Flow rules & game actions

Jump

The harbour key was already bought: jump directly to the Warehouse entry. target contains flowRef and entryRef; execution.entries[entryRef].nodeRef gives the next node. A Jump does not automatically open an engine scene or map. That requires an appropriate game action.

{
  "flowRef": "1f69a7b6-1bdc-4dff-b8ee-9b2819b35168",
  "id": "2e1710dc-c32f-418f-abca-e055d6fd28f3",
  "kind": "jump",
  "target": {
    "entryRef": "a4dd48dc-b0e2-47fc-b102-def52583a8fe",
    "flowRef": "2a0a259c-b76a-4de0-8cee-567713c2d320"
  }
}

Call Substory / Return

Yes, this flow is described by JSON. After the greeting, the story calls the explanation of the locked warehouse. The game pushes continuation onto a stack and enters target. After Mira’s explanation it reaches return, pops the most recent continuation and performs “Already have the key?”. Nested calls use the same rule.

{
  "continuation": {
    "kind": "node",
    "nodeRef": "95e9a55f-f6b1-4696-9c52-6ea3ea2ac7e5"
  },
  "flowRef": "1f69a7b6-1bdc-4dff-b8ee-9b2819b35168",
  "id": "85b3aadf-2b95-4150-bc44-c0c796337874",
  "kind": "call",
  "target": {
    "entryRef": "2bac8555-3cae-4a21-9b8c-b410ab207ebb",
    "flowRef": "ea13b52e-092a-44ff-b087-0ce65d040c9a"
  }
}

{
  "flowRef": "ea13b52e-092a-44ff-b087-0ce65d040c9a",
  "id": "f8b8673a-cb86-40ae-a4f6-d37a5c1563c3",
  "kind": "return"
}

All involved nodes are in the story.json export. Call does not mean loading another JSON file or script. maxCallDepth limits nesting. Return on an empty stack is an error. End instead finishes the entire conversation and clears the stack.

Command

“Open shop” is a suitable example: the game opens its own shop and pauses the conversation. Only after the shop closes does it report an agreed outcome, such as purchased or cancelled. Define these names and arguments as a game action in that VNLE project; open_shop is not a built-in VNLE command.

The real Harbour export uses give_item: the command refers to a definition, supplies the item ID and offers two outcomes. The game adds the key to its inventory or declines the transfer. The author has already defined the next path for both results.

{
  "arguments": {
    "3cac6185-4404-4a2a-be5f-14afa0f97137": {
      "kind": "literal",
      "value": {
        "entityType": "item",
        "type": "reference",
        "value": "2d71e57e-9b58-4fdb-a33f-42b89bd8bf04"
      }
    }
  },
  "commandRef": "0723beb0-daba-4602-a665-4efc27511bc3",
  "flowRef": "1f69a7b6-1bdc-4dff-b8ee-9b2819b35168",
  "id": "500c28a1-ed85-4c36-9a38-bedacce1c6b7",
  "kind": "command",
  "outcomes": {
    "12bc86a9-b2eb-4eb4-836c-a9efd936bf1b": {
      "continuation": {
        "kind": "node",
        "nodeRef": "382640aa-5b50-4715-9148-b470bc2f7cd6"
      },
      "resultBindings": {}
    },
    "1c527580-69a6-4e99-8503-1b0de3fc8e78": {
      "continuation": {
        "kind": "node",
        "nodeRef": "221d6b0c-99e1-45a8-bc73-768c4ee679eb"
      },
      "resultBindings": {}
    }
  }
}

{
  "id": "0723beb0-daba-4602-a665-4efc27511bc3",
  "key": "give_item",
  "name": "Give item",
  "category": "custom",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "3cac6185-4404-4a2a-be5f-14afa0f97137",
      "name": "Item",
      "valueType": {
        "entityType": "item",
        "kind": "reference"
      }
    }
  ],
  "outcomes": [
    {
      "id": "12bc86a9-b2eb-4eb4-836c-a9efd936bf1b",
      "name": "Received",
      "results": []
    },
    {
      "id": "1c527580-69a6-4e99-8503-1b0de3fc8e78",
      "name": "Declined",
      "results": []
    }
  ]
}

1. Look up commandRef in execution.commands (signature) and content.commandDefinitions (readable key).
2. Evaluate arguments using input IDs; missing optional arguments use their declared defaultValue.
3. Request the explicitly supported game action once. Do not allow Continue or a second execution while waiting.
4. Validate the outcome ID and typed result values. outcome.resultBindings assigns result values to story variables; then follow outcome.continuation.
5. A technical failure is not automatically the author’s cancellation outcome. Show the error and provide a controlled retry/cancel path in the game.

In this project, declining the key transfer leads to a refund of five gold. The exported continuation does this; it is not automatic for every Command. Inventory, quest journal and engine maps are your game’s systems; JSON catalog records alone do not create them.

Text and placeholders

{
  "continuation": {
    "kind": "node",
    "nodeRef": "2e1710dc-c32f-418f-abca-e055d6fd28f3"
  },
  "flowRef": "1f69a7b6-1bdc-4dff-b8ee-9b2819b35168",
  "id": "0d7f959e-8fba-4882-ae98-b66d8416d4d2",
  "kind": "dialogue",
  "speakerRef": "807b2957-7bab-4a28-83a4-1f3d1589bbc2",
  "text": {
    "bindings": {
      "1084cf8e-515e-4b33-92f8-b5c260e88a9e": {
        "kind": "variable",
        "variableRef": "a547610e-661f-4b8d-a25b-21d042f1a2d5"
      }
    },
    "textRef": "fcc775ff-558e-4a41-823d-183aaff03e4b"
  }
}

Concatenate kind: text segments directly. For kind: placeholder, use placeholderRef to find its definition in the text record and binding in node.text.bindings. The binding provides a literal or variable value. Capture it when presenting the line and format it according to its type. Types and format options are in the field reference.

PlaceholderDefinition · Message