Effects

Effects are synchronous actions executed from EffectsNodeData nodes within a dialogue sequence. When the Dialogue Sequencer encounters an Effects node, it calls DoEffect() on each DialogueEffect in the node’s list in order, then immediately advances to the next node.

All effects are polymorphic — extending the base class automatically populates the effects list in the dialogue editor at startup.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Cinematics.

Contents

• DialogueEffect (Abstract Base)
• SetRecords_DialogueEffect
• ToggleEntitiesActive_DialogueEffect
• Complete Effect Type Reference
• Creating a Custom Effect
• See Also

DialogueEffect (Abstract Base)

The base class for all dialogue effects. Effects execute synchronously and can be reversed for rollback scenarios.

Virtual Methods

Lifecycle

1. The sequencer encounters an EffectsNodeData node.
2. The sequencer calls DoEffect() on each effect in the node’s list in order.
3. All effects complete synchronously within the same frame.
4. The sequencer immediately advances to the next node.

SetRecords_DialogueEffect

Sets one or more game records in the GS_Save RecordKeeper system. Commonly used to flag quest progress, NPC disposition, or world state changes triggered by dialogue.

ToggleEntitiesActive_DialogueEffect

Activates or deactivates a list of entities in the level. Used to show or hide objects, enable or disable triggers, or change world state during dialogue.

Complete Effect Type Reference

Creating a Custom Effect

To add a custom effect type from an external gem:

1. Define the class

#pragma once
#include <GS_Cinematics/Dialogue/Effects/DialogueEffect.h>

namespace MyGem
{
    class PlaySound_DialogueEffect : public GS_Cinematics::DialogueEffect
    {
    public:
        AZ_RTTI(PlaySound_DialogueEffect, "{YOUR-UUID-HERE}", GS_Cinematics::DialogueEffect);
        AZ_CLASS_ALLOCATOR(PlaySound_DialogueEffect, AZ::SystemAllocator);

        static void Reflect(AZ::ReflectContext* context);

        void DoEffect() override;
        void ReverseEffect() override;

    private:
        AZStd::string m_soundEvent;
    };
}

2. Implement and reflect

#include "PlaySound_DialogueEffect.h"
#include <AzCore/Serialization/SerializeContext.h>

namespace MyGem
{
    void PlaySound_DialogueEffect::Reflect(AZ::ReflectContext* context)
    {
        if (auto sc = azrtti_cast<AZ::SerializeContext*>(context))
        {
            sc->Class<PlaySound_DialogueEffect, GS_Cinematics::DialogueEffect>()
                ->Version(1)
                ->Field("SoundEvent", &PlaySound_DialogueEffect::m_soundEvent);

            if (auto ec = sc->GetEditContext())
            {
                ec->Class<PlaySound_DialogueEffect>("Play Sound", "Fires a sound event during dialogue.")
                    ->ClassElement(AZ::Edit::ClassElements::EditorData, "")
                        ->Attribute(AZ::Edit::Attributes::Category, "MyGem/Effects")
                    ->DataElement(AZ::Edit::UIHandlers::Default, &PlaySound_DialogueEffect::m_soundEvent, "Sound Event", "");
            }
        }
    }

    void PlaySound_DialogueEffect::DoEffect()
    {
        // Fire the sound event
    }

    void PlaySound_DialogueEffect::ReverseEffect()
    {
        // Stop the sound if needed
    }
}

Custom effects are discovered automatically at startup through O3DE serialization — no manual registration step is required.

See Also

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Dialogue System Overview – Architecture and subsystems
• GS_Cinematics Overview – Top-level gem reference

For component references:

• Dialogue Sequencer – How the sequencer drives effects
• Dialogue Data Structure – EffectsNodeData and data model

For related resources:

• Performances – Asynchronous performance types

Get GS_Cinematics

GS_Cinematics — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.