Modding:Dialogue

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This page explains how the game stores dialogue text, its format, and how the game parses it. This is an advanced guide for mod developers.

Dialogue data

Character dialogue is stored in many different files: The Characters\Dialogue directory is where the majority of NPC-specific dialogue is stored. Data\ExtraDialogue.xnb, Strings\Characters.xnb, Strings\Events.xnb, Strings\SpeechBubbles.xnb, and Strings\StringsFromCSFiles.xnb contain various other pieces of dialogue, some generic, and some NPC-specific.

Characters\Dialogue directory

Characters\Dialogue\<NPC>.xnb

An NPC's named file in Character\Dialogue contains most of their dialogue. The game will choose dialogue from one of the sections below, in the order shown here.

Special dialogue

There are a few predefined keys for specific cases:

key format	description
danceRejection	Dialogue used to reject an offer to dance at the Flower Dance. (A different dialogue is used if they've already agreed to dance with another player.)
MovieInvitation	An NPC's response to being invited to the Movie Theater. If not defined, the NPC will use a generic line from Strings\Characters.xnb. The specific string used depends on the NPC's manners.
breakUp	An NPC's response to being broken up with by giving them a Wilted Bouquet.
divorced	Dialogue shown when you speak to your divorced spouse.
accept_<item_id>	If defined, this dialogue will be used when gifting an item with the given ID to the NPC. Does not affect and is not affected by an NPC's taste towards an item. Used when giving quest items to their proper recipients. Appears to have no affect when given the ID of a non-quest item. Example: accept_864: "...!$4#$b#...Where did you find this?$4#$b#...$5#$b#This man... We fought together in the war, @. He was like a brother to me. #$b#But... only one of us made it back.$5#$b#He never lost his courage, though. Even in the face of death. A true hero... I'll never forget him.#$b#Thanks for bringing me this... It means a lot to me.#$b#Here, take this. It's been sitting in the back of our cupboard for years, and we've never used it."
reject_<item_id>	If defined, when attempting to gift the item with the given ID, the NPC will not accept the item and instead say this dialogue. Used for quest items to ensure they're not accidentally gifted, or to give hints towards their proper recipient. Example: reject_864: "What's this? It looks like one of Kent's buddies from the war. Maybe you should show it to him?"
<location>_Entry	Possible dialogue lines shown above the NPC's name when they enter the named <location>, with a 50% chance. This dialogue entry can contain multiple options separated by /; the game will randomly choose one to display. Example: SeedShop_Entry: "Hi, Pierre!/Now, what do I need.../Ah, that looks good!/Makin' my special sauce tonight!/Pierre! What's fresh?/Pierre! Waddya got for me?" Note: This key is not to be confused with Modding:Dialogue#Speech_bubbles.
Resort Resort_Bar Resort_Chair Resort_Dance Resort_Entering Resort_Leaving Resort_Shore Resort_Towel Resort_Umbrella Resort_Wander	Various dialogue keys used when an NPC is visiting the Ginger Island Resort.
ComeBackLater Snoring	Gil's dialogue when you haven't completed any new Adventure Quest goals. ComeBackLater will be shown once, and all subsequent dialogues will show Snoring.

Location dialogue

Otherwise the game will choose dialogue in this order.

Variants:

• Each key can optionally be prefixed with a season name, like springMountain_47_23.

The game will check variants in this order: <season><key>, and <key>. The variants aren't listed below for simplicity. Unlike daily dialogue, location dialogue is endlessly repeatable as long as the trigger conditions are fulfilled, e.g., Being in the location. They will not remove daily dialogue from an npc's dialogue rotation, but will merely overwrite it when the NPC is in the specified location.

key format	description
<location>_<x>_<y>	Dialogue shown in the named location when the NPC is standing at tile position <x>, <y>. Example: Mountain_47_23: "I come here for the peace and quiet."
<location>_<dayName>	Dialogue shown in the named location on the given day of week. Example: Saloon_Fri: "Business has been really good tonight. I'm pleased."
<location><hearts>	Dialogue shown in the named location if you have at least <hearts> hearts with them. The <hearts> will be checked in the order 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 (no other value will be recognised). Example: Saloon8: "Hi there @. I'm glad to see you! You're always welcome here."
<location>	Dialogue shown in the named location. Example: Saloon: "Now that I'm here I can finally relax and socialize a bit." Note: Location dialogue will be accessible even if the NPC is only walking through the specified map unlike schedule strings that will only be accessible once the schedule end location is reached.

