+
+
Descant
+
Enhanced Unity Dialogue System
+
by Owen Hellum
+
+
+
+
+ Please view the Descant README for
+ information regarding installation and usage!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Descant is a Unity dialogue system plugin. The
+ Unity Asset Store is
+ chock full of many such
+ types of plugins, ranging from feature-rich,
+ to ultra-minimalist,
+ to downright bad.
+ Descant aims to hit the sweet spot between quality UI, powerful features, and easy-to-lean
+ functionality, while also addressing many of the game-specific consequences of the standard dialogue manager
+ setup. Besides acting as a standard tool for creating, saving, and actualizing non-linear game dialogue, it
+ also pushes the envelope by adding optional dialogue-enhancing node components that introduce features to break
+ away from the overused and underwhelming trends seen in many interactive fiction games. These enhancements act
+ similar to Unity's standard GameObject Component system, and can be applied
+ at-will to nodes. This modular approach is so-far not explored in the world of Unity dialogue systems. The
+ project will be free (and collaborative open-source) forever. Feel free to send me a message or submit
+ a pull request if you want to make any changes.
+
+
+
+
+
Component documentation
+
+ A number of Descant Components come bundled with the system by default. They cover a wide range of
+ applications, and can be edited at-will. Please see the next section, Component creation, for
+ a guide on how to write your own Components in C#.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Component creation
+
+ - Create a new C# class in Descant/Components/Custom.
+ - Make sure that the Component is in the DescantComponents namespace.
+ - Make sure that the Component inherits from the DescantComponent abstract class.
+ - Add a [Serializable] attribute to the Component.
+ -
+ Add a [MaxQuantity(...)] attribute to the Component (replace the '...' with the maximum number
+ of Components of this type that can be added to a single node) ('...' can be float.PositiveInfinity).
+
+ -
+ Add a [NodeType(...)] attribute to the Component (replace the '...' with the
+ DescantNodeType indicating which types of nodes it can be added to).
+
+ -
+ Add any number of public variables/properties to the Component (these properties will show up in
+ the Descant Graph Editor when you add the Component to a node) (you may also create
+ private/protected properties, but they won't appear in the editor). Properties may only be of type
+ int, float, string, bool, or
+ enum (VariableType, ComparisonType,
+ OperationType, or ListChangeType enums only).
+
+ -
+ For each public variable, add either an [Inline] attribute (indicating that it will be
+ visually nestled beside the Component name in the editor) or a [ParameterGroup(...)]
+ attribute (indicating that it will be visually arranged in a new group beneath the Component name in the
+ editor) (replace the '...' with the string name of the group to order it into).
+
+ -
+ Optional: By default, all Component fields filter any out most special characters on input. You can
+ override this by giving any public variable a [NoFiltering] attribute, disabling filtering
+ for that variable's corresponding field in the Descant Graph Editor. This is useful for
+ long-form fields that may have sentence grammar and punctuation.
+
+ -
+ If this Component performs some action when it is reached during dialogue, give it the following method:
+ public override DescantNodeInvokeResult Invoke(DescantNodeInvokeResult result). The
+ DescantNodeInvokeResult object being passed contains all the choice/response text for the
+ current node, the current actors, and info regarding the actor portraits) (see the
+ DescantNodeInvokeResult
+ class for more info). The Invoke method must return a DescantNodeInvokeResult
+ object (almost always just result itself, with its properties modified).
+
+ -
+ Optional: Many of the default Components require actor names to know which actors' properties to check.
+ If your Component must also access a DescantActor, make sure that it has a public
+ string ActorName variable, then get access to the actor with
+ DescantComponentUtilities.GetActor(this, result.Actors, ActorName).
+
+ -
+ Optional: Many default Descant Components only do their effect if some comparison is made. Should your
+ Component also wish to do so, the CompareVariable method in
+ DescantComponent
+ may be of use.
+
+ -
+ Optional: If you need the Component to do something continuously while it is active during dialogue, give
+ it one of the following methods: public override bool FixedUpdate() or public
+ override bool Update(). They function in exactly the same manner as the classic MonoBehaviour
+ methods of the same names, save for the fact that if they ever return false, the dialogue
+ ends immediately (should the Component want to end the dialogue for some reason).
+
+ -
+ That's it! Your new Component will now show up as an option to add to a node in the Descant Graph
+ Editor.
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+
+
+