Nodes
Control Flow Nodes
Action Nodes
- Audio
- Call Behavior
- Call System
- Close In
- Drop Inventory
- Effect
- Light
- Lock Tree
- Lookout
- Message
- Multi Choice
- Pathfinder
- Random Walk
- Respawn
- Screen
- Script
- Schedule
- Sell
- Set State
- Set Tile
- Target
- Teleport
- Unlock Tree
- Untarget
Area Specific
Player Specific
Skills
Action
This node is available both in area graphs and in behavior graphs.
It creates a way to map user commands (send from screen scripts) to a node based action.
If used in area graphs it filters the action parameter to a user command. So if a player executes for example a Look command and the action node has Look as its action parameter the nodes connected on the right will be executed. For example to send a message to a player with the content of a sign.
In behavior node graphs the action node needs to be in a behavior tree which has the name of the action. It works like this:
- The user sends an action command, lets say Look in the screen scripts. The node system receives the command and searches for a behavior tree called Look for the player. If it finds one, it executes the tree.
- When it encounters an action node in the tree it performs the action (which should be Look again).
Now the action node does the following:
It searches for other characters in the direction of the command, if there is a character it searches for a tree with the action name and the ending (P), in our case Look (P) and executes the tree if it finds one. The (P) indicates that this is a passive tree and gets called from somebody looking at the character. In this tree you can for example send a message to the player using the message node (or anything else depending on the action).
If there is no character, the action node searches for areas in the command direction. If it found one it searches for an action node with a fitting action parameter (as described above, in our case Look) and executes it.
In summary, using the Action node you can connect any kind of user action to behavior trees on characters or areas, opening up endless possibilities of user interactions with characters and areas.
Parameter
- Action. The name of the user command
Always
This node is available only in area graphs
It makes sure that the connected nodes on the right of the node are always executed, i.e. on every game tick.
A use case for example would be to create a light source using the Light node which is always on.
Audio
Plays the audio asset defined by its name.
Parameter
=* Audio Name. The name of the audio to play.
Call Behavior
Executes the behavior tree of the given name.
Parameter
=* Tree Name. The name of the behavior tree to execute.
Call System
Executes a behavior tree of the given system.
Parameter
- System Name. The name of the system to execute. Note that Eldiron checks if this is a variable name and if yes uses the content of the variable instead of given name. This allows to call class specific trees.
- Tree Name. The name of the behavior tree to execute.
Returns
- Success. The system was called successfully.
- Failure. The system / tree was not found.
Behavior Tree
A behavior tree is a node with several terminals at the bottom which get executed from left to right. You typically rename the behavior tree to indicate what behavior the tree is executing, for example Go Raiding, or Talk and Combat.
In a programming language behavior trees would be similar to callable functions.
Every behavior tree node has an Execute property which indicates when the tree is executed:
- Always. The behavior tree is always executed if the graph is not locked.
- On Startup. The behavior tree is only executed once when the graph is created.
- On Demand. The behavior tree is executed on demand.
Behavior trees perform the AI for non-player-characters (NPCs) and connect input commands from the Player character to the right player action.
All behavior trees in a graph are listed as tabs at the top of the graph. Select the given behavior to edit it.
Close In
Intended for NPCs.
Walks towards the current target.
Parameters
- To Distance. The desired distance to the target. This is most often the weapon range. For a melee weapon it would be 1.
- Speed Delay. A numerical expression indicating the walking speed. 0 is the fastest, no delay, the character will move one tile per game tick. Higher values will slow the character down. A value of 4 for example would mean that the character needs 4 game ticks to move to the next tile.
Returns
- Success. If we have reached the desired distance.
- Failure. We are not close enough yet.
Drop Inventory
Drops all or some of your inventory, making it available for pick up by others. This can be used for example on death.
Parameters
- Drop. Everything will drop the complete inventory and all gold. Whereas Random Item will drop a random item and a random amount of gold.
See also
Drop
This node is intended for player controlled characters only
The player character drops the user defined item.
Returns
- Success. The character dropped the item successfully.
