BlackDevilCreations - BDC Dialog Backend

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BDC Dialog Backend

Professional, Graph-Based Dialogue Management System

Bring your game's narrative to life with the BDC Dialog Backend, a powerful yet "child's play" easy-to-use dialogue system designed for Unreal Engine. Built to eliminate the clutter of managing countless state assets and data tables, this plugin offers a streamlined, visual workflow that lets you focus on writing stories, not managing databases.

🌟 Why Choose BDC Dialog Backend?

Unlike traditional systems that require you to manually manage DataTables or separate State Assets for every conversation, BDC Dialog Backend uses a hidden subsystem. You work entirely within a single, intuitive Visual Node Graph, and the plugin handles the backend complexity for you.

Whether you are building a complex RPG with branching narratives or a simple adventure game with bubble speech, this backend provides the logic, flow control, and actor integration you need while remaining completely UI agnostic - you design the look, and the plugin handles the flow.

🚀 Key Features

  • Visual Node Graph Editor: Create complex dialogue trees using a familiar drag-and-drop interface similar to Blueprints.

    • Message & Option Nodes: Standard dialogue flow with multiple choices.

    • Branching Logic: Create dynamic conversations that react to game states, using a Global Value System.

    • Beacon and Event Nodes: Run background logic, manipulate global values, or broadcast events without stopping the dialogue flow.

    • Jumper Nodes: Instantly jump to any other part of the graph (by ID) to create loops, recurrent branches, or connect distant nodes cleanly without messy wires.

  • Global Values System: Integrated variable management (f.e. Integer, Float, Bool) to track quests, relationship statuses, and story progression directly within the editor.

  • Actor Integration:

    • Actor Component: Simply add the DialogBackend_ActorComponent to any Actor or NPC to make them a participant.

    • Gameplay Tags: Identify participants easily using Gameplay Tags for robust filtering and event driving.

  • Bubble Dialog Support: Built-in support for "World Space" bubble dialogs. The system automatically detects a "DialogBubble" scene component on your actor for your perfect widget placement, with options for billboard-behavior for World-spaced Widgets.

  • UI Agnostic: The plugin provides the backend logic and bridges to your frontend. Whether you want a classic RPG list, a modern wheel, or overhead bubbles, you have full control over the Widget design.

  • 1-Click Localization Export and Unlink:

    • 1 Button to export all Speaker names and messages into auto generated StringTables, for the Unreal Localization Dashboard.

    • And also 1 Button only, to unlink the Localization from your DialogDataAsset.

  • RichText Decorators: The Editor comes with 15 premade RichText Decorators for special text effects like wobbling, rainbow colors, obfuscating, hyperlinks, material based effects and more.

    • For Material based effects, you can replace the material in the project Settings to your own ones.

    • Decorators can be set up in the Dialog Editor, via a simple Button click, opening a Popup with Sliders, Color pickers and a Preview. You don't need to remember the Commands in your head.

  • Special Command-Tags: Which are being replaced by actual Actor names, Global Values or time/date. Even can be used as parameters for Decorators!

🛠️ Technical Details

  • Core Architecture: Data-driven design using a custom Graph Editor for the DialogDataAsset.

  • Flow Control: Advanced flow nodes including Delay, Events, and End/Continue.

  • Input: Hotkey support for fast workflow (e.g., left-click while holding S for Beacon, J for Jumper ... and so on).

  • Integration: dispatchers for Actor, Manager, and Subsystem levels to hook into any game event.

📦 Content

  • Editor Module: Custom Graph Editor, Slate Widgets and Asset Actions.

  • Runtime Module: The Subsystem, Blueprint Function library, Actor Components, and Demo Content.

  • ProjectSettings: Define some base Settings and References, set the Editor Node-and Wire-Colors. Preset Global Values.

  • Demo Content: Includes examples for simple Dialog Widgets and Bubble Dialogs to get you started immediately.

⚙️ Required Modules and Plugins:

  • GameplayTagsEditor (gets enabled by Plugin)

📚 Documentation & Support

This plugin is actively used and maintained by me.