Generic dialogue

Otherwise the game will choose a dialogue using one of these key formats (in precedence order):

1. <season>_<key>_inlaw_<spouse>
2. <season>_<key>
3. <key>_inlaw_<spouse>
4. <key>

For each variation above: <season> is a season name (like spring_14); _inlaw_<spouse> matches if the player is married to the named NPC, regardless of whether the speaking NPC is related to the named one (like Sat_inlaw_Abigail); and <key> is one of the formats listed below.

key format	description
<dayOfMonth>	Dialogue shown on the given day of month in the first year only. WARNING: this first-year-only behavior is different from other keys and often catches unsuspecting modders! Example: 10: "Did you watch the game last night?#$b#Or wait, do you even have a TV set...?"
<dayOfMonth>_<firstOrLaterYear>	Dialogue shown on the given day of month in the first/later year. Example: 2_1: "My husband Kent is a soldier, working overseas. That's why he's not here right now.#$b#I know he'll come back safe once his tour is over!!#$e#Need something?"
<dayOfWeek><hearts>_<firstOrLaterYear>	Dialogue shown on the given day of week if you have at least <hearts> hearts with them, in the first/later year. The <hearts> will be checked in the order 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 (no other value will be recognised). Example: Thu2_2: "Well, my Dad is back. Have you met him?#$b#I'm just glad he's okay."
<dayOfWeek><hearts>	Dialogue shown on the given day of week if you have at least <hearts> hearts with them. The <hearts> will be checked in the order 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 (no other value will be recognised). Example: Sun4: "Hey, @.#$e#How's your day going?"
<dayOfWeek>_<firstOrLaterYear>	Dialogue shown on the given day of week in the first/later year. Example: Sat_1: "Dad's coming back soon!#$b#I hope he brings me some toys.$u"
<dayOfWeek>	Dialogue shown on the given day of week. Example: Mon: "Oh, hey. Taking a break from work?"

Rain dialogue

Characters\Dialogue\rainy.xnb contains one dialogue entry per NPC. There's a roughly 50% chance they'll use this dialogue if a special or location dialogue doesn’t match, it's raining, and you're not married to or divorced from them.

Marriage dialogue

Characters\Dialogue\MarriageDialogue.xnb contains dialogue text for all spouses, and each NPC may optionally have their own dialogue file like Characters\Dialogue\MarriageDialogueAbigail.xnb. When looking up a dialogue key, it will use the one in the NPC's file if it exists, else the one in the generic file, else a default text (usually blank).

Each dialogue entry has a key with one of these formats:

key format	description
<season>_<day>	Dialogue shown when the day starts, if <season> and <day> match the current date. Example: fall_1: "The scent is unmistakable... mushroom, rotting leaves, pumpkin. It's fall, alright. Isn't it lovely?"
patio_<spouse>	Dialogue shown when the NPC is standing on the patio.
<weather>_Day_<random>	Daily dialogue added when the day starts, based on the <weather> (Rainy if it's raining, else Indoor even if they're not indoors) and <random> (a random number between 0 and 4). If the game chooses a <random> value that doesn't have a dialogue, it'll use the default text instead.
Rainy_Night_<random>	Daily dialogue in the farmhouse after 6pm when it's raining. <random> is a number between 0–5 inclusively or the NPC name, each of which has an equal chance of being randomly chosen. If the game chooses a <random> value that doesn't have a dialogue, it'll use the default text instead. Example: Rainy_Night_3: "On nights like this, I like to turn the light down low and just listen...$8"
Indoor_Night_<random>	Daily dialogue in the farmhouse after 6pm when it's not raining. <random> is a number between 0–4 inclusively or the NPC name, each of which has an equal chance of being randomly chosen. If the game chooses a <random> value that doesn't have a dialogue, it'll use the default text instead.
funLeave_<spouse>	Dialogue used when leaving the farmhouse, typically during a Monday, or a Friday if they have no job. (See below.)
jobLeave_<spouse>	Dialogue used when leaving to go to their job. Only used for Maru, Penny, and Harvey.
funReturn_<spouse>	Dialogue shown after 1pm when they enter the farmhouse but before reaching their target position, but only on Monday (any NPC) or Friday (if not Maru/Penny/Harvey). Example: funReturn_Abigail: "Hey! Did you have a good day? Mine went well. It was refreshing to take a walk.$h"
jobReturn_<spouse>	Dialogue shown after 1pm when they enter the farmhouse but before reaching their target position, but only if funReturn isn't shown instead. Example: jobReturn_Penny: "#$c .5#Good evening. My day was fine, thanks! How was yours?$h#$e#Jas and Vincent weren't behaving very well today. I'm still all wound up..."
<season>_<spouse>	Dialogue shown at 9+ heart levels with a 5% chance each day. Example: fall_Abigail: "Do I smell pumpkin on you? Maybe I'm just dreaming...$h"
Outdoor_<spouse>	Dialogue shown on the farm with a 20% chance. Example: Outdoor_Abigail: "I'm just going to hang out here, okay?#$e#There's a lot of interesting bugs and things out here. *chuckle*$h"
Outdoor_<random>	Dialogue shown on the farm with an 80% chance. <random> is a number 0–4, used to randomly select an entry. Example: Outdoor_3: "It's pretty cool that we have a cave on our property. It's something I always dreamed about.$h"
spouseRoom_<spouse>	Dialogue shown when the NPC is in their room. Example: spouseRoom_Abigail: "$c .5#I got up a little before you and fed David Jr. He's very active this morning.#$e#I hope you don't mind the guinea pig smell."
OneKid_<random>	Dialogue shown when standing in the kitchen, if they have one child. <random> is a number 0–4, used to randomly select an entry. OneKid_1: "I wonder if %kid1 will grow up to be a farmer like you?"
TwoKids_<random>	Dialogue shown when standing in the kitchen, if they have two children. <random> is a number 0–4, used to randomly select an entry. TwoKids_2: "I had a dream that %kid2 will grow up to be a famous monster hunter. I've already been thinking about a little armor set."
<affection>_<random>	Dialogue shown inside the farmhouse between 11am and 6pm, or when the day starts if a different dialogue isn't selected. <affection> is randomly Bad or Neutral if they have less than 9 hearts; 50% chance of Good if you have 10+ hearts, and 87.5% chance of Good if you have 11+ hearts; else Neutral <random> is a number 0–9, used to randomly select an entry. Example: Good_5: "I was just admiring the mermaid's pendant you gave me... I'll proudly wear this to my grave.$l"