- Failure. Failure in dropping the item.
Effect
Plays an effect on the character tile. Mostly used for visualizing taking damage or healing.
Parameters
- Effect. A tile animation marked as Effect.
Enter Area
This node is available only in area graphs
Executes the tree if a character enters the area.
Parameter
- Character. Either Everyone which executes the connected nodes every time a character enters the area or First Only which executes the nodes only for the first character to enter the area.
Expression
Executes the given script which is expected to return a boolean value.
Returns
- Success. If the expression returns
true. - Failure. If the expression returns
false.
See also
Query State
Checks the current state of the character.
Returns
Success if the character currently is of the given state, failure otherwise.
Has Target ?
Intended for NPCs.
Returns
Success if the character currently has a target, failure otherwise.
Inside Area
This node is available only in area graphs
Executes the tree if any character is inside the area.
Leave Area
This node is available only in area graphs
Executes the tree if a character leaves the area.
Parameter
- Character. Either Everyone which executes the connected nodes every time a character leaves the area or Last Only which executes the nodes only for the last character to exit the area.
Light
This node is available both in area graphs and item graphs.
If executed it creates a light source for the area or the item.
Lock Tree
Lookout
Intended for NPCs.
This node looks out for other characters in the vicinity to make it the possible target for future behaviors. For example a monster may look for something to attack, a healer may look out for somebody to heal.
If the node successfully finds a character it will make the character the target, meaning that nodes which work on a target, like Close In (or the target based script cmds) will target that character.
You can use Untarget to un-target it again.
Parameters
- State. You can select if the node looks out for a Normal (i.e. active / alive character) or a Killed one (for example to resurrect it).
- Expression. A script which should return true if the character fits the criterias we are looking for, this is mostly done by checking the characters sheet. For example a script which would check if the character has a positive alignment would be
let sheet = get_sheet(); if sheet.alignment > 0 { return true; } - Max Distance. The maximum distance to look out for characters.
Returns
- Success. If a fitting character has been found and is our new target.
- Failure. If no character has been found.
See also
Message
This node sends a message to the player (or broadcasts a message from the player) and is probably one of the most used nodes.
There are several different message types:
- Status. This sends a message to the player from the system and is used for any kind of status updates.
When sending messages there are several kind of codes you can use which the system replaces with the given text.
${CONTEXT}. The name of the current context, which can either be a character or an item name depending on the node context.${DEF_CONTEXT}. The name of the current context of the action prepended by an definite article if appropriate. The name will be in lowercase. For example"You take ${DEF_CONTEXT}"can become “You take the torch”.${TARGET}. The name of the current target of the character.${DEF_TARGET}. The name of the current target of the character prepended with by a definite article. The name will be in lowercase. For example"You kill ${DEF_TARGET}"can become “You kill the orc”.
Move
This node is intended for player controlled characters only
The node moves the player character in the user specified direction.
Parameters
- Delay. A numerical expression indicating the walking speed. 0 is the fastest, no delay, the character will move one tile per game tick. Higher values will slow the character down. A value of 4 for example would mean that the character needs 4 game ticks to move to the next tile.
Returns
- Success. The character moved successfully.
- Failure. The path is blocked.
Multi Choice
Intended for NPCs.
This node allows for multi choice interactions between NPCs and players. Multi choice nodes can be chained by connecting another multi choice node to the right. The bottom connection of a multi choice node is executed when the user selects the choice represented by the node.
Each choice is displayed enumerated to the user. The player can either press the key representing the choice index or click the multi choice item on the message list.
Parameters
- Header. The text to be displayed to the user when a conversation starts. This text is only taken from the first node in a chain.
- Text. The text to be displayed for this choice.
- Answer. The expected answer. Mostly numerical values representing the position in the chain (1 for the first node etc.)
Pathfinder
Intended for NPCs.
This node finds and walks the path to the given target location or area.
Parameters
- Destination. The destination position or area. If an area a random position inside the area is choosen.
