Talk To Objective

Overview

TalkToObjective tracks whether the player has spoken to a specific NPC. It listens to QuestEventType.NPCTalkedTo events published via the QuestEventBus and sets a completion flag when an event with a matching NPC ID arrives.

It supports two targeting modes:

• General — completes when the player talks to the NPC at all, regardless of which dialogue is triggered

• Specific dialogue — completes only when a particular dialogue ID is started with the NPC, allowing objectives to require a specific conversation rather than any interaction

TalkToObjective is a binary objective — it is either done or not done, with no count. It is added as an objective entry on a Quest ScriptableObject. It is not a component. The event that satisfies it is fired by the dialogue system via QuestEventReporter.Instance.ReportNPCTalkedTo(npcId, dialogueId).

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Fields

Talk To Objective Settings

Field	Type	Description
NPC ID	string	The NPC identifier this objective listens for. Must match the npcId passed to QuestEventReporter.ReportNPCTalkedTo() when dialogue with this NPC begins.
Specific Dialogue ID	string	Optional. When set, the objective only completes if the reported dialogueId also matches this value. Leave empty to complete on any conversation with the NPC.

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Inherited Fields (from QuestObjective)

Field	Type	Description
Objective ID	string	Auto-generated GUID uniquely identifying this objective within its quest.
Description	string	Text shown to the player in the Quest Journal and HUD tracker.
Is Optional	bool	When true, this objective does not need to be completed for the quest to complete.

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How It Works

Matching

When an NPCTalkedToEventData event arrives, QuestManager sets progress flags:

progress.SetFlag("talked_to_{npcId}", true)

// If a dialogueId was reported:
progress.SetFlag("talked_to_{npcId}_{dialogueId}", true)

Both flags are always written when a dialogue ID is present — the specific flag and the general flag are set simultaneously.

Completion Check

specificDialogueId set:   progress.GetFlag("talked_to_{npcId}_{specificDialogueId}")
otherwise:                progress.GetFlag("talked_to_{npcId}")

Since QuestManager sets both flags when a dialogue ID is provided, an objective with specificDialogueId set will only complete when that exact dialogue fires — but an objective without specificDialogueId will complete regardless of which dialogue is triggered with that NPC.

Event Subscription Lifecycle

When the parent quest starts, QuestManager calls SubscribeToEvents(eventBus), subscribing this objective to QuestEventType.NPCTalkedTo. When the quest ends, UnsubscribeFromEvents(eventBus) removes the subscription.

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Firing the Event

TalkToObjective does not poll for NPC proximity. Something in the scene must call:

QuestEventReporter.Instance.ReportNPCTalkedTo("ElderMaren");

// Or with a specific dialogue ID:
QuestEventReporter.Instance.ReportNPCTalkedTo("ElderMaren", "quest_intro_dialogue");

Common integration points:

• A Dialogue Graph Start node or Dialogue Graph completion callback — wired to call ReportNPCTalkedTo when a conversation begins or ends

• A Malbers Event fired from within a dialogue node, connected to QuestEventReporter.ReportNPCTalkedTo

• A QuestTrigger component on the NPC with Activation Method: OnInteract, performing a StartQuest or CompleteObjective action

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Connecting to the Scene

The npcId set on the objective must exactly match the string passed to ReportNPCTalkedTo from the dialogue system. There is no dedicated QuestTalkable component — the NPC's dialogue setup is responsible for firing the event at the appropriate point in the conversation.

Quest ScriptableObject	Dialogue / Scene Setup
npcId = "ElderMaren"	Dialogue fires ReportNPCTalkedTo("ElderMaren")
specificDialogueId = "quest_intro"	Dialogue fires ReportNPCTalkedTo("ElderMaren", "quest_intro")

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Example Configurations

"Speak to Elder Maren" — any conversation

NPC ID:               "ElderMaren"
Specific Dialogue ID: (empty)
Description:          Speak to Elder Maren

"Hear the Elder's warning" — specific dialogue required

NPC ID:               "ElderMaren"
Specific Dialogue ID: "elder_warning_dialogue"
Description:          Listen to Elder Maren's Warning

Only completes when the dialogue system reports "elder_warning_dialogue" specifically — other conversations with Elder Maren do not count.

"Report back to the Captain" — turn-in conversation

NPC ID:               "CaptainVarris"
Specific Dialogue ID: (empty)
Description:          Report back to Captain Varris

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Other Notes

• npcId and specificDialogueId matching is exact and case-sensitive.

• The talked_to_{npcId} general flag is always set when any conversation with the NPC is reported, even when a specificDialogueId is also provided. This means a general TalkToObjective (no specific dialogue) will complete even if a more targeted conversation fires the event.

• TalkToObjective is a one-way flag — once set to true, it cannot be unset during an active quest session. If the quest is reset via ResetProgress(), the flag is cleared and the objective can be completed again.

• If two active quests both have a TalkToObjective with the same npcId, a single conversation satisfies both simultaneously.

• The specificDialogueId field enables multi-step NPC interactions within the same quest — for example, requiring the player to first trigger a "quest given" dialogue, then later a separate "quest complete" dialogue, each tracked by a different TalkToObjective.