LDC (Localized Dialogs & Cutscenes) - Powerful and intuitive Dialog System with tons of features!

Hi ljdomain,

Firstly, thanks for your interest in LDC!

1) Yes, LDC can be used for purely text based adventures and also supports scrollable areas. In fact, it has several text features like styles, cadence (pauses and typewriter speed changes) as well as super powerful tokens

2) Things like IAP are straightforward but do require a little bit of extra work on your side. LDC makes it easy to "SendMessages" to other scripts which allows you to easily trigger the API of any plugin or system. Most of the time you can do this directly in LDC without any coding.

3) I haven't personally used gamesparks, but I don't see why not. The way LDC is designed allows multiple ways of connecting to other scripts and systems. SendMessage is the easiest way, but you can also setup Navigation Callbacks which is more advanced and requires you to make a script in order to "catch" the results. Most of the time the Send Message functions are probably all you will need - and that's all visual in LDC (no coding)

Hope this helps!

- Mel

 

Hi all!

I believe you could use GameSparks for this. If you wanted to be able to store and update the dialog that the plugin used you could do that with us. Make changes to it when the game it live, fix spelling errors etc.

If you'd like to have a chat with our support team in detail about using GameSparks this way, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us via: https://support.gamesparks.net/support/home

Thanks,
Clare

 

Hi,

I found a problem in the google stylesheets importer. While importing from google stylesheets, an NotImplementedException of DialogCast.EditorGetActor is raised from DialogSpreadSheetImport.js.

I have implemented DialogCast.EditorGetActor by modifying DialogCast.EditorGetAnimation.

PS: I'm using LDC 4.8.2 with Unity 5.6.

 

@ansoncat,

That's strange, I've never seen this issue popup before. Thanks for reporting this!

If you could email / pm the fix (with some info about what you changed) I can add it to a hotfix for others!

Thanks!

 

THE ALL NEW LDC - PROGRESS UPDATE:

I'm currently in the early phases of creating the all new LDC system (which is likely to get a new name). This is a gargantuan undertaking and I would like to share some information about some of the big structural changes that are coming:

- Entirely NEW codebase written in C#.
- New UI System based on the new Unity GUI system.
- Dialog Styles will be modular - you will even be able to create your own and add it to the system!
- Multiple dialog screens can be shown simultaneously ( rather than just one screen at a time ).
- There will now be "Button Actions" as well as "Start of Screen" and "End of Screen" actions. This means that on a single screen you can have different actions depending on which button the user pressed ( without having to set up additional screens to deal with them).
- Improvements in the editor, including huge speed improvements and fully integrated undo system.

As this will be an entirely new system and not just a regular update, this will be LDC's first paid upgrade in over 5 years of development. Those of you who have purchased this year (2017) will receive a free upgrade. There are also a few of you who purchased LDC where the upgrade to the new system was promised beforehand, and I haven't forgotten about you either!

I'll be building in new features as I go and am open to feedback!

That's all for now and thanks for your continued support!

- Mel

 

Looking forward to try it Mel.
I think it makes sense for it to be a standalone product separate from LDC.
The split screen feature you mention is similar with this by any chance?
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/58506

 

Hi ocimpean,

I'm not sure I did mention a split screen feature?

As Dialog Styles will now be modular it will be possible to have much greater control over the layout and UI so you can set them up in any way you like. That asset is very specific but it would theoretically be possible to have something similar in terms of layout!

- Mel

 

Sorry Mel, I have a habit of misunderstanding things, you know, is getting worse with age
I will keep an eye on this thread, curious to see how your software will evolve.
Good luck.

 

Haha no problem at all!

 

Hi,

I'm interested in this asset, especially since it is on sale till tomorrow. I have a quick question though, please: I'm working on a story-driven 2D platformer, and I'd like to make some cutscenes to tell the story with the game sprites.
It seems LDC allows to do scripting and trigger events, so I was wondering if using LDC to script a cutscene would be an option. I mean, writing the lines of my dialogues, and at given lines, make the sprites move / animate, or pan the camera. Is it one of the LDC features? If it's the case, I'll buy it for sure, as it will cover most of my needs.

Thank you for your reply!

 

Hi Michoko,

Firstly, thanks for your interest!

