START node default sequence when importing from articy

[_marc]

Hi Tony,

During conversations, I can see that the OnConversationStart message is sent just after the first OnConversationLine message. I guess this is normal behavior, looking at the StartConversation method of the DialogueSystemController script, the method:

Code: Select all

m_conversationController.Initialize(model, view, reevaluateLinksAfterSubtitle, displaySettings.inputSettings.alwaysForceResponseMenu, OnEndConversation);

...which send OnConversationLine message, is placed before broadcasting OnConversationStart.

Usually, this is not a big problem for me because the first OnConversationLine message only concerns the START dialogue node, which is always empty. This is what I see in a test scene. But in my game, it looks that the 2nd dialogue line (said by a NPC) OnConversationLine message is also broadcast before OnConversationStart message.

After some investigations, I found the reason: the START node default sequence is set to Continue() when importing from articy. When creating a conversation from scratch directly in the DialogueDatabase, the default sequence is None().

Shoudn't the sequence for the START node be consistent? I read on the online manual that I could add a Sequence property to my Dialogue nodes in articy , I suppose it will fix the problem. But is it safe to do so (I wonder if using the Continue() sequence by default when importing from articy was intentional, or not...).

Thanks!

[Tony Li]

I'll dig into this and try to make sure that OnConversationStart() happens before any OnConversationLine()'s.

Using Continue() for the <START> node's Sequence in articy is intentional. In articy, it's common for writers to link from one Dialogue or Dialogue Fragment to another Dialogue. This creates a link to the Dialogue's <START> node. In setups where the conversation waits for a continue button click, if the <START> node's Sequence is None(), when the conversation follows the link to the <START> node it can appear to hang, waiting for a continue button click.

However, this may become a non-issue. In the next update, I'm adding a check for links to <START> nodes. If they occur, and if the Sequence is None(), it will automatically bypass that node. So the articy importer will no longer need to set <START> to Continue().

[_marc]

Perfect, thank you for the explanation & the future fix!