NPC dialogues : file or script?

What do you define as a "script" in this case? I don't really see any difference between what you're calling a script and an XML description of a conversation tree, except possibly formatting and markup. Use whatever you prefer.

Depends. If the dialogue is determined upon some previous logic or if the dialogue results in some arbitrary logic, then you would probably need to call some code within your project. Thus a script would probably be better.
On the other hand, if the dialogue is premeditated and always the same depending on some set actions, then a static file would be better.

But as ApochPiQ mentioned, the way you mention "script" is a bit different than what I'm thinking of. When I think of scripting, I think of LUA being integrated with a C++ project for example. A script would of course work, but in your case, I believe a standard XML file will suffice.

Yes, i mean Lua scripting for example (integrating with java/c++). The dialogue is always the same, the only "logic" operation is for the quests that NPC could give to the player: npc have to know all the completed quests for choosing which quest he can offer to the player!

Yes, i mean Lua scripting for example (integrating with java/c++). The dialogue is always the same, the only "logic" operation is for the quests that NPC could give to the player: npc have to know all the completed quests for choosing which quest he can offer to the player!

It could still be done without a script but it will greatly diminish flexibility. It'll also make it much harder to expand of tweak in the future. But if the behavior is set (which it looks like it is at the moment), I would do it the easy way first, and that would be with a static file, handling the set logic in code.

Undestood. Do you know short examples which shows the difference between these two ways?

What kind of differences are you interested in? I don't understand what you're looking for, honestly.

I would like to see an example in which writing a script is required (in lua for example), because I didn't found anything on the web..Most of examples I've read are writable in a simple XML format file! So when is suggested using scripting language? Ok, when the behaviour isn't static like NPC dialogue, but I can't figure that kind of situation!

I would like to see an example in which writing a script is required (in lua for example), because I didn't found anything on the web..Most of examples I've read are writable in a simple XML format file! So when is suggested using scripting language? Ok, when the behaviour isn't static like NPC dialogue, but I can't figure that kind of situation!

You could store flags and/or condition keys with the XML file, so that certain dialog node is only produced if the attached flag/condition is true. You can also store "magic" attributes to do hardcoded actions, such as "Open Store" or "Give Key to Dungeon". You can insert special embedded strings into the dialog to control things such as "Pause Here" or "Ask for yes/no".

At some point, however, you will realize that you are basically re-inventing a scripting language, as the list of attributes and magic keys and embedded codes grows. Animations, taking player items, healing the player, etc. You may find that your design has become brittle, in that you now have to go back to the source code to change & add dialog logic, do a full re-compile etc to test.

At his point, it may be worth looking into leveraging full scripting, where all of the dialog logic is isolated into seperate scripts. These scripts can be modified (sometimes during runtime!) during testing & debugging without having to change the main source code.

The tradeoff is the complexity of adding the scripting support, which isn't exactly trivial.

If you haven't already, plan out exactly what the extant of and logic of your dialog will be. From your OP, if that is the extent of your dialog system, then it looks like you can just implement [Condition Flag][Dialog Node] nodes in a data file and call it day.

What about a little of both? XML stores the actual strings and gives them names (i.e. Hello, !) and a scripting language allows you to conditionally display the strings by ID and change player state based on the selected responses and other conditions.

[quote name='AndreaTux' timestamp='1344287105' post='4966811']
I would like to see an example in which writing a script is required (in lua for example), because I didn't found anything on the web..Most of examples I've read are writable in a simple XML format file! So when is suggested using scripting language? Ok, when the behaviour isn't static like NPC dialogue, but I can't figure that kind of situation!

You could store flags and/or condition keys with the XML file, so that certain dialog node is only produced if the attached flag/condition is true. You can also store "magic" attributes to do hardcoded actions, such as "Open Store" or "Give Key to Dungeon". You can insert special embedded strings into the dialog to control things such as "Pause Here" or "Ask for yes/no".

At some point, however, you will realize that you are basically re-inventing a scripting language, as the list of attributes and magic keys and embedded codes grows. Animations, taking player items, healing the player, etc. You may find that your design has become brittle, in that you now have to go back to the source code to change & add dialog logic, do a full re-compile etc to test.

At his point, it may be worth looking into leveraging full scripting, where all of the dialog logic is isolated into seperate scripts. These scripts can be modified (sometimes during runtime!) during testing & debugging without having to change the main source code.

The tradeoff is the complexity of adding the scripting support, which isn't exactly trivial.

If you haven't already, plan out exactly what the extant of and logic of your dialog will be. From your OP, if that is the extent of your dialog system, then it looks like you can just implement [Condition Flag][Dialog Node] nodes in a data file and call it day.
[/quote]

Thank you, now it's clear!
@Firestryke31 it seems interesting, but I think doing controls and logic operations in java with an XML class handler is quick and easier!