Blueprint Integration

This page covers how to use FWDialogueSystem entirely from Blueprints, including component setup, event binding, UI patterns, and common dialogue workflows.

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Adding the Component

1. Open your NPC Actor Blueprint.
2. In the Components panel, click Add and search for FWDialogue.
3. Select FW Dialogue Component.

The component has no required configuration in the Details panel. Dialogue trees are passed at runtime when starting a conversation.

One Component Per NPC

Each NPC that can have conversations needs its own Dialogue Component. The component tracks conversation state for one dialogue at a time.

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Starting a Dialogue

From an Interaction Event

The most common pattern: the player presses an interact key near an NPC.

On Interact (Player Character)
    |
    +-- Get Dialogue Component
    |
    +-- Start Dialogue
            Tree: DA_Dialogue_QuestGiver (soft reference)
            Interactor: Player Character
    |
    +-- Show Dialogue UI Widget
    |
    +-- Disable Player Movement Input

From an Overlap Event

For dialogue that triggers automatically when the player enters an area:

On Actor Begin Overlap (Other Actor)
    |
    +-- Cast to Player Character
    |       (if fails, return)
    |
    +-- Is Dialogue Active?
    |       (if true, return -- prevent double-start)
    |
    +-- Start Dialogue (Tree, Player Character)

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Driving the UI from Events

OnNodeChanged -- Update Display

This is the primary event for updating your dialogue UI:

Bind Event to On Node Changed
    |
    Event: (NewNode)
        |
        +-- Set Speaker Name Text = NewNode.SpeakerName
        |
        +-- Set Dialogue Body Text = NewNode.DialogueText
        |
        +-- Clear Response Button Container
        |
        +-- Available = Get Available Responses
        |
        +-- For Each Response (with index):
                |
                +-- Create WBP_ResponseButton widget
                +-- Set Button Text = Response.ResponseText
                +-- Set Button Index = Loop Index
                +-- Add to Response Container

OnDialogueStarted -- Show UI

Bind Event to On Dialogue Started
    |
    Event: (Tree, Interactor)
        |
        +-- Show Dialogue Widget
        +-- Set Input Mode UI Only

OnDialogueEnded -- Hide UI

Bind Event to On Dialogue Ended
    |
    Event: ()
        |
        +-- Hide Dialogue Widget
        +-- Set Input Mode Game Only
        +-- Re-enable Player Movement

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Selecting a Response

When the player clicks a response button, call SelectResponse with the button's index:

WBP_ResponseButton -- On Clicked
    |
    +-- Get Owning NPC's Dialogue Component
    |
    +-- Select Response (ButtonIndex)

The component handles everything from here:

1. Executes the response's actions (give item, start quest, etc.)
2. Advances to the next node (or ends the dialogue if NextNodeId = -1)
3. Fires OnNodeChanged (which updates the UI) or OnDialogueEnded

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Querying Dialogue State

Check If Dialogue Is Active

Use this before allowing interactions or to show/hide UI indicators:

Get Dialogue Component
    |
    +-- Is Dialogue Active --> Boolean

Get the Current Interactor

Useful for NPCs that need to face or animate toward the speaking player:

Get Dialogue Component
    |
    +-- Get Current Interactor --> AActor*
    |
    +-- Find Look At Rotation (NPC -> Interactor)
    |
    +-- Set Actor Rotation

Get the Current Node Directly

For cases where you need to read node data outside of the OnNodeChanged event:

Get Dialogue Component
    |
    +-- Get Current Node --> FFWDialogueNode
    |
    +-- Break FFWDialogueNode
            +-- NodeId
            +-- SpeakerName
            +-- DialogueText
            +-- EntryActions
            +-- Responses

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Common Blueprint Patterns

Pattern: NPC With Multiple Dialogue Trees

An NPC that says different things based on quest progress:

On Interact (Player Character)
    |
    +-- Check Quest State for "QST_Blacksmith_Intro"
    |
    +-- Branch:
            |
            +-- Not Started:
            |       Start Dialogue (DA_Dialogue_Blacksmith_Intro)
            |
            +-- In Progress:
            |       Start Dialogue (DA_Dialogue_Blacksmith_InProgress)
            |
            +-- Completed:
                    Start Dialogue (DA_Dialogue_Blacksmith_PostQuest)

Pattern: Typewriter Text Effect

Animate dialogue text character by character:

On Node Changed (NewNode)
    |
    +-- FullText = NewNode.DialogueText
    |
    +-- DisplayedText = ""
    |
    +-- CharIndex = 0
    |
    +-- Set Timer by Event (0.03s, Looping)
            |
            +-- DisplayedText += FullText[CharIndex]
            +-- CharIndex++
            +-- Set Dialogue Text Widget = DisplayedText
            +-- If CharIndex >= FullText.Length:
                    Clear Timer
                    Show Response Buttons

Skip Button

Allow the player to click to skip the typewriter effect and show the full text immediately. This is a standard UX expectation for dialogue systems.

Pattern: Speaker Portrait

If your dialogue nodes include speaker information, display a portrait alongside the text:

On Node Changed (NewNode)
    |
    +-- SpeakerName = NewNode.SpeakerName
    |
    +-- Look Up Portrait in Data Table (SpeakerName -> Portrait Texture)
    |
    +-- Set Portrait Image Widget = Portrait Texture

Pattern: Continue Button (No Responses)

For narrative nodes where the NPC speaks and the player just clicks "Continue":

On Node Changed (NewNode)
    |
    +-- Responses = Get Available Responses
    |
    +-- If Responses is Empty:
    |       Show "Continue" button that calls EndDialogue
    |
    +-- Else:
            Show response buttons as normal

Pattern: Dialogue Log / History

Keep a scrollable history of the conversation:

On Node Changed (NewNode)
    |
    +-- Create Log Entry Widget
    |       Speaker: NewNode.SpeakerName
    |       Text: NewNode.DialogueText
    |
    +-- Add to Scroll Box
    |
    +-- Scroll to Bottom

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Blueprint Node Reference

Callable Nodes

Node	Category	Description
Start Dialogue	FW Dialogue	Begins a conversation with a dialogue tree
Select Response	FW Dialogue	Chooses a player response by index
End Dialogue	FW Dialogue	Ends the active conversation immediately

Pure Nodes

Node	Category	Returns
Get Current Node	FW Dialogue	FFWDialogueNode
Get Available Responses	FW Dialogue	TArray\<FFWDialogueResponse>
Is Dialogue Active	FW Dialogue	bool
Get Current Interactor	FW Dialogue	AActor*

Event Nodes

Event	Category	Payload
On Dialogue Started	FW Dialogue	UFWDialogueTree, AActor
On Dialogue Ended	FW Dialogue	(none)
On Node Changed	FW Dialogue	FFWDialogueNode