Dialogue Trigger

Overview

DialogueTrigger is a MonoBehaviour that connects the physical game world to a DialogueContainerSO graph. Add it to any GameObject — an NPC, a trigger zone, a chest, a doorway — and configure how and when it fires. It handles all gate logic (cooldowns, conditions, one-shot flags), integrates automatically with the Malbers MInteract system, reports NPC conversations to the Quest System for TalkTo objectives, and persists its triggered state through the Dialogue Save System.

Add via Component menu: Malbers Quest Forge → Dialogue Trigger

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Trigger Types

The Trigger Type field determines what causes the dialogue to fire.

Type	Behaviour	Requirements
OnInteract	Auto-subscribes to the MInteract.OnInteractWithGO event on the same GameObject.	MInteract component on the same GameObject (can be auto-added from the Inspector).
OnEnter	Fires when a tagged GameObject enters the attached Collider or Collider2D.	A Collider/Collider2D set as Is Trigger. The Inspector provides quick-add buttons if none is found.
OnQuestStart	Fires when a specific quest becomes active. Connect QuestManager.OnQuestStarted → OnQuestStarted(string).	Requires Required Quest Active to be assigned.
OnQuestComplete	Fires when a specific quest is completed. Connect QuestManager.OnQuestCompleted → OnQuestCompleted(string).	Requires Required Quest Completed to be assigned.
Manual	Does nothing automatically. Call TriggerDialogue() or TriggerDialogue(GameObject) from any UnityEvent or script.	None.

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Inspector Sections

The custom Inspector organises all settings into collapsible foldouts.

Dialogue Settings

Property	Type	Description
Dialogue	DialogueContainerSO	The dialogue graph to execute when this trigger fires. Required — a warning is shown if left empty.

Trigger Settings

Property	Type	Default	Description
Trigger Type	Enum	OnInteract	How the dialogue is initiated. See the Trigger Types table above.
Required Tag	String	"Player"	The GameObject tag that is allowed to trigger this dialogue. Leave empty to accept any tag. Used for MInteract, OnEnter, and the TriggerDialogue(GameObject) overload.
Trigger Once	Bool	false	When true, the trigger deactivates after the first successful activation. Subsequent calls invoke OnTriggerBlocked instead.
Cooldown Time	Float	0	Minimum seconds between consecutive triggers. OnTriggerBlocked fires if the cooldown has not elapsed.

MInteract Integration (OnInteract mode only)

Property	Type	Default	Description
Auto-Subscribe	Bool	true	Automatically subscribes to MInteract.OnInteractWithGO at runtime Start. Disable to wire it manually.
MInteract Reference	MInteract	Auto-detect	Explicit reference to the MInteract component. If left blank, GetComponent<MInteract>() is used at Awake.

The Inspector displays the detected MInteract's Index, Auto Interact, and Single Interaction settings, and provides an Add MInteract Component button if none is found.

Quest System Integration

Controls whether talking to this NPC marks a TalkTo quest objective as complete.

Property	Type	Default	Description
Report to Quest System	Bool	true	When enabled, triggers QuestEventReporter.ReportNPCTalkedTo(npcId, dialogueName).
Use GameObject Name	Bool	true	Derives the NPC ID from the GameObject's name. Strips (Clone), (clone), trailing numbers, and whitespace.
NPC ID	String	""	Manual NPC ID. Only shown when Use GameObject Name is disabled. Must exactly match the npcId field on the matching TalkToObjective.
Report On Start	Bool	true	true = report when dialogue begins. false = report when dialogue ends (uses a pendingQuestReport flag).

The Inspector previews the resolved NPC ID in real time and, while playing, lists all active quests whose TalkToObjective.npcId matches this trigger.

NPC ID Resolution Priority:

1. npcId field (if not empty)

2. Cleaned GameObject name (if Use GameObject Name is true)

3. Empty string (quest reporting silently skipped with a warning)

Save System Integration

Property	Type	Default	Description
Auto Generate Trigger ID	Bool	true	Generates a deterministic ID from: {SceneName}_{ObjectName}_{posX*100}_{posY*100}_{posZ*100}. Stable across sessions as long as the object doesn't move.
Custom Trigger ID	String	""	Overrides auto-generation. Use this for spawned/procedural triggers, or when the same NPC exists in multiple scenes.
Save Trigger State	Bool	true	Writes to DialogueSaveSystem immediately on trigger (before the dialogue starts, so destruction mid-dialogue is safe). On Start, reads the save system and pre-sets hasTriggered if already completed.

The current Trigger ID is displayed as a selectable label during Play Mode for easy debugging or manual save manipulation.

Conditions

All conditions are optional. All assigned conditions must pass for the trigger to fire.

Property	Type	Description
Required Quest Active	Quest	The referenced quest must currently be active in the QuestManager.
Required Objective	Dropdown	(Shown when Required Quest Active is assigned.) A specific objective within that quest must match the status below. Populated as a labelled dropdown from the quest's objective list.
Objective Status	Enum	InProgress = objective not yet complete. Completed = objective already finished.
Required Quest Completed	Quest	The referenced quest must be in the completed state.
Required Dialogue Flag	String	A flag with this name must be set (true) in DialogueManager.GetFlag().

Events

Event	Signature	When It Fires
OnDialogueTriggered	UnityEvent	Immediately after DialogueManager.StartDialogue() is called.
OnDialogueEnded	UnityEvent	When DialogueManager raises OnDialogueEnded (subscribed at runtime Start).
OnTriggerBlocked	UnityEvent	When an activation attempt is rejected by: active dialogue, Trigger Once flag, cooldown, or failed conditions.

