Where to begin?

Announcements, support questions, and discussion for the Dialogue System.
Hereder
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:53 am

Where to begin?

Post by Hereder »

Hi all!
Just bought this dialog system and I am lost... The image below is from my current game Red Colony. But I want to add voices and make it easier to localize it but this Package I bought is very complicated.

1. Its way to complicated for me and I wonder if there is a 2D "Prefab" somewhere I can use as a start point?
2. Is it possible to use this with Google Sheet to import texts? (I want to use this for localization as well)
3. I want it too look like this image below, is there a Prefab somewhere that looks close to it?

Image
62qBruv
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 5:38 pm

Re: Where to begin?

Post by 62qBruv »

I'm no expert but I was looking for something like that a while ago and found this Dialogue System tutorial.



In the video description is a download link for the project assets used in the tutorial. Maybe that will help?
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Tony Li »

Thanks, @62qBruv. The first part of that video provides an overview of how the UI system works. The second part zips through a visual novel-style setup to keep the video to a reasonable length. You can watch it to get a general idea of some things you can do, but instead of following it step-by-step in your project, I recommend the steps below:

First make sure you've at least gone through the Quick Start Tutorial.

Create a dialogue database, and make sure it's assigned to the Dialogue Manager's Initial Database field. Then edit the database in the Dialogue Editor window. On the Actors panel, add actors for the two characters. You can use the default Player actor for whichever charcter is the player. Assign the characters' portrait images (the big images in the foreground of your screenshot) to the actors' Portrait Sprite fields. Then write a short test conversation.

Assign the VN Template Standard Dialogue UI prefab to the Dialogue Manager GameObject's Display Settings > Dialogue UI field. A pop-up window will ask if you want to Add Instance or Use Prefab. Click Add Instance. This will add a copy of the UI as a child of the Dialogue Manager's Canvas.

From there, test it out. Add a Dialogue System Trigger to start the conversation. (See the Quick Start tutorial for info on Dialogue System Trigger.) You can set it to OnStart so it starts the conversation immediately. Check if the dialogue UI looks similar to what you want. If so, you can exit play mode and customize the UI. For example, you could make the Portrait Image components bigger, change the background of the Text Panel to black, move it all the way to the bottom, etc.

---

Spreadsheets (Google Sheets) are not a good format to import conversations. Conversation trees are not structured like spreadsheets. They are structured like networks, with nodes (lines of text) pointing to other nodes, and sometimes looping back to previous nodes. The Dialogue System can import from several other formats that are better at defining conversations: articy:draft, Aurora, Chat Mapper, TalkIt, Twine, and a custom plain text format called JLC. However, until you get comfortable with the Dialogue System itself, I recommend writing a few test conversations in the built-in Dialogue Editor window.

That said, the Dialogue System has good support for Google Sheets when exporting and importing localization files -- that is, translations for different languages. In this case, since the conversations' structures are already defined in the dialogue database, it's acceptable to use a spreadsheet just to hold the lines of text.

If you have any questions about any of this, just let me know. I'm here to help.
Hereder
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:53 am

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Hereder »

62qBruv wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:21 am I'm no expert but I was looking for something like that a while ago and found this Dialogue System tutorial.



In the video description is a download link for the project assets used in the tutorial. Maybe that will help?
Thanks! Thats a good start I guess.. But damn this tool is complicated :S
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Tony Li »

The Dialogue System does a lot. It turns out that a robust, polished dialogue solution requires more than just throwing some text up on the screen. Dialogue systems are one of the most complex parts in any game, and often the most complex part in the game. I suggest just taking it piece by piece, step by step. And if you have questions, ask here or email me. I'm finishing work for the day, but I'll be back online first thing in the morning.
Hereder
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:53 am

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Hereder »

Tony Li wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:34 am That said, the Dialogue System has good support for Google Sheets when exporting and importing localization files -- that is, translations for different languages. In this case, since the conversations' structures are already defined in the dialogue database, it's acceptable to use a spreadsheet just to hold the lines of text.

If you have any questions about any of this, just let me know. I'm here to help.
Thanks for the imformative answer.
I will give it a go!
Yes, I need to localize the game to 4 languages.
So you're saying that if I make it work with a simple English dialog first, I can - somehow - tell the Dialog System to replace the Sentences inside the dialogs-boxes (<START> -> Hello. -> GoodBye <- These "boxes") with Texts from a google spreadsheet?

