth. There's no right answer — pick whatever fits the mood and the scene that day.
Think of it like this: Response length is the "portion size." From a single bite (Short) to a full-course meal (Extended), order as much as you're hungry for.
You can tap Response Length in the sidebar and change it anytime mid-chat. You're free to switch it message by message, even within a single conversation — cruise along on Short for the light stuff, then crank it up to Long just for the climactic scene.
Open the Response Length menu from the chat screen.
Pick one of Short / Medium / Long / Extended.
Send your message as usual, and the reply comes back at the length you chose.
Option | How it feels | Great for moments like | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Short | Quick, snappy replies | Light chit-chat, fast ping-pong banter, when you just want a one-liner from your character | Free to set — a longer reply may use a bit more SP |
Medium | A balanced length | Everyday roleplay, a nice mix of dialogue and description | Free to set — a longer reply may use a bit more SP |
Long | Long, immersive replies | Scenes where emotions run deep, when you need rich description | Free to set — a longer reply may use a bit more SP |
Extended | The longest, most novelistic replies | Pivotal moments, when you want it to read like a full chapter of a story | Free to set — a longer reply may use a bit more SP |
Worth knowing: Choosing a length is free on every plan — Short, Medium, Long, or Extended, the setting itself never costs anything. The only difference is that a longer reply generates more text, so on a premium model it may use a bit more of your weekly allowance / SP on that message. On the free Default model, even the longest reply still costs nothing.
SP is deducted once per message. Your message and your character's reply are treated as a single bundle, and the cost comes out of that one bundle. In other words, "your message + the AI's reply" = one round.
Turning up the length doesn't add any flat fee — the length setting is free to choose on every plan. The only thing that changes:
Your weekly Premium Allowance / SP drains a bit faster: The longer the reply, the more text the AI generates, so if you're using a premium model, that single message uses a little more of your weekly allowance / SP than a short one would. It's just part of the normal per-message usage cost, not a separate add-on. On the free Default model, longer replies still cost nothing. The same "more work = a bit more SP" idea also applies to setting your memory deep or running a large character profile.
Don't worry — the app shows you the estimated cost before you send. No surprise charges. [Related: Story Points & Costs]
Why does longer cost more? A long reply means the AI has to "think" more and write more, which takes more computation. Short replies are light and fast. So keep it short most of the time and go long only for the moments that matter — that's the most economical way to play.
Your conversation never stops.
The default model is unlimited for every user. The length setting is always free to choose, so even if your weekly Premium Allowance or SP runs dry, you can keep chatting as much as you want — at any length — on the free Default model. Premium models draw a bit of SP per message (a touch more for longer replies), so you'd just lean on the Default model until your SP refills or you top up.
Rest easy: StoryChat never locks you out with a hard-lock. Even at 0 SP, the conversation with your character keeps going.
Ride the flow on Short and switch to Long/Extended only for the decisive moment. Leaving it on Extended every time drains SP fast. The trick is to change it on the fly to match the scene.
If replies feel like they're getting cut off too short, bump the length up a notch. If they're getting too wordy, drop it down a notch.
SP is a permanent currency that never expires. Once you top up, it doesn't disappear — so you can save it and spend it on a long, immersive day. [Related: Story Points & Costs]
If you also want sharper memory and smarter replies, look beyond just response length and check out the AI model and memory settings you're using too. [Related: Choosing an AI Model], [Related: Longer Memory]
Spot anything missing or wrong in this guide? Let our support team know anytime — it goes a long way toward making these guides better.