If I've understood you correctly, you need LDC to "trigger" things while your cutscene is playing - luckily LDC excels at this! Our mobile game Post Brutal is a great example of using LDC to trigger loads of narrative type events in a fully fledged RPG - feel free to check it out to get an idea of the things LDC is capable of!

One thing to note just in case it isn't clear is you would specifically need your own camera system ( either made by you or via 3rd party asset ) and LDC can easily trigger it during cutscenes using easy to use visual actions. You can trigger things at the start or at the end of any specific screen ( or dialog "line" as you put it ). Another really cool thing about LDC's text features that you may be interested in is builtin support for cadence which is often overlooked by new users - it allows pauses within your text which does a great deal to add drama and emotion to your scenes (especially if you don't have voice acting).

Anyway, hope this helps!

- Mel

 

Awesome, thank you for your quick reply. LDC seems to be a really great asset, and I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun with it.

Cheers!

 

No problem, thanks for your interest in LDC!

- Mel

 

Hi Mel - I'm a huge fan of LDC and also looking forward to try the new System. Just to bring up the Question at an early stage, can you support Spritesheet animations , Videos and hopefully also .swf files to use in our Screens?

Thanks in advance,
Weblox

 

Hi Weblox,

Thanks for the suggestions!

1) The good news is sprite sheets are already on my to-do list

2) I think with the new Unity Video component that is coming out ( it may already be out - need to check! lol ) I'll see if we can get some closer integration. It may not make it in the first release but I'll be looking into it!

3) To be honest swf files are unlikely to make it - at least for now. Can I ask how you plan to use it?

Thanks!

- Mel

 

Hi Mel - Awesome to hear about Spritesheets and Videos! Coming from a Webdesigner background I have done alot of flash animations back in the days. It would come in handy to use those (as Screenelements - just like image animations) because of their small filesize. However, I am aware this is a very specific request and if it doesn't make it, that's totally fine. I just wanted to mention, if you come across a nice way to implement it.

 

Hi Weblox,

Yeah, it is rather specific so it's unlikely to be implemented in the short term. If Unity ever build some kind of importer for it then I can re-evaluate nearer the time!

Thanks again for the suggestions!

- Mel

 

Hello,Mel(°∀°)ﾉ,i'm the programmer for only one programmer's game workgroup XD.my boss want me to write falsh back script for the game.i have already use your plugins for a long time BUT i haven't do this before(´；ω；`).and i tried to find some tutorial on google or baidu but i failed(´･_･`).But you plugins is really great,i don't want to give this plugins up( ´_ゝ｀) how can i do this?please help me,dear mel（/TДT)/

 

Hi hehedang,

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're trying to do.

If you need support for a specific problem feel free to send me a PM / email with your invoice ID and I'll be happy to help!

- Mel

 

oh,i'm really sorry about my english(´；ω；`).for example,a NPC called A said to me hello or something important.and then unity record it. after a long time i forgot what he said,and then i want to open the something that have been already record what he said to check out.that's what i'm thinking now(｀・ω・´)
why don't i post your e-mail?emmmm...i'm sorry,but i just want more people could watch this and help them(^・ω・^ )if my behavior is not allowed,i will be sorry and ask you on your e-mail
by the way,thanks you for your kind attention(･∀･)i asked this question in the chinese forum but all of them are not friendly( ´_ゝ｀)

 

Hi hehedang,

No problem, I think I understand what you're trying to do!

Can you please PM or email me with your asset store invoice ID please? I require users do this for specific support questions. Once you send that over I'll be happy to help!

- Mel

 

Is this Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese ?

 

Hi,

It's simplified Chinese if you're using automatic translations. If you have your own translations you can replace it with traditional if you prefer!

- Mel

 

Hello.
We have been working on our game for several months now, and we planned to use LDC in its development, but I recently noticed that the source code shown in the preview/description is JavaScript. I read above that version 2 would be an all new codebase - C#; but again the file preview still shows all .js files. We will need the C# edition. Is the current listing out dated or what are we getting from https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/5020 if we purchase today?

Thanks.
-Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

Firstly, thanks for your interest in LDC!

I'm still hard at work building the new system but it's not quite accurate to say it will be an upgrade more than it will be a completely new product ( inspired heavily by LDC ). There are still several more months ahead at least before it will be ready - but it is coming!

