Character Action Node

Overview

The Malbers Character Action Node triggers a Malbers Animal Controller State or Mode on any MAnimal character during a dialogue sequence. It can control the player, an NPC, or any other character in the scene via a TransformVar reference. Optionally, the dialogue graph can be paused until the action completes before advancing.

The node's title updates dynamically to reflect the currently selected action, displaying as [State] StateName or [Mode] ModeName.

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Ports

Port	Direction	Capacity	Description
Previous	Input	Multi	Receives connections from any preceding node.
Next	Output	Single	Advances after the action executes (immediately, or once the action completes if Wait for Completion is enabled).

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Node Properties

The following properties are always visible regardless of action type:

Property	Type	Description
Character Target	TransformVar	Malbers TransformVar pointing to the character's GameObject. Must have an MAnimal component.
Action Type	Dropdown	Selects whether to trigger a State or a Mode. Controls which fields appear below.
Wait for Completion	bool	If enabled, the dialogue graph pauses until the triggered state or mode has fully exited before advancing.

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Action Type: State

Triggers a Malbers State on the target MAnimal. States control locomotion modes such as Idle, Run, Swim, Fly, etc.

Property	Type	Description
State ID	StateID	The Malbers StateID ScriptableObject asset identifying which state to interact with.
State Reaction	Dropdown	How to interact with the state. See options below.
Enter Status	int	Sets the animator EnterStatus parameter on activation. Only visible for Activate and ForceActivate.

State Reaction Options

Option	Behaviour
Activate	Requests the state to activate. The animal may transition when conditions allow.
ForceActivate	Forces the state to activate immediately, overriding current state.
Enable	Enables the state so it can be entered normally.
Disable	Disables the state, preventing it from being entered.
AllowExit	Signals the current state that it is allowed to exit.
SetExitStatus	Sets the state's exit status parameter without changing the active state.

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Action Type: Mode

Triggers a Malbers Mode on the target MAnimal. Modes are overlay animations that play on top of the base locomotion — attacks, greetings, gestures, etc.

Property	Type	Description
Mode ID	ModeID	The Malbers ModeID ScriptableObject asset identifying which mode to interact with.
Mode Reaction	Dropdown	How to interact with the mode. See options below.
Ability Index	int	Which ability within the mode to activate. Use -99 for a random ability. Only visible for Play and ForceActivate.
Ability Status	Dropdown	Controls how long the ability stays active. Only visible for Play and ForceActivate.
Ability Time	float	Duration in seconds the ability remains active. Only visible when Ability Status is ActiveByTime.

Mode Reaction Options

Option	Behaviour
Play	Requests the mode to activate. May be queued if another mode is already playing.
ForceActivate	Forces the mode to activate immediately, interrupting any active mode.
Interrupt	Interrupts the currently active mode.
Stop	Stops the currently active mode.
Enable	Enables the mode so it can be activated.
Disable	Disables the mode, preventing activation.
SetActiveIndex	Changes the mode's active ability index without re-triggering it.

Ability Status Options

Option	Behaviour
PlayOnce	The ability plays its animation once and exits automatically.
Charged	The ability remains active while held and exits on release.
ActiveByTime	The ability stays active for the duration set in Ability Time, then exits.

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How It Works

At runtime, DialogueManager resolves the CharacterTarget.Value Transform and attempts to get the MAnimal component from it. If no MAnimal is found, the node logs a warning and advances immediately without executing any action.

If MAnimal is found:

1. The appropriate state or mode method is called on MAnimal based on the configured State Reaction or Mode Reaction.

2. If Wait for Completion is disabled — the graph advances to the next node immediately.

3. If Wait for Completion is enabled — a coroutine polls each frame:

   • State: waits until MAnimal.ActiveStateID is no longer the state that was activated.

   • Mode: waits until MAnimal.ActiveMode is null or a different mode.

   • Two frames are skipped at the start to allow the action to actually begin before polling starts.

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Validation

Condition	Severity
Character Target not assigned	Error
Output port not connected	Error
State ID not assigned (State mode)	Warning
Mode ID not assigned (Mode mode)	Warning

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Usage Tips

• NPC greetings — trigger a wave or bow Mode on an NPC at the start of a conversation, with Wait for Completion enabled so the first dialogue line doesn't appear until the animation finishes.

• Player lockout — activate a custom State on the player (e.g. a sit or kneel state) to pin them in place during a cutscene, then deactivate it with a second Character Action Node at the end.

• Wait for Completion + State — keep in mind the node waits for the state to exit, not just to start. If the state loops indefinitely, the graph will block until another system forces a state change. Design states used this way to have a natural exit.

• Ability Index -99 — passing -99 as the ability index selects a random ability within the mode, which is useful for varied idle animations or randomised reactions.

• Character Target is a TransformVar — this must be a Malbers TransformVar ScriptableObject, not a direct scene reference. Populate it at runtime using QuestForgeRuntimeSetup (for the player) or any other component that writes to shared variable assets (for NPCs).