Clickable dialogue options?

KaySievert

Hi,
I'd like to create a simple dialogue system with text displayed bottom left of the screen, and different dialogue options to the right of it on the bottom right.

Is this something that can be realized with AC?
The conversation dialogue option can't be placed at specific locations as far as I can tell..?
There is a Menu / Dialoguelist element in AC, but I couldn't find documentation on how to use this element.
(edit: the reason here is that is was searching for dialoguelist, but the manual refers to it as dialoglist..)

What I'm looking for is something like this. Multiple (preferable scrollable) choices in a list, that can by clicked to select and start an AC action.

Thanks,
Kay

ChrisIceBox

Sorry, but your screenshot only shows a portion of what it is you're after - please show an uncropped version so that we can properly see an example.

From what you've described, the Conversation system is already equipped to handle this.  The "Conversation" menu that is provided as part of the default interface is just an example - it can be re-styled, duplicated, or built again from scratch.

Conversation options are displayed via DialogList elements, which are created in the Menu Manager like any other element.  If you use Unity UI as the basis for your Menu, then each dialogue option (i.e. each slot in the DialogList element) is linked to a separate Button GameObject in your UI canvas, so you have full control over its position and styling.

If a Conversation has more options that the DialogList has slots, then you can offset the starting index by creating Button elements that have a Click type of Offset Element Slot.  The default Inventory menu uses this technique to allow you to scroll the inventory when the player carries more items than can be shown at once.

All of AC's default Menus can be converted to Unity UI by changing the Source field to Unity Ui Prefab - they'll have their own Canvas prefab already linked, which can be restyled and modified to suit.

Speech text normally disappears when the character has stopped speaking it, but you can retain it on screen by inserting the [continue] tag - see the "Text tokens" chapter of the Manual.  The easiest way to display speech and conversation options simultaneously would be to have both in separate menus.  If you want the "left-sided" speech to show only when a conversation is also going to be shown, you can create a separate Menu for this and unlock it when required using the Menu: Change state Action to swap it out with your regular speech menu.

A series of tutorials on menus can be found here.

KaySievert

Thank you as always, Chris!
This is helping a lot. My biggest problem was to wrap my head around to connection between a dialog option in a conversation, and the Menu / Dialoguelist item. How one populates the other.
But I think i got it now.

Thanks again!
Kay

KaySievert

Fantastic - exactly what I was looking for!
Thanks so much Chris.

Even the scroll up/down arrows for the dialogue options only appear when need. Slick! 

You rock!
- Kay