Creating a Dialog Graph

Create a small graph, author its lines and responses, save it, and inspect its setup before connecting it to a scene.

Start with a named graph asset

1. Open Tools > Beka Forge > Dialogue Graph System > Open Editor. The workspace opens on Home, which contains the create-and-open controls.
2. In the Home view's Name field, enter a unique descriptive name such as VillageGreeting and select Create & Open.
3. The new asset is normally placed under Assets/DialogGraphSystem/Graphs. Keep it in your project's asset structure so Unity can track its reference and metadata.

Try the Home example: enter a graph name in the Graph name field and choose Create & Open to see the sample confirmation flow. No Unity asset is created.

Try the Dialog example: edit Speaker and Dialog, then expand Details and change Node Title. The card reflects those browser-only edits.

Understand the boundary nodes

The graph editor supplies an editor-created Start and End boundary. Start is the entry point; End marks a completed route. Do not create replacement boundary nodes manually. Build the conversation between them and connect all intended outcomes to End or onward to another node.

Add a line and a choice

1. Right-click the canvas and choose Create > Dialog Node.
2. Select the node. Fill in Node Title, Speaker, and Dialog. The title helps identify the node while editing; the speaker and line are the authored conversation content.
3. Create a Choice Node from Create > Choice Node in the same context menu and connect the Dialog node's output to its input.
4. A new Choice starts with one answer row. Edit that row for the first response, then select + Add Option once for each additional response. The preceding Dialog line asks the question; the active Choice card has no prompt field, and its answer IDs are managed by the editor.
5. Create a Dialog node for each response if each answer should receive a different reply. Connect each answer's output port to its own response node.
6. Connect Start to your first line and connect every branch to the next intended node. When a route finishes, connect it to End.

To change a connection, drag from an output port to the intended input port. Follow the port direction shown by the graph editor; an unconnected response is a route the player cannot continue through.

Try the Choice example: edit an option's answer text, expand its Requirements foldout, then choose + Add Option. The browser example shows the editable rows and a new answer; it does not simulate graph connections.

Save and review the graph

1. Choose Save in the graph editor toolbar.
2. If the graph sidebar is hidden, select Show Sidebar. In its right-hand panel, choose Validate, then click Validate Graph.
3. Review the validation results, fix relevant issues, and run Validate Graph again. Save graph edits as needed.

Expected result: the graph asset is saved and the graph sidebar shows its validation results. Verify scene presentation separately in Unity Play Mode.

The graph toolbar provides Save, Format Layout, and Show/Hide Sidebar. Open the sidebar’s Validate tab and choose Validate Graph to review graph errors, warnings, and information messages.

Give the graph a playback ID

Graph asset identity and a runtime dialogID are different things. The graph asset is the authored graph. A dialogID is the string key your scene's DialogManager uses to select that graph.

1. Put the DialogueManager.prefab from Assets/DialogGraphSystem/Resources/Prefabs/ into the scene.
2. Add a row to the manager's Dialog Graphs list, assign your graph asset, and enter a unique ID such as village_greeting.
3. Launch it with DialogPlayer.StartDialog("village_greeting") or DialogManager.Instance.PlayDialogByID("village_greeting").

Keep IDs stable once scene buttons, saved data, or other code refer to them. A blank or duplicate ID can make registry resolution ambiguous; review the row in the manager Inspector.

Common authoring mistakes

• A response has no destination: connect its output to a reply or End.
• The graph begins in the middle: connect Start to the first Dialog node.
• Two unrelated options share one response unintentionally: split them into separate Dialog nodes if their follow-up text should differ.
• A route looks connected but the scene does not advance: verify the selected output reaches the intended input, then test the configured Unity scene separately.