Data directory

Engagement dialogue

Similar to the rain dialogue, Data\EngagementDialogue.xnb contains entries in the form of <NPC>0 and <NPC>1, which are used when you are engaged but not yet married to an NPC, or, in the case of a roommate, when they have been invited but have not yet moved in.

Event files

Data\Events\*.xnb contains event scripts, including any dialogue in the event (see Modding:Event data).

Extra dialogue

Data\ExtraDialogue.xnb contains miscellaneous strings, some of which are NPC specific:

key format	description
PurchasedItem_*	Randomly shown by a non-child town NPC after you sell an edible item to a shop. These keys are hardcoded, and you can't add new keys with a similar pattern. For keys with a number infix (like PurchasedItem_5_Cooking), the number is selected as such: If the NPC is marked as rude in their data, they use 3. Otherwise they randomly choose 1-5.
Town_DumpsterDiveComment_Child Town_DumpsterDiveComment_Teen Town_DumpsterDiveComment_Adult Town_DumpsterDiveComment_Linus	Shown when an NPC catches you rummaging through trash cans, depending on the NPC's age. Linus has his own dialogue, but other NPCs don't.
SummitEvent_Dialogue3_<spouse>	Shown for your NPC spouse near the start of the perfection cutscene.

Movie theater dialogue

An NPC's reaction to a movie is stored in Data\MoviesReactions.xnb, which is structured far differently from every other dialogue file. See Modding:Movie theater data for more details.

Strings directory

Animation descriptions

Strings\animationDescriptions.xnb contains short bits of dialogue to go with certain schedule points. Not to be confused to Data\animationDescriptions.xnb, which contains the data of animations, rather than the strings for their description.

Characters

Strings\Characters.xnb contains miscellaneous dialogue, some of which is NPC-specific:

key format	description
MovieInvite_Spouse_<NPC name>	Shown when the NPC accepts a movie ticket when they're married to you. If missing, defaults to a MovieInvite_Invited_* key.
MovieInvite_Invited_<NPC name> MovieInvite_Invited_<manner> MovieInvite_Invited_<socialAnxiety> MovieInvite_Invited_<optimism> MovieInvite_Invited_<age> MovieInvite_Invited	Shown when the NPC accepts a movie ticket. The NPC will use the first key that exists in the order listed here. The <manner>, <socialAnxiety>, and <optimism> values are those specified in the NPC's equivalent data fields. The <age> value is one of Child, Teen, or Adult.
Phone_*	Shown when calling a shop owner NPC on the telephone. These keys are hardcoded, so new keys with the same pattern will be ignored.

Events

Strings\Events.xnb contains miscellaneous dialogue related to events and festivals, some of which is NPC-specific.

Speech bubbles

Strings\SpeechBubbles.xnb contains dialogue spoken by NPCs through speech bubbles when the player enters a given location. This is distinct from the <location>_Entry field in an NPC's Characters\Dialogue\*.xnb file, which is triggered when the NPC enters a given location.

These keys are hardcoded, so new keys with the same pattern will be ignored.

Strings from CS files

Strings\StringsFromCSFiles.xnb contains miscellaneous strings, such as dialogue that's shared between multiple characters, dialogue for some hardcoded events like marriage, etc.

The file has entries in the form "<key>": "dialogue string", where the key is an arbitrary unique identifier. These must exactly match the key expected by the game, but the keys are just unique identifiers — even though most keys look like <file name>.<line number>, that's just the convention originally used to assign IDs and it has no meaning or effect (nor does it even necessarily match the current file name or line number).

In most situations, if the game is unable to find a string for an NPC to say, it will default to NPC.cs.4061 (English version: "Hi.").

Some other useful NPC-specific strings stored here are as follows:

key format	description
<NPC name>_AfterWedding	Shown after marrying an NPC, when you talk to them on the farm on the same day.
<NPC name>_Engaged <NPC name>_EngagedRoommate	Shown after the NPC accepts an engagement item (e.g. mermaid's pendant or void ghost pendant for vanilla NPCs).