LDC is a tried and tested tool that has been constantly upgraded over the last 5+ years. Even though it's written in JS ( back in the days where Unity promoted JS as the official Unity language ) it is still compatible with projects written predominantly in C#. The only compatibility issue with C# is with the Google Spreadsheets importer ( which is an optional and additional package within the kit, so don't install that and you'll be fine! ).

So, if your game is scheduled to be released any time in the next 6 months I would still recommend LDC, it's an easy, powerful, battle tested tool that should serve you well. It also works great with all versions of Unity! Also, I've made the promise that everyone who buys LDC in 2017 before the new system is released will get a free upgrade to the new tool when it's ready - so it's a win, win!

Hope that helps!

- Mel

 

Hi Mel,
I'm getting some weird errors related to the code extending the Unity editor. Please see the screenshot. I also tried completely deleting LDC and reimporting from the asset store to be sure I didn't accidentally change something. Please let me know if you need any additional details. Thanks!

 

Hi loadexfa,

Very strange. Can you send me a pm with your invoiceID and let me know the following:

1) Which Unity version are you using?

2) if you import LDC into a completely new project do those error messages still appear?

Thanks!

- Mel

 

Hi everyone!

Quick update to let everyone know that there's an issue with LDC in Unity 2017.1 on the iOS platform ( standalone platforms don't seem to be affected from what I can tell ). Unity appears to have made a change which forces pragma strict on editor scripts which has caused some havoc with LDC.

I'm working on a fix and I'm hoping to have it ready in the next few days along with some cool updates!

A big thanks to loadexfa who reported this!

- Mel

 

You're welcome, glad I could help.

 

Good news everyone!

The new LDC update which includes fixes for Unity 2017.1 has been sent to the asset store for approval - hopefully they approve it soon!

In the meantime, people who purchased it directly can download it from my site here:
http://www.mel-georgiou.co.uk/downloads/ldc-localized-dialogs-cutscene-plugin-for-unity

Please remember to backup your projects before updating!

I'm hoping to share some more concrete news about the "new" LDC in the next month or so!

Thanks!

 

Hi All,

LDC v4.8.3 is now live on the Asset Store!

Asset Store Link:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/5020

This update brings support for Unity 2017.1!

IMPORTANT: Please BACKUP your projects before updating!

- Mel

 

Hey there,

I am really interested in your plugin because I want something easy to tell a few stories and do some questing in my tcg/rpg game.
However sadly the documentation link is not working and also there is no trial version available. Since I don't want to spend 100€ if I am not sure if I will be able to use it , I wonder how could try it out or see the documentation at least to see if it really fits my needs.
My game is 100% server authoritative so I have to use it a bit different than most others. I also tried the Dialogue System, but this seems to be too heavy for my needs.

Thanks for your time,
Oliver

 

Hi Mel

I tried to download 4.8.3 from my account on your site, but I am getting a file not found message.

 

Hi everyone,

Apologies - I was hosting these files on Dropbox but it looks like there has been some recent changes with the service that are stopping files from downloading properly. I'll be moving everything to a new host tomorrow and setting it all up again. Please bare with me and I should have the new files up and running properly in the next 24 hours!

@lorddevil

Firstly, thanks for your interest in LDC!

You should be able to see the documentation PDF in the meantime using this link . LDC makes it really easy to manage quests / dialogs and I have recently used it in a commercial mobile RPG called Post Brutal. Feel free to check it out and hopefully you find it useful!

- Mel

 

Hi everyone,

I've now migrated away from Dropbox and all links to demos and docs have been updated and should be working ( however the Asset Store needs to approve it first before it is visible on their webpage ).

@ocimpean The download link should now work on my site!

@lorddevil While the asset store team updates the links on the product page, you can access the demos directly using the links below:

>> Comic Demo (WebGL)
>> Adventure Demo (UWP)
>> FPS Demo (Flash)
>> Documentation (PDF)

Hope this helps!

- Mel

 

Thanks alot,

I will check out the documentation to see if it will fit my needs

 

No problem!

- Mel

 

I can confirm link is working. Thanks Mel!

 

Hi ocimpean,

No worries, glad everything's working like it should!

- Mel

 

Hi everyone!

I have some pretty exciting news about the next LDC update. Introducing ...