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Trigger Gate Order

When TriggerDialogue() is called, checks run in this exact order. The first failure aborts the trigger and fires OnTriggerBlocked (where noted):

1. Dialogue already active — silently ignored (no OnTriggerBlocked).

2. Trigger Once + already triggered → OnTriggerBlocked.

3. Cooldown not elapsed → OnTriggerBlocked.

4. Conditions not met → OnTriggerBlocked.

5. Dialogue asset null → logs an error, aborts silently.

6. DialogueManager.Instance null → logs an error, aborts silently.

7. All checks passed → sets hasTriggered = true, records lastTriggerTime, saves state, reports to quest system if configured, calls DialogueManager.Instance.StartDialogue(dialogue), fires OnDialogueTriggered.

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Public API

Method	Description
TriggerDialogue()	Runs the full gate check sequence and starts dialogue if all pass.
TriggerDialogue(GameObject interactor)	Same as above but first validates interactor.tag against requiredTag. Suitable for wiring directly to MInteract's OnInteractWithGO(GameObject) event manually.
ForceTriggerDialogue()	Bypasses all gate checks (Trigger Once, cooldown, conditions). Skips directly to starting the dialogue. Quest reporting still occurs.
ResetTrigger()	Clears hasTriggered, allowing a Trigger Once trigger to fire again. Does not alter the save system record.
ManualReportToQuestSystem()	Calls QuestEventReporter.ReportNPCTalkedTo() immediately. Safe to call from UnityEvents.
SetNpcId(string)	Overrides the runtime NPC ID. Useful for dynamically assigned characters.
SetCustomTriggerID(string)	Overrides the trigger ID at runtime. Use for spawned objects that need stable save IDs.
GetTriggerID()	Returns the current resolved trigger ID string.
RecheckSavedState()	Re-queries the save system after a save file is loaded mid-session. Marks hasTriggered if the ID is already in the save.
OnQuestStarted(string questId)	Called by quest events; fires the dialogue if Trigger Type is OnQuestStart and the ID matches.
OnQuestCompleted(string questId)	Called by quest events; fires the dialogue if Trigger Type is OnQuestComplete and the ID matches.

Read-only properties:

Property	Type	Description
HasTriggered	Bool	Whether this trigger has successfully fired at least once this session (or was loaded as completed).
CanTrigger	Bool	true if `!hasTriggered
TriggerID	String	The resolved save-system identifier.
NpcId	String	The runtime-resolved NPC ID used for quest reporting.

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Scene Gizmos

In Scene view, the trigger always renders a cyan wire sphere (radius 0.5) at its position. When selected, the sphere is drawn solid-cyan and a Scene label appears 1.5 units above showing:

Dialogue Trigger
<DialogueName or "No Dialogue">
<TriggerType> [(<MInteract Index or "No MInteract!">)]

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Inspector Testing Tools (Play Mode Only)

The Status & Testing foldout displays live runtime state and one-click test buttons:

Button	Action
Trigger Dialogue	Calls TriggerDialogue() — subject to all gate checks.
Force Trigger	Calls ForceTriggerDialogue() — bypasses all checks.
Reset Trigger	Calls ResetTrigger() — clears the hasTriggered flag.
Report to Quest	Calls ManualReportToQuestSystem() — fires the quest report immediately.

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Setup Checklist

Use this checklist when adding a Dialogue Trigger to a new NPC or zone:

• Assign a Dialogue graph (DialogueContainerSO).

• Choose the correct Trigger Type for your use case.

• For OnInteract: ensure an MInteract component exists on the same GameObject.

• For OnEnter: ensure the GameObject has a Collider with Is Trigger enabled.

• For OnQuestStart / OnQuestComplete: wire the QuestManager events to OnQuestStarted(string) / OnQuestCompleted(string).

• If this NPC completes a TalkTo objective, confirm the NPC ID (shown in the Inspector preview) exactly matches TalkToObjective.npcId in the quest asset.

• For one-shot cutscenes or story beats, enable Trigger Once and Save Trigger State.

• For dialogue gated on quest progress, configure the Conditions section.

• Enable Debug Mode during development to trace all trigger events in the console.

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Usage Tips

• NPC with multiple dialogue states — Use multiple DialogueTrigger components on the same NPC, each assigned a different dialogue, with Conditions gating which one fires. Order components so the most restrictive condition is checked first.

• Preventing repeat cutscenes — Enable both Trigger Once and Save Trigger State together. The save write happens before StartDialogue so the state is preserved even if the scene is destroyed or the player quits mid-dialogue.

• Spawned NPCs — For procedurally instantiated characters, call SetCustomTriggerID() immediately after spawning to assign a stable, unique ID. Auto-generation uses transform.position which may not be unique for spawned objects.

• Cutscene zones — Set Trigger Type to OnEnter, add a large Box Collider, enable Trigger Once, and leave Required Tag as "Player". The dialogue fires the moment the player walks into the area with no interaction required.

• Quest-gated introductions — Set Required Quest Active to the relevant quest and leave Required Objective blank. The NPC will only speak once that quest is in progress.

• Debug logging — Enable Debug Mode to see every gate check, MInteract subscription, NPC ID resolution, and save write logged to the console, prefixed with [DialogueTrigger] 'ObjectName'.