NPC-specific generic dialogue

With some ingenuity, you can make each NPC respond differently instead of using the normal static dialogue. You can use a special mod like Custom Fixed Dialogue, but the same effect can be achieved with just Content Patcher with some effort. To change NPC.cs.3962 and NPC.cs.3963 (to give a bouquet), and NPC.cs.3980 (for the mermaid pendant acceptance):

{
   "Action": "EditData",
   "Target": "Strings/StringsFromCSFiles",
   "Entries": {
      "NPC.cs.3962": "$q 10001 give_flowersA#?!...#$r 10001 0 give_flowersA# [Give Bouquet]",
      "NPC.cs.3963": "$q 10001 give_flowersB#?!...#$r 10001 0 give_flowersB# [Give Bouquet]",
      "NPC.cs.3980": "$q 10001 give_pendant#?!...#$r 10001 0 give_pendant# Will you marry me?"
   }
}

In this example, each NPC will get their response from the give_flowersA, give_flowersB, and give_pendant dialogue key in their character dialogue files. (See format below for more info on the syntax.)

Note that these should be added for all datable characters to avoid errors. For example, you could add this for Haley:

{
   "Action": "EditData",
   "Target": "Characters/Dialogue/Haley",
   "Entries": {
      "give_flowersA": "Oh.. these are beautiful.$1#$b#...What? You want to be my Boyfriend?$8^...What?  You want to be my Girlfriend?$8#$b#....I thought we already were together.$1",
      "give_flowersB": "Ohhh, @!  I would love to be your true love.$1",
      "give_pendant": ".....$8#$b#@, I don't know what to say..$8#$b#...$7#$b#Yes... I accept...$4#$b#I can't wait to tell the Mayor... Everything should take 3 days to set up.$1"
   }
}

This can be used for other generic responses, and you even can avoid the "Give Bouquet" by asking for an answered question's ID.

Algorithm

The game finds dialogue as follows:

1. Event dialogue is read from the appropriate event commands (see Modding:Event data).
2. Location-specific dialogue is read from StringsFromCSFiles <location>.cs.
3. Else character dialogue is read from the character-specific files.
4. If no dialogues were found, the game resorts to hardcoded dialogue from the StringsFromCSFiles files (specifically keys prefixed with NPC.cs NPC.cs).

Format

Dialogue text can contain tokens and commands which control the dialogue box, change the text (e.g., switch between gender-specific strings), inject values, etc. These are parsed by the Dialogue class.

Special tokens

character	description
#	Separates two commands in a dialogue string.
{	TODO. Stands for "breakSpecialCharacter".
^	Gender switch character. The text before it is shown for male farmers, the text after it for female farmers. Example: Oh, good morning Mr. @!^Oh, good morning Ms. @!
%	Turns the dialogue box into a generic text box. Example: "%Abigail is lost in her music."
*	TODO. Stands for "quickResponseDelineator".

Portrait commands

These set the portrait shown in the dialogue box for the current line of dialogue. If there's no portrait command, the neutral portrait is used.

Portraits are numbered left-to-right and top-to-bottom, starting at $0. The first six portraits are standard, and can be identified by the number (like $2) or a unique alias (like $s). All potential spouses and many other characters have these six portraits, but it's not fully consistent; for example, Caroline only has four.

numbered	alias	description
$0		Use their neutral portrait.
$1	$h	Use their happy portrait.
$2	$s	Use their sad portrait.
$3	$u	Use their unique portrait. This is different for each NPC: grumpy (Abigail), holding football (Alex), angry (Caroline), sick (Governor), etc.
$4	$l	Use their love portrait.
$5	$a	Use their angry portrait.
$<id>		A custom portrait beyond the standard six.

Portrait commands should be at the end of a dialogue line:

"fall_Fri6": "When I was a little girl, my father abandoned us.$s#$b#I'm sorry to make things uncomfortable for you...$u#$e#Anyway... How's the farming life going?",

