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DialogueLine represents a single line of dialogue returned by DialogueManager. It contains the character, text, responses, tags, and other metadata for displaying dialogue in your game.

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Properties

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id

var id: String
The unique ID of this dialogue line. This is typically the line number from the dialogue file.

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type

var type: String = DMConstants.TYPE_DIALOGUE
The internal type of this dialogue object. One of:
  • DMConstants.TYPE_DIALOGUE - A normal dialogue line
  • DMConstants.TYPE_MUTATION - A mutation line (handled internally)
Mutation lines are processed internally by DialogueManager. You will typically only receive dialogue lines with TYPE_DIALOGUE.

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next_id

var next_id: String = ""
The ID of the next line of dialogue after this one. Used internally to traverse the dialogue tree.

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character

var character: String = ""
The name of the character speaking this line. Will be an empty string if no character is specified. Example: 
if line.character != "":
    character_label.text = line.character
    character_portrait.texture = get_portrait(line.character)

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character_replacements

var character_replacements: Array[Dictionary] = []
A dictionary of variable replacements for the character name. Generally for internal use only.

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text

var text: String = ""
The dialogue text being spoken. This is the main content to display. Example: 
dialogue_label.text = line.text

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text_replacements

var text_replacements: Array[Dictionary] = []
A dictionary of replacements for the text, used for variable interpolation. Generally for internal use only.

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translation_key

var translation_key: String = ""
The key to use for translating this line. If no explicit ID was specified on the line in the dialogue file, this will be the same as the text. Example: 
var translated = tr(line.translation_key)

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speeds

var speeds: Dictionary = {}
A map of speed changes when typing out the dialogue text. Used by DialogueLabel for controlling text reveal speed at specific character positions.

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inline_mutations

var inline_mutations: Array[Array] = []
A list of mutations to run while typing out the dialogue text. These are triggered at specific character positions during text reveal.

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responses

var responses: Array = []
A list of DialogueResponse objects attached to this line of dialogue. If this array is not empty, the player needs to choose a response before continuing. Example: 
if line.responses.size() > 0:
    # Show response menu
    for response in line.responses:
        if response.is_allowed:
            add_response_button(response.text, response)
else:
    # Continue to next line automatically
    pass

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concurrent_lines

var concurrent_lines: Array[DialogueLine] = []
A list of lines that are to be spoken at the same time as this one. Useful for simultaneous dialogue or group conversations.

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extra_game_states

var extra_game_states: Array = []
A list of any extra game state objects to check when resolving variables and mutations for this line.

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time

var time: String = ""
How long to show this line before advancing to the next. Can be:
  • A float as a string (e.g., "2.5" for 2.5 seconds)
  • "auto" to automatically calculate based on text length
  • Empty string ("") to wait for player input
Example: 
if line.time == "auto":
    var duration = calculate_auto_duration(line.text)
    await get_tree().create_timer(duration).timeout
elif line.time != "":
    await get_tree().create_timer(float(line.time)).timeout

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tags

var tags: PackedStringArray = []
Any #tags that were included in the line. Tags can be used to trigger events, set moods, control presentation, or pass custom data. Example: 
if line.has_tag("mood"):
    set_character_mood(line.get_tag_value("mood"))

if "shake" in line.tags:
    shake_screen()

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mutation

var mutation: Dictionary = {}
The mutation details if this is a mutation line (where type == TYPE_MUTATION). This is used internally by DialogueManager.

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Methods

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has_tag

func has_tag(tag_name: String) -> bool
Check if a dialogue line has a given tag (supports both plain tags and key=value tags).
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returns
bool
true if the tag exists, false otherwise
Example: 
# In dialogue: Nathan: Hello there! #mood=happy #urgent

if line.has_tag("mood"):
    print("This line has a mood tag")

if line.has_tag("urgent"):
    print("This is urgent!")

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get_tag_value

func get_tag_value(tag_name: String) -> String
Get the value of a tag if the tag is in the form of tag=value.
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returns
String
The value of the tag, or an empty string if the tag doesn’t exist or has no value
Example: 
# In dialogue: Nathan: Hello there! #mood=happy #camera=closeup

var mood = line.get_tag_value("mood")  # Returns "happy"
var camera = line.get_tag_value("camera")  # Returns "closeup"
var missing = line.get_tag_value("other")  # Returns ""

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Usage Examples

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Basic Dialogue Display

var line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource, "start")

while line != null:
    # Display character name
    if line.character != "":
        character_name_label.text = line.character
    
    # Display dialogue text
    dialogue_label.text = line.text
    
    # Check for responses
    if line.responses.size() > 0:
        # Show response menu
        for response in line.responses:
            if response.is_allowed:
                add_response_button(response)
        
        # Wait for player to choose
        var chosen_response = await response_chosen
        line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource, chosen_response.next_id)
    else:
        # Wait for player input to continue
        await continue_pressed
        line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource, line.next_id)

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Using Tags for Events

var line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource)

# Check for emotion tags
if line.has_tag("emotion"):
    var emotion = line.get_tag_value("emotion")
    character_sprite.play_animation(emotion)

# Check for sound effects
if line.has_tag("sfx"):
    var sound = line.get_tag_value("sfx")
    audio_player.stream = load("res://sounds/" + sound + ".ogg")
    audio_player.play()

# Check for camera movement
if line.has_tag("camera"):
    var camera_action = line.get_tag_value("camera")
    match camera_action:
        "zoom_in":
            camera.zoom_in()
        "pan_left":
            camera.pan_left()

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Handling Concurrent Lines

var line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource)

# Display main dialogue
display_dialogue(line)

# Display concurrent lines (e.g., multiple characters speaking at once)
for concurrent_line in line.concurrent_lines:
    display_concurrent_dialogue(concurrent_line)

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Auto-advancing Dialogue

var line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource)

# Display the line
dialogue_label.text = line.text

# Handle auto-advance timing
if line.time != "":
    if line.time == "auto":
        # Calculate based on text length (e.g., 0.05 seconds per character)
        var duration = len(line.text) * 0.05
        await get_tree().create_timer(duration).timeout
    else:
        # Use explicit timing
        await get_tree().create_timer(float(line.time)).timeout
    
    # Move to next line
    line = await DialogueManager.get_next_dialogue_line(dialogue_resource, line.next_id)

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Notes

Always check if a line is null before accessing its properties. A null line indicates the conversation has ended.
The text property contains the final processed text with all variable replacements already applied. You don’t need to manually resolve variables.

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