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Next Steps - Data
Candy Dialogue Engine reads some of your game's data from its Database: the tables in User_Data (see Database). Before you write Dialogues, fill in the tables they rely on: at the very least, the Actors who speak. To open a table, choose Data in the drop-down at the top of the Wizard's panel, then click the table's name: its script opens in the script editor. These scripts are 'safe' files: updates never overwrite them. Actors Every character who speaks or acts in your Dialogues is an Actor, with an entry in the actors dictionary of Actors.gd (listed as Actors in the Data tool). The entry's key is the Actor Reference: the name your Dialogues use for that Actor. The entry's properties describe the Actor:
var actors = { "Alice": { "DisplayName": "Alice Turner", "Gender": "F", "Disposition": "Friendly", }, }
  • DisplayName: the name displayed on screen. Left empty, the Actor Reference is displayed.
  • ShortName: the name text variables display (¤Alice¤). Left empty, the DisplayName is displayed.
  • Gender: for Variations (versions of a Line's text) that depend on the speaker's gender. See Variations.
  • Disposition: the Actor's dispositions, separated by commas (see Dispositions).
The other properties are optional: they're settings for the Lines this Actor speaks, such as the Dialogue mode, writing speed or text color of those Lines. Left at null, the setting of the UI Element or of the Engine applies. See Actor Properties. The template contains a "Player" entry, for the player character: edit it, and add an entry for every other Actor. Actor References also name each Actor's media folders (portraits, busts, voices), so choose them before you generate the folders (see Folders). The Player Player_Refs.gd (listed as Players) names the player characters:
  • player_refs: the Actor References of the player characters. Wherever Candy Dialogue Engine treats players and NPCs differently, such as which speakers receive a portrait, these are the players.
  • current_player: the Actor whose properties are the player's, for Variations that depend on the player (their gender, for example).
Other Data The rest of the Database serves specific features. Fill in each part when you use its feature: Your game's code reads and modifies all of this data through the candy_de autoload: candy_de.actors, candy_de.flags... Candy Dialogue Creator reads the Actors, Roles and Flags scripts as well (as text, without running them): its drop-down lists offer your Actors, Roles and Flags. See Candy Dialogue Creator.