Dialogue commands

command	description
$q <response IDs> <fallback>#<text>	Show a dialogue box containing the given question text. If <response IDs> (a list delimited by /) contains an answer already given, the question is skipped (along with the rest of this dialogue line), and instead the dialogue entry identified by <fallback> will be appended to whatever precedes this $q command. The <fallback> dialogue typically uses a $p command to adjust the text based on the player's answer to this question. NOTE: dialogue questions must use unique IDs, similar to events. See the event data page for more information.
$r <response ID> <friendship> <reaction>#<answer text>	Define a response option to a $q question dialogue. <answer text> is the text shown. <response ID> is used to group responses for future reference (multiple answers can share an answer ID). <friendship> defines the change in friendship value, positive or negative, if this response is selected. <reaction> names the dialogue entry from the NPC's Content\Characters\Dialogue\*.xnb file that will be the NPC's reaction if this response is selected by the player.
$p <response ID>#<match text>|<no-match text>	Stands for "dialoguePrerequisite". Shows different text depending on whether the player gave a particular answer to a previously-asked question. If <response ID> matches an answer the player gave, <match text> is shown; otherwise, <no-match text> is shown. These texts are separated by | and only <no-match text> can contain additional commands. This does not need to be the first command in the dialogue string.
$b	Indicates pauses in dialogue, where the player will need to click for the next part to load in a new dialogue box.
$e	Ends the current dialogue, closing the dialogue box and resuming player control. The dialogue following $e will require a new interaction with the NPC.
$k	Short for dialogueKill. Removes all dialogue messages after the current one.
$c <probability>#<text1>#<text2>	Show <text1> with a <probability> between 0 and 1; otherwise, show <text2>. E.g. $c 0.9 for a 90% chance of <text1> and a 10% chance of <text2>. NOTE: Replacer commands (see below) do not work in <text1>. This does not need to be the first command in a dialogue string. It is unaffected by daily luck.
$d <state id>#<text1>|<text2>	Show one of two dialogue strings based on a predefined condition: bus (whether the bus is repaired), joja (whether the Joja Mart is still in business), cc or communitycenter (whether the Community Center is accessible), or kent (whether Kent has returned to the valley). The dialogue string must start with $d, everything up to the first | symbol is shown if the condition matches, and everything after that is shown if the condition doesn't match. For example: "Mon2": "$d kent#Yesterday I visited Yoba's Altar to give thanks for my husband's safe return.|Yesterday I visited Yoba's Altar to ask for my husband's safe return.#$e#I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard sometimes.$s"
$y	TODO. Stands for "dialogueQuickResponse"; A simpler form of question. Works like $q, but within one and the same text line. It doesn't have neither "dialoguePrerequisite" ($p) nor friendship point changes. It can be triggered indenitelly. Example: Penny: "$y 'Breakfast?_Yes please._Here you go._No, I'm good_More for me then!'"
$1 <letter ID>#<1st-time text> #$e# <nth-time text>	Creates a line of dialogue which the character will only see once (at most). <1st-time text> is shown only if <letter ID> has not been marked as sent yet (and this marks it as sent); otherwise, <nth-time text> is shown. <letter ID> should not correspond to an actual piece of mail (because it will not be sent), but it can be referenced by events or other dialogue lines.
%fork	Sets the the specialEventVariable1 variable, which can be checked by a later fork event command. Mainly useful in reaction dialogue for $q questions during events.
[# # #]	Gives the player a random item, from the pool of item IDs within the brackets. For example, "I spent the afternoon daydreaming about the ocean. So I decided to cook some seafood. [198 202 727 728]$h" ...gives one of 198 (Baked Fish), 202 (Fried Calamari), 727 (Chowder), or 728 (Fish Stew) as a gift.
%revealtaste<NPC><object ID>	Reveals the named character's gift taste for an object in their social menu profile. For example, %revealtasteLewis258 will update Lewis's profile to show that he likes blueberries. This only works if it's in the first message in a dialogue box (i.e., before any #$b# break, though #$e# breaks are fine).

Question example

To understand how $q, $r, and $p work, an example may be helpful. Note how you can format the script to be easier to read:

summer_Fri:
    "I think I'll go to the beach tomorrow!
    #$q 305/306 beachquestion_followup#Would you like to go with me?
        #$r 305 15 beachquestion_yes#Sure, I would love to!
        #$r 306 0 beachquestion_sorry#Oh, sorry, I've already made plans with someone else...
        #$r 306 -10 beachquestion_no#No thank you.
    ",
    "beachquestion_yes": "Good! It's a date.$h",
    "beachquestion_sorry": "Oh. Darn. Okay.$6",
    "beachquestion_no": "Oh. Um. Sorry.$s",
    "beachquestion_followup":
        "$p 305
            #Tomorrow should be a lot of fun!$h
            |Hmm, I wonder if I can get someone to go with me...$s
        ",

summer_Sat:
    "The beach is lovely this time of year...
    #$p 305
        #Thanks for coming with me today.$h
        |Oh, hi @, how's it going?
    ",

The dialogue above triggers on any Friday in the summer. The NPC begins with a response that is always shown: "I think I'll go to the beach tomorrow!"

Next they ask you a question.

#$q 305/306 beachquestion_followup#Would you like to go with me?

$q starts the question. 305/306 checks to see if this question has been asked before, and if it has it sends you to the dialogue key beachquestion_followup. (Note that you can name your dialogue keys whatever you like which makes it easier to read.)

Next are the responses the player can give. You can add any number of $r lines; here we have three:

    #$r 305 15 beachquestion_yes#Sure, I would love to!
    #$r 306 0 beachquestion_sorry#Oh, sorry, I've already made plans with someone else...
    #$r 306 -10 beachquestion_no#No thank you.

If you say yes (first option), the game will store ID 305 as the answer given to this question. Next, your friendship with that person increases by 15. beachquestion_yes tells the script which dialogue key continuation to use as a response to your answer.

If you say no (second and third option) the game will store ID 306 as the answer given, then depending on which answer you gave will either not change your friendship with the person, 0, or reduce it, -10. Then it will use either beachquestion_sorry or beachquestion_no to continue the dialogue.

Now we need to make dialogue keys for each response:

    beachquestion_yes: "Good! It's a date.$h",
    beachquestion_sorry: "Oh. Darn. Okay.$6",
    beachquestion_no: "Oh. Um. Sorry.$s",
    beachquestion_followup:
        "$p 305
            #Tomorrow should be a lot of fun!$h
            |Hmm, I wonder if I can get someone to go with me...$s
        ",

Of note here is beachquestion_followup. If the player talks to the NPC again, $q 305/306 will check that the question has already been answered and instead go directly to this key.

$p 305 begins a variable response which means "if the player chose yes, say this line, else say this line instead". If the player answered yes, the NPC responds happily. Otherwise, they will comment that they need to find someone to go with them.

