Pausing Sequences when using @seconds

[BrightC]

Hi and a happy new year! I am using "Sequences" to implement short battle sequences, like in an RPG battle, using the Dialogue System. This works rather well, but now I am in a situation where the sequence should pause halfway through, wait for player input, and only then it should continue. I can see there are some mechanisms in place for that, but I could find none that work out of the box when you use the @seconds syntax. To give an example, this is my sequence:

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CinemachinePriority(Battle Camera);
AnimatorPlay(1H@CombatIdle01);
MoveTo(Battle Position 1)@1;
LookAt(listener)@1;
AnimatorPlayWait(Cast Spell, listener)@3.5->Message(Anim1Done);
AnimatorPlay(Idle, listener)@Message(Anim1Done);
MoveTo(Battle Position 2, speaker, 0.5)@5;
AnimatorPlay(1H@Sprint01)@5;
AnimatorPlayWait(RightHand@Attack03)@5.5->Message(Anim2Done);
DealDamage(5)@5.75;
AnimatorPlayWait(BasicMotions@Jump01)@7->Message(Anim3Done);
MoveTo(Battle Position 1, speaker, 0.5)@7.1;
AnimatorPlay(1H@CombatIdle01)@Message(Anim3Done);
CinemachinePriority(Battle Camera, 0)@10;

Let's say on the "DealDamage" command, I need to wait for additional input from the player, like rolling a dice, and I don't know how long that will take. Even if I sent a message like "AttackFinished" and wait for it, from that point onwards, all subsequent @seconds would be off. I can see a couple of ways to address this, like using a Custom Time Mode or disabling IsPlaying, but I don't know which side effects this causes and if I am perhaps missing a really easy intended solution. As an additional remark, I can only use a single sequence, as I am calling it directly using PlaySequence, so a surrounding conversation does not exist. What should I do here? Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[Tony Li]

Happy New Year!

You can use a combination @Message and Delay(). Example:

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DealDamage(5)@5.75;
Delay(2)@Message(AttackFinished)->Message(Resume);
AnimatorPlayWait(HoldStomach)@Message(Resume)

The sequence above does the following:

• DealDamage(5)@5.75:
  Calls your DealDamage command at the 5.75-second mark.
• Delay(2)@Message(AttackFinished)->Message(Resume):
  Waits for the "AttackFinished" message. Then delays 2 seconds. After delaying 2 seconds, it sends the message "Resume".
• AnimatorPlayWait(HoldStomach)@Message(Resume):
  Waits for the message "Resume". Then plays the HoldStomach animation.

Or, alternatively, you could roll all of this functionality into a single custom sequencer command if that's more convenient for you.

[BrightC]

Thanks a lot for the fast response! That is indeed what I was looking for. However, while it works, I fear it might get very unwieldy for longer sequences, especially when there is more than one wait, since I cannot use the @seconds syntax anymore after the first delay. I do not really see a way to improve this with custom sequencer commands, so I guess using a custom time mode is the best alternative? Would that be sensible?

[Tony Li]

Hi,

Try setting DialogueTime.isPaused to true during the battle. When the battle is done, set it false again. This will stop the sequencer from counting down time on queued commands. (Leave the Dialogue Manager's Other Settings > Dialogue Time set to Realtime.)

[BrightC]

Works like a charm, thanks a bunch!

Using a simple sequencer command, I was even able to handle it like this, so you can pause and unpause from within the sequence.

Code: Select all

CinemachinePriority(Battle Camera);
AnimatorPlay(1H@CombatIdle01);
MoveTo(Battle Position 1)@1;
LookAt(listener)@1;
AnimatorPlayWait(Cast Spell, listener)@3.5->Message(Anim1Done);
AnimatorPlay(Idle, listener)@Message(Anim1Done);

SetPause(true)@4.9;
RollDice()@4.8->Message(RolledDice);
SetPause(false)@Message(RolledDice);

MoveTo(Battle Position 2, speaker, 0.5)@5;
AnimatorPlay(1H@Sprint01)@5;
AnimatorPlayWait(RightHand@Attack03)@5.5->Message(Anim2Done);
DealDamage()@5.75;
AnimatorPlayWait(BasicMotions@Jump01)@7->Message(Anim3Done);
MoveTo(Battle Position 1, speaker, 0.5)@7.1;
AnimatorPlay(1H@CombatIdle01)@Message(Anim3Done);
CinemachinePriority(Battle Camera, 0)@10;

Or, to give a more visual representation of what is possible with that ...

sequencer.gif (847.16 KiB) Viewed 1008 times

[Tony Li]

Nice!