- Speed Delay. A numerical expression indicating the walking speed. 0 is the fastest, no delay, the character will move one tile per game tick. Higher values will slow the character down. A value of 4 for example would mean that the character needs 4 game ticks to move to the next tile.
Returns
- Right. If the operation is ongoing, i.e. the character did not reach the destination yet, the right terminal is executed.
- Success. The character reached the destination.
- Failure. If the path to the destination is blocked for a longer period of time.
See also
Random Walk
Intended for NPCs.
This node randomly walks around the given position or area.
Parameters
- Max Distance. The maximum distance to walk from the starting position.
- Speed Delay. A numerical expression indicating the walking speed. 0 is the fastest, no delay, the character will move one tile per game tick. Higher values will slow the character down. A value of 4 for example would mean that the character needs 4 game ticks to move to the next tile.
- Delay. A numerical expression indicating the delay between movements, i.e. how many game ticks the character will wait on the same tile before moving randomly to the next one. 0 means no delay.
See also
Respawn
Intended for NPCs.
Respawns the NPC after a given amount of in-game minutes. Should be applied only to characters which were previously purged via Set State.
Parameters
- Minutes to Wait. The amount of server minutes to wait before respawning.
Screen
Only available inside the game view
Screen nodes define a screen script. Screen scripts define what you see on the screen. Games will contain several screen nodes to display various states of the game.
If you create a new screen script, you have to create the script file yourself. Use the Reveal button to reveal the folder location in the finder.
Parameters
- Script Name. The name of the screen script.
- Reveal Scripts Folder. Press this button to open the script folder location in the finder. Useful for creating new script files or for editing script files outside of Eldiron. Edit Script. Edits the script inside Eldiron.
Schedule
This node checks for a given time period.
Parameters
- From. The start server time.
- To. The end server time.
Returns
If the current server time is between the given parameters it will continue with the connection on the right side (i.e. the schedule is in progress.)
Otherwise it will continue with the bottom connection.
Script
Executes the given server script.
See also
Sell
Intended for NPCs.
This node is offering the inventory of the NPC to the player. Each item is sold by its value.
The items are displayed enumerated to the player. The player can either press the key representing the item index or click the item on the message list.
Parameters
- Header. The text to display to the player when the sales process starts.
- Exit. The exit text to display to the player when the sales process ends.
Returns
- Success. The player has bought an item.
- Failure. The player left without buying an item.
Set State
Sets the state of the character.
- Normal. Character is in a normal state.
- Killed. Character is killed (and can be resurrected).
- Purged. Character is killed and purged from the system (only applies to NPCs).
- Sleeping. Character is sleeping.
- Intoxicated. Character is intoxicated.
Set Tile
Skill Level
Defines a skill level. Has to be attached to a skill level chain. Rename the node to reflect the skill level you want to implement.
If this node is used in Systems / Skills:
It defines a skill level of a skill, i.e. how many times the skill has to be used to reach the next level (and the name of the levels).
If this node is used in an Item:
It defines the property and speed values for each level of the skill.
See also
Skill Tree
Defines a skill. Rename the node to reflect the skill you want to implement.
If this node is used in Systems / Skills:
It will define a new skill. The Skill Level nodes attached to the skill tree define the different levels of the skill. I.e. how many times the skill has to be used to reach the next level (and the name of the levels).
If this node is used in an Item:
It defines which skill the item will increment on use and the property and speed values for each level of the skill.
See also
Take
This node is intended for player controlled characters only
The player character targets tries to take an item in the user specified direction.
Parameters
None
Returns
- Success. The character picked an item up successfully.
- Failure. The character cannot pick up anything in this direction.
Target
This node is intended for player controlled characters only
The player character targets another character in the user specified direction.
Returns
- Success. The character has been successfully target.
- Failure. Failure to target.
Teleport
Unlock Tree
Untarget
Intended for NPCs.
This node un-targets the current target if the conditions are met.
Parameters
- If Distance is Greater. Un-target the target if the distance to the current target is greater than the numerical expression. If you always want to un-target enter 0.
Returns
- Success. We successfully un-targeted the target.
- Failure. We did not un-target. We still have a target.
See also