There is another variable response the next day:

summer_Sat:
    "The beach is lovely this time of year...
    #$p 305
        #Thanks for coming with me today.$h
        |Oh, hi @, how's it going?
    ",

Once again the first line (The beach is lovely...) always shows up when the player talks to the NPC, but the next line depends on whether or not they've answered yes the previous day.

---

Here is another example from Haley's existing dialogue file. Note how the script formatting is harder to read, but the game is able to process both.

    summer_Sat: "Farming sounds so boring...#$q 42/43 summer_Sat_old#What do you even do all day?#$r 42 10 summer_Sat_12#Care for plants#$r 42 10 summer_Sat_12#Explore the caves#$r 43 -10 summer_Sat_13#Snoop around in your room#$r 42 10 summer_Sat_12#Dig for treasure" #!String
    summer_Sat_old: "#$p 43#Hey, you better not be snooping around in my room anymore!$a|But I guess it could get you in pretty good shape." #!String
    summer_Sat_12: "Hmm... sounds like a lot of work." #!String
    summer_Sat_13: "What? You'd better not be doing that!$a" #!String

The first time the summer_Sat dialogue is chosen, neither response 42 nor 43 will have been given (because this question is the only one which has them as responses), so Haley will say, "Farming sounds so boring... What do you even do all day?" The player can select among these responses:

• Care for plants
• Explore the caves
• Snoop around in your room
• Dig for treasure

The third response, $r 43 -10 summer_Sat_13#Snoop around in your room, sets response ID 43, reduces Haley's friendship by 10 points, and brings up the dialogue summer_Sat_13 (Haley says, "What? You'd better not be doing that!"). All of the other responses set response ID 42, increase Haley's friendship by 10 points, and bring up the dialogue summer_Sat_12 ("Hmm... sounds like a lot of work.").

The next time summer_Sat is chosen, one of the response IDs listed in the $q command will have been given (either 42 or 43). Therefore, the $q and everything after is scrapped, and dialogue summer_Sat_old is put in its place. This new dialogue uses the $p command to change Haley's dialogue based on whether or not you gave response ID 43 to any previous question. If you answered "Snoop around your room," everything before the | will be used, so Haley will now say, "Farming sounds so boring... Hey, you better not be snooping around in my room anymore!" If response ID 43 has not been given (in this case, you must have given response ID 42, i.e., one of the other three responses to the previous question), everything after the | will be used, so Haley will instead say, "Farming sounds so boring... But I guess it could get you in pretty good shape."

Replacer commands

Replacer commands will be replaced with the relevant string. Note that in mail entries, only the @ replacer works.

command	description
@	Farmer's name. Example: Hi there @!
%adj	Random adjective. (Defined in StringsFromCSFiles.xnb)
%noun	Random noun. (Defined in StringsFromCSFiles.xnb)
%place	Random place name. (Defined in StringsFromCSFiles.xnb)
%spouse	The name of Farmer's spouse.
%name	A randomly-generated name.
%firstnameletter	The first half of the farmer's name (rounded down), like Nat if the farmer's name is Natalie.
%time	Current time.
%band	The name of Sam and Sebastian's band.
%book	The title of Elliott's book.
%pet	The name of Farmer's pet.
%farm	Farm name.
%favorite	The Farmer's favorite thing.
%kid1	The name of Farmer's first child.
%kid2	The name of Farmer's second child.

Values

The game uses these predefined values in some dialogue keys. This section is linked from above where needed.

Days of week

• Mon
• Tue
• Wed
• Thu
• Fri
• Sat
• Sun

Seasons

• spring
• summer
• fall
• winter

First/later year

In some cases the game uses a "first/later year" value for dialogue conditions. This only has two possible values:

value	meaning
1	Occurs in the first year.
2	Occurs in any year after the first (not only year 2).

Response IDs

A response ID identifies an answer chosen by the player in response to a question dialogue. In some cases a question may have several answers with the same ID (e.g., several variations of "yes"), or use the same ID for every question (in which case the ID just shows whether the player has answered the question).

Mods can add their own response IDs, but here are the vanilla IDs as of 1.3.36¹:

