Conditions (condition)

Conditions are a universal language used literally everywhere: in stage text variants (texts), in transfers (transfers), in points on the map, in NPC squads, and in quest checkpoints. Learn it once and you can control the visibility and availability of anything in the game — without code.

A condition is an object of the form { key: [value] }. An empty object {} means "the condition is always satisfied."

Checking for presence (has / !has)

{ "has": ["sidorovich_job"] }
{ "!has": ["sidorovich_job"] }

has checks whether the player has an item or an arbitrary text flag in their inventory. A flag is just a label string with no visual representation, which can be granted by the add action and used as a story's "state variable" (for example, "sidorovich_job" as a "quest started" marker). !has is the negation: the condition is satisfied if the player does not have that item/flag.

This is the most common way to store story progress: there's no need for a separate "state stages" mechanism — progress is fully described by a set of flags and items in the inventory.

Comparing variables

{ "money>=": ["500"] }
{ "xp<": ["1000"] }
{ "Sanity>=": ["1"] }

The key is <variable_name><operator>, with available operators: =, ==, ===, !=, <, <=, >, >=. The built-in variables are money and xp, but you can also use your own variable name, introduced by the story's author (like Sanity in the example above) — the engine stores such custom counters in the player's parameters (parametersMap) right alongside the built-in ones.

Custom variables are a powerful trick

Your own numeric variables are handy for a character's morale/reputation, a counter of completed faction quests, a specific NPC's trust level, and anything else that doesn't reduce to a simple "has/doesn't have an item." Such variables are changed with the add action using a numeric value.

How a matching variant is chosen

Conditions in lists (texts, transfers) are checked in order, and the first matching item wins. That's why specific conditions are usually placed at the start of the list, with the "default" variant (condition: {}) at the end.

Where else conditions are used

Where	Effect of the condition
texts[].condition	Which text variant to show
transfers[].condition	Whether to show this reply/transfer option
A point on the map (points[].condition)	Whether the point is currently visible to the player on the map
An NPC squad (spawns[].condition)	Whether the squad appears at the location
A quest checkpoint (checkpoints[].condition)	Whether the quest step is counted as complete

For example, a point on the map with the condition { "has": ["warehouse_key"] } is physically not shown on the map until the player gets the key — and appears on its own, with no extra code, as soon as the condition is met.

Next

• Actions — what changes the flags/variables that conditions check.
• Variables and Flags — how to design a story's flag system.