CineGraph: Node-Based Cinematics & Cutscenes

CineGraph: Node-Based Cinematics & Cutscenes is the definitive solution for indie developers seeking to craft impactful narratives in Unity without the friction and steep learning curve of the native Timeline. 🛑 Say goodbye to manual orchestration code and rigid tracks!

This system transforms cutscene authoring into a highly visual, fluid workflow. 🌊 Connect nodes, tweak parameters in the Inspector, and press Play. 🍿 Whether you need a simple NPC dialogue 💬 or a massive boss introduction with parallel camera shakes and VFX 💥, CineGraph provides the tools to deliver your vision with total control. 🎮

🧠 Core: Node-Based & Data-Driven Architecture

The heart of CineGraph lies in its CinematicSequence assets. 📂 Every cutscene is defined as a ScriptableObject, completely decoupling the cinematic data from your scene hierarchy. The lightweight SequencePlayer executes these graphs using Unity Coroutines, providing a stable, predictable, and highly performant execution flow. ⚡

🎭 Hybrid Actor System (Global Registry)

Stop fighting broken references when changing levels or using additive scenes! 🚫 CineGraph resolves GameObject dependencies via string keys across three layers:

• 📍 Local Override: Direct references injected into the SequencePlayer for scene-specific actors.
• 🌍 Global Registry (CinematicActorRegistry): GameObjects with a CinematicActor component auto-register dynamically. Perfect for spawned prefabs, additive scenes, or persistent singletons! 🏗️
• ⏳ Async Resolution: Use the WaitForActor node to pause the cinematic until an actor finishes loading and registers globally.

⏩ Robust Skip System & State Management

Skipping cutscenes shouldn't break your game state. 🛠️ When a player skips a cinematic, the engine instantly interrupts active coroutines and recursively processes all pending nodes, invoking ApplyFinalState(). This guarantees actors teleport to their final marks 🎯, variables update 🧮, and UI cleans up perfectly without visual glitches. ✨

🔌 Event-Driven & Decoupled

Never hardcode your game logic into your cinematics.

• 🛎️ Node Events: Every node exposes OnEnter, OnExit, and OnSkipped UnityEvents.
• 📡 Code Subscriptions: Listen to cinematic progress from anywhere using the CinematicDirectorAPI.SubscribeToNode(guid) facade.
• 🚌 CinematicEventBus: Fire generic events from the graph that your quest or audio managers can listen to globally! 🎶

⏸️ Pause, TimeScale & Input Control

Native support for pause menus and interruptions. ⏯️ The system evaluates IsPaused continuously. Set your cinematic to ignore the global Time.timeScale ⏱️ or let the engine drop it to zero automatically when paused, keeping your game perfectly frozen. ❄️

🌍 Transparent Localization & Integrations

Text nodes (Dialogues, Subtitles, Floating Text) use CinematicString instead of raw strings. 🔤 This structure optionally integrates out-of-the-box with Unity Localization and I2 Localization. 🌐 Furthermore, the asset includes seamless integrations with Noocturnal's Quest 📜, Stats 🛡️, AI 🤖, and OmniSpawn 👾 systems.

✨ Key Features:

• 🧩 90+ Ready-to-use Nodes: Covering Flow Control, Camera 🎥, Actors 🧍, Audio 🔊, UI 🖥️, Narrative 📖, Game State, and Environment 🌩️.
• 🚀 Zero-Friction Extensibility: Create custom nodes in minutes. Subclass CinematicNode, override Execute(), and the GraphView Editor will auto-discover it via reflection. No custom editor scripting required! 👨‍💻
• 🎯 Global Trigger Conditions: Evaluate HasSeen, Cooldown, or PlayerPrefs variables directly before firing a cinematic via CinematicTrigger.
• 🐛 Live Debugging Tools: A real-time Variable Watcher 🔍 and Registry Debugger 📋 let you inspect the internal state, history, and active actors without leaving Play Mode.