Dialogue

NPC	question	answers
Abigail	fall_Sun I was thinking about dyeing my hair again... what do you think?	27: Dye it black. 27: Why not blonde? 27: How about bubblegum pink? 28: I like your hair just the way it is!
Abigail	summer_Sun Okay... pretend you just won a free vacation. Where would you go?	25: The beach 26: In a dark cave 26: The old, gnarled forest 25: Joja Mega-Mall
Abigail	Sun2 @, What do you think happens to us after we die?	17: I have no idea. 18: We come back as spooky ghosts. 17: We go to Heaven. 18: Our energy bodies enter the astral plane. 17: Nothing. We just cease to exist.
Abigail	winter_Sun I made these two drawings. What do you think?	29: I like the jungle island and the tiger. 30: I like the orc with the battleaxe. 29: I don't like either of them.
Alex	fall_Wed Do you think the ladies like my haircut?^What do you think about my haircut?	54: It looks very fashionable. 55: It looks like some kind of fungal growth.
Alex	summer_Wed Do you think I'll ever turn pro?	52: You're destined to be a sports legend 52: Maybe, if you practice a lot 53: No, you'll most likely fail and become a salesman
Alex	Wed I'd ask you to throw the ball around, but you don't really seem like the sports type.^If you weren't a girl I'd ask you to play catch.	6: I'm fine just watching you from a distance. 5: I want to play catch with you! 5: (angry) What's that supposed to mean?
Clint	Mon I bet you can't guess what my great-grandfather was...	9: A blacksmith. 9: A silly clown. 9: A sarcastic jerk.
Haley	fall_Sat *sigh*...what do you think I should do today?	44: Watercolor painting 44: Relax and read a magazine 44: Stop being a selfish crybaby
Haley	summer_Sat What do you even do all day?	42: Care for plants 42: Explore the caves 43: Snoop around in your room 42: Dig for treasure
Leah	Mon So why did you become a farmer?	21: I want to make tons of money. 22: It's more "real" than living in the city. 211132: To follow in grandpa's footsteps. 22: I wanted to escape my old life.
Maru	summer_Thu I've decided I'm going to build a robot someday.	35: That should be very easy for you 36: You should be more realistic 35: It sounds challenging
Maru	Sun Do you have fun working on the farm?	3: Yes. 4: No.
Penny	Mon4 But it's best not to dwell on bad things, right?	7: Right. It's best to be positive! 8: I think it's good to be realistic.
Sam	Wed Hey.. What do you think my new song should be about?	20: Farming, mining, and chopping wood. 8820: A city in the sea. 8821: Trains. 19: Choose anything. It'll still be a horrible song.
Sebastian	fall_Fri Do you read, @?	62: Yep. The classics. 63: Only Sci-fi and Fantasy 62: I like a good Romance 63: No, I don't read books
Sebastian	Fri2 So what do you do when you aren't working?	15: More Farming 16: Comic books 15: Shopping 15: Sports

Events

event	question	answers
Abigail's 4-heart event	@! Why are you out here in the rain?$7	32: Just doing some work 32: Enjoying the weather 32: I could ask you the same question
Abigail's 6-heart event	You've used a sword before, haven't you?	847951: Yes, and it's exciting! 847951: Yes, but only in self-defense 847951: Yes, but it's dangerous. You should stay safe. 847951: No
Abigail's 10-heart event	*sniff*$s	776589: What happened? 776589: Are you okay?
Abigail's 10-heart event	I guess I'm not as tough as I thought...$8	34: You're safe with me. 34: I get scared too. 34: You're crying like a little baby. Stop.
Alex's 5-heart event	I'm worthless...$s	57: That's crazy. You're a genius! 57: We all have our strengths and weaknesses 57: Worthless? Yeah, that about sums it up.
Clint's 3-heart event	Got any tips?^What advice can you give me?	211: Impress women with your strength and charm 211: Act crazy, to keep people guessing 211: Just act natural... be yourself 211: Treat women the same as men
Demetrius's 6-heart event	How would you classify a tomato?	59: Vegetable 59: Fruit
Elliott's 2-heart event	A question... What kind of books do you like, @?	958699: Mystery 958700: Romance 958701: Sci-Fi
Elliott's 4-heart event	Wait. I propose a toast! To...	28376: To Pelican Town! 28376: To our friendship! 28376: To my good health! 28376: To your doom!
Emily's 6-heart event	So... *gasp*... what did you think?$h	213: That was amazing! 213: That was embarrassing... 213: (Say nothing and do a slow clap)
Evelyn's 4-heart event	Well, what do you think?	51: It's delicious! 51: It was like chewing on a hockey puck
Gus's 4-heart event	@, what's going on here?	207: You need to pay your tab right now! 208: The saloon isn't doing well, financially
Haley's 2-heart event	It's only because I cleaned them last week!$a	46: Stop whining and just clean it! 45: Haley, why not have this be your one weekly job? 46: Emily, take the high road and do it this time.
Haley's 4-heart event	Say... you're pretty strong, aren't you?	47: Yes 47: No
Haley's 6-heart event	I'll never find another one like it...$s	48: Relax, I'll just buy you a new one! 48: I'm really sorry...
Harvey's 2-heart event	@, what do you think George should do?	84: George should follow Dr. Harvey's advice. 85: George knows what's best for his own body.
Harvey's 4-heart event	Hmm... Your pulse is high.$u	86: I'm a little nervous... 86: I'm out of breath from working on the farm. 86: Are you really a doctor? My pulse is fine!
Kent's 3-heart event	(Say something to Kent)$s	215: Jodi's to blame... she should've known better! 215: I know you're hurting... but don't blame your wife. 215: (Lie) Blame me... I asked for popcorn
Leah's 4-heart event	Was that selfish of me, @?$s	83: No, it had to be done. 83: No, and your ex sounds like an idiot. 83: No, but you would've been better off staying in the city. 83: Yeah, a little. 83: Yeah, but it's natural to care about yourself first.
Lewis's 6-heart event	@...You overheard everything, didn't you?$s	200: Yes... but I'll keep it a secret. 201: Yes... and I'm going to tell everyone.
Maru's 2-heart event	Right, @?	15933: (Say nothing) 15933: Actually, your Dad was being weird.
Maru's 4-heart event	@, what should I do?	38: Just scoop it off the floor. He won't know the difference. 39: Tell Harvey it was my fault. 38: Tell Harvey it was an accident.
Maru's 6-heart event	What do you see?	40: A beautiful planet. 40: A cold, dark abyss.
Maru's 8-heart event	I'm so sorry.$8	41: It's okay, it doesn't even hurt. 41: You'd better be. This hurts like crazy!
Maru's 10-heart event	Well, what do you think, @?	18981: I'm so impressed with your inventions. 18981: I'm disappointed... You should've made that robot your slave. 18981: So is your Dad okay with 'us' now? 18981: (Just stare at Maru and say nothing)
Maru's 10-heart event	You must have a good reason for saying that...$a	18982: MarILDA's just a piece of machinery designed to act human. 18982: I was just kidding. MarILDA deserves her freedom. 18982: I would've put her to work on the farm.
Penny's 2-heart event	@? You were watching us?	71: I was. You did a kind thing there, Penny. 71: You should've left him alone. Now he's grumpy. 71: I'm just taking a walk, minding my own business.
Penny's 6-heart event	...well?	72: (Lie) Mmm! That was delicious! 73: Uh... can I get the rest to go? 73: Well it's definitely unique... how did you get it so rubbery?
Pierre's 6-heart event	Promise me you won't tell anyone about this.	50: Your secret is safe with me. 50: Your wife deserves to know about this.
Robin's 6-heart event	Have you ever made anything out of wood, @?	66: Yes 66: No
Sam's 2-heart event	Say, @... what kind of music do you like?	76: Cheerful pop music. 77: Experimental noise rock. 78: Hi-Energy dance music. 79: Honky-tonky country music.
Sam's 4-heart event	...Tell her, @.$s	80: Sam dropped the snack as he was handing it to me. 80: Sam handed me the snack and then I dropped it. 81: Sam dropped it on purpose. He thought it would be funny.