LDC v5.0

What's the big news? LDC is now completely rewritten in C#. Yep, I know I said I wasn't going to do it but there you go! lol

JS unfortunately has it's days numbered according to Unity, and a C# rewrite has been the thing most users have requested. Today, I can announce that it will be ready within the next week or so!

Upgrade Tools



As well as a modified version of LDC 4.8.3 (that can be installed side by side with LDC 5 ), I've also included a one click JS to C# converter tool that instantly rebuilds your existing DialogScreens into the C# version ( you will still need to rebuild the DialogUI and DialogLibrary manually ). New LDC users / projects don't need to worry at all but as the upgrade can be tricky I'm only recommending people do it if they intend to upgrade their project to a version greater than Unity 2017.1 in the near future.

Other Changes

Because this was a gargantuan update, there are some other changes / improvements:

- The Google Spreadsheet Importer now works in C#!
- All LDC Scripts are now in the HellTap.LDC namespace.
- Logic operators have had a variable name change ( but the included converter tool should account for that when migrating )
- JS Function Arrays in the API have now been replaced with UnityEvents. System.Action will still work as before.
- ALL Demos have been rewritten in C#.
- I'm in the process of updating the docs!

To be clear, this is NOT the new UI system I'm working on, but an unplanned major update to LDC that will keep it rolling for years to come! Unityscript may be pulled in a future version of Unity but LDC shouldn't be affected!

If you guys have any questions feel free to ask!

Thanks!

- Mel

 

Hi everyone!

LDC 5.0 IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM MY SITE!
(ASSET STORE VERSION SUBMITTED AND IN REVIEW)

Things have moved faster than expected!

LDC v5.0 is now ported to C# and is available on my site and should be available soon on the Asset Store .

Despite the gargantuan effort to port the code, this is a totally FREE update for everyone!

IMPORTANT: BACKUP YOUR PROJECTS!

If you're upgrading an existing project then please make sure to read the "LDC v5 Upgrade Guide" chapter on page 10 of the Documentation.pdf.

If you're a new user or starting a new project then it will be smooth sailing!

LDC Direct Website Link
http://www.mel-georgiou.co.uk


- Mel

 

That's very nice of you! Thanks a lot!!!

 

Hi red2blue,

You're welcome!

- Mel

 

And totally forgot,.... Congrats on the new release! Sounds like a very nice milestone!!!

 

Hi red2blue,

Haha, it certainly was a lot of work - thanks!

- Mel

 

Hi everyone,

Just a quick message to let you know that LDC v5.0 is now available on the Unity Asset Store!

Remember to BACKUP and read the upgrade guide if you're upgrading!

Asset Store Link:
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/gui/localized-dialogs-cutscenes-ldc-5020

- Mel

 

Great news ! Congrats. Looking forward for the New Major Release also. Will Dialogues created with Version 5.0 be usable with the New System?

 

Hi weblox,

Thanks!

LDC v5.0 is pretty much the old version but completely rewritten in C#.

I'm not quire sure what you mean by video support, but spritesheet-like animations are something that I'm thinking about!

- Mel

 

Hi Mel,

I edited my above post, but you must have caught it while updating the forums.

Yes, I have been a little confused in the Beginning. To get it right: V 5.0 is basically the existng LDC rewritten in C# for existing customers, while the Major release you are still working on will be a seperate Package also completely in C#.

Yes I really want to use Spritesheet for my animations. Also using videos as backgrounds for the Dialogue Screens would be a great feature.

Will Dialogues created with Version 5.0 be usable with the Upcoming New System too?

 

Hi Weblox,

Haha, no worries! Yes, you're correct. The new UI System will be an entirely different framework but it will share a similar design and user workflow.

... Added your feature requests to the wishlist!

Unfortunately you wont be able to migrate LDC based dialogs to the new system via a tool ( such as in the way I provided for the LDC C# upgrade). Without giving too much away about how it's all going to work ( and all the super cool features that are coming ), the framework is just too different to be able to directly "convert" it.

Generally, LDC's main focus is super ease of use and offering as much power as possible through that workflow. The new system will have a slightly bigger learning curve but will offer much more power and customisation. I believe there will be a space for both systems on the Asset Store.

Hope that helps!

- Mel