But the problem with these tutorials is that they are all 3D games and doesn't show how I can implement this to my game... If I follow the tutorial I will have a functional Dialog System - but not in my game... :/ Thats the trickiest part to make it work in my own game :S
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Tony Li
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Re: Where to begin?

Post by Tony Li »

Very little of the Dialogue System applies specifically to 3D. And anything that is 3D-specific also has a corresponding 2D-specific version. Certainly nothing related to text and localization is 3D-specific.

Take it one step at a time. If you're learning about localization, don't also try to customize the dialogue UI or work on conditional logic at the same time.

Try getting a conversation to work in English first.

Then use the Dialogue Editor's Localization Export/Import to export spreadsheets that you can upload to Google Sheets. In Sheets, add your translations, download them back down to your computer in CSV format, and reimport them back into the Dialogue Editor.
Hereder
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:53 am

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Hereder »

Tony Li wrote: Tue Dec 22, 2020 10:44 pm Try getting a conversation to work in English first.

Then use the Dialogue Editor's Localization Export/Import to export spreadsheets that you can upload to Google Sheets. In Sheets, add your translations, download them back down to your computer in CSV format, and reimport them back into the Dialogue Editor.

Thanks!
I almost made it work... I have 3 questions marks I can't find the answers too...
1. I don't want "Response Button"; I just want to Use a "Continue Button" throughout the entire conversation since there are no Choices in the game - also - is it possible to Use "F Key" as a continue button instead of mouse click? (Do I have to program that or is it possible to do this with all the Menus provided?

2. With the VN Template Standard Dialogue UI - Is it possible to Add Voices (I can't figure out how, so I just want to know if its possible or am I wasting my time?)

3. I managed to make the conversation Trigger when I move near the Character (It works in 2D as you mentioned) but I want to press "F Key" do make the conversation start (basically I will have a UI Speech Symbol popping up and the player has to press F to start the conversation). is that possible too? If so, What is that function called? In the tutorial you show how it works with Mouse, but there are no Key options in that dropdown menu ./

I actually made the Localization work, its damn perfect - just need to figure out how to change language via my own Start Menu....
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Tony Li
Posts: 21925
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Tony Li »

Hi,
Hereder wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:34 am1. I don't want "Response Button"; I just want to Use a "Continue Button" throughout the entire conversation since there are no Choices in the game - also - is it possible to Use "F Key" as a continue button instead of mouse click? (Do I have to program that or is it possible to do this with all the Menus provided?
See: How To: Bypass Response Menu When Player Has One Choice
To map the 'F' key as a continue button, locate the continue button(s) in your dialogue UI. Add a UI Button Key Trigger component. Set the Key dropdown to F.
Hereder wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:34 am2. With the VN Template Standard Dialogue UI - Is it possible to Add Voices (I can't figure out how, so I just want to know if its possible or am I wasting my time?)
Yes. It has nothing to do with the dialogue UI itself. Voices use sequencer commands. Briefly: Put the voice audio file in a folder named Resources. Then drag it into the dialogue entry node's Sequence field.
See: Cutscene Sequences Tutorials (watch tutorials 1-4)
Hereder wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:34 am3. I managed to make the conversation Trigger when I move near the Character (It works in 2D as you mentioned) but I want to press "F Key" do make the conversation start (basically I will have a UI Speech Symbol popping up and the player has to press F to start the conversation). is that possible too? If so, What is that function called? In the tutorial you show how it works with Mouse, but there are no Key options in that dropdown menu .
Use a Proximity Selector. This tutorial shows how to do it in 2D: Interaction Tutorial
Hereder wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:34 amI actually made the Localization work, its damn perfect - just need to figure out how to change language via my own Start Menu....
Awesome! Great job. In your start menu, hook up your UI buttons to the Dialogue Manager's DialogueSystemController.SetLanguage method.
See: Localization - How To Check And Switch Languages
Hereder
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:53 am

Re: Where to begin?

Post by Hereder »

Thank you so much, gotta work on this today and hopefully figure it out!
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