¹ Extracted using this LINQPad script.

Conversation topics

A conversation topic is a temporary flag which can be checked in event preconditions and can trigger one-time NPC dialogue (if they have a matching dialogue key). They're stored in Game1.player.activeDialogueEvents while active.

A conversation topic can be started with a modder-defined length using the addConversationTopic event command, %item conversationTopic mail command, or in code by adding it to Game1.player.activeDialogueEvents. A conversation topic, by default, lasts four days when added via event commands.

The game defines these events:

id	duration	trigger
Bundles
cc_Begin	4 days	Set in the Wizard's cutscene after reading the first Junimo note in the community center.
cc_Complete	4 days	Community Center completed. (Does not apply to JojaMart path.)
cc_Boulder	7 days	Mountain boulder is removed through community center bundle or Joja improvement form.
cc_Bridge	7 days	Quarry bridge is repaired through community center bundle or Joja improvement form.
cc_Bus	7 days	Bus is repaired through community center bundle or Joja improvement form.
cc_Greenhouse	3 days	Greenhouse is constructed through community center bundle. (Does not apply to JojaMart path.)
cc_Minecart	7 days	Minecarts are unlocked through community center bundle or Joja improvement form.
joja_Begin	7 days	First time that player opens the Joja Community Development Form.
movieTheater	3 days	movie theatre is constructed.
Spouse events
elliottGone	6 days	Set when Elliott's fourteen-heart event starts.
ElliottGone1 ElliottGone2 ElliottGone3 ElliottGone4 ElliottGone5 ElliottGone6 ElliottGone7	same day	Part of Elliott's fourteen-heart event. The first flag is set when it starts; the subsequent flags are set by subsequent letters from Elliott.
emilyFiber	2 days	Part of Emily's fourteen-heart event. Set after completing the quest.
haleyCakewalk1 haleyCakewalk2	same day	Part of Haley's fourteen-heart event.
leahPaint	same day	Set when Leah's fourteen-heart event starts.
pennyRedecorating	2 days	Part of Penny's fourteen-heart event.
samJob1 samJob2	2 days	Part of Sam's fourteen-heart event.
samJob3	3 days	Part of Sam's fourteen-heart event.
sebastianFrog	same day	Set when Sebastian's fourteen-heart event starts.
sebastianFrog2	6 days	Part of Sebastian's fourteen-heart event.
shaneSaloon1 shaneSaloon2	same day	Part of Shane's fourteen-heart event.
Other events
dumped_Guys dumped_Girls	7 days	Set after the corresponding ten-heart group event (e.g., see Abigail#Group Ten-Heart Event).
secondChance_Girls secondChance_Guys	14 days	Set after the corresponding ten-heart group event (e.g., see Abigail#Group Ten-Heart Event).
pamHouseUpgrade	4 days	Set after seeing the Pam house upgrade event, if the player chose to be revealed as the donor.
pamHouseUpgradeAnonymous	4 days	Set after seeing the Pam house upgrade event, if the player chose to be anonymous.
willyCrabs	4 days	Set after Willy's six-heart event.
Other
Introduction	6 days	Farmer is created (e.g., starting a new save, or joining a multiplayer game for the first time).
FullCrabPond	14 days	First time any fish pond contains 10 crabs.