Bark Service

Description

Decides when agents bark, picks what they say, and hands the line to presentation and audio. Everything it plays through is behind an interface, so any part can be replaced or added to. See Barks for how barks are authored.

Every service is registered with the module system. Get one with:

csharp

var barks = ModuleInitializer.GetService<IBarkService>();

IBarkService

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
Sources	N/A	IReadOnlyList<IBarkSource>	Where barks come from, in the order they're asked.
AddSource	IBarkSource source	void	Adds a source after the others.
InsertSource	int index, IBarkSource source	void	Adds a source at a position. 0 is asked first.
RemoveSource	IBarkSource source	bool	Removes a source.
TryBark	IAgentService agent	bool	Gives the agent its regular chance to bark. True if a bark started.
Bark	IAgentService agent, BarkData bark, bool ignoreCooldowns = false	bool	Makes the agent say a specific line now. Still gives way to conversations and blocks.
Cancel	IAgentService agent	void	Stops the agent's current bark.
CancelAll	N/A	void	Stops every bark.
IsBarking	IAgentService agent	bool	Whether the agent is barking.

To make an agent bark from your own code, for example when it spots the player:

csharp

ModuleInitializer.GetService<IBarkService>()?.Bark(agent, spottedLine);

IBarkSource

Somewhere a bark can come from. Sources are asked in order and the first to offer a collection is used. The General bank is added as the last source.

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
FindCollection	IAgentService agent	BarkCollection	The collection this agent should bark from, or null to pass it on.

Insert your own source at index 0 to take priority over the General bank.

IBarkAvailabilityCheck

A veto on an agent starting a bark. Every check is asked, and any one returning false stops the bark. This is the bark version of IConversationAvailabilityCheck.

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
CanBark	IAgentService agent	bool	False to stop this agent barking.

Register your own with RegisterMulti<IBarkAvailabilityCheck> in your module registrar. They sit alongside NodeBarkBlockPolicy, which applies the Block Barks option on behaviour tree nodes.

IBarkPresentationService

Shows a bark's text.

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
Present	IAgentService agent, string text, float duration	void	Shows the text and hides it after the duration.
Cancel	IAgentService agent	void	Hides the agent's text now.
CancelAll	N/A	void	Hides all bark text.

Implementation	Used when
WorldTextBarkPresentationService	CIVIL-DIALOGUE-SYSTEM isn't installed.
DialogueBarkPresentationService	CIVIL-DIALOGUE-SYSTEM is installed. Uses its overhead text bubble.
NoOpBarkPresentationService	CIVIL-DIALOGUE-SYSTEM isn't installed and Show Text is off, or TextMeshPro's essential resources are missing.

IBarkAudioResolver

Chooses which clip an agent plays for a line. The default returns the line's own clip. Replace it to give agents different voices for the same line, using the line's id.

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
Resolve	IAgentService agent, string lineId, AudioClip fallbackClip	AudioClip	The clip to play, or null.

A line's id is fixed when the line is created and doesn't change if the asset is renamed. Read it with BarkData.GetLineId().

IBarkAudioPlayer

Plays bark audio.

Name	Parameters	Return Type	Description
ActiveCount	N/A	int	How many bark clips are playing. Used for the audio limit.
Play	IAgentService agent, AudioClip clip, float pitch	void	Plays the clip from the agent.
Stop	IAgentService agent	void	Stops the agent's bark clip.
StopAll	N/A	void	Stops every bark clip.

The default, AgentAudioSourceBarkPlayer, plays through an Audio Source on the agent and never changes that Audio Source's assigned clip, so it can share one with dialogue.

Replacing a default

The Civil AI module registers the bark service when modules register, and registers the presenter, audio player and audio resolver later, when modules initialise, but only if nothing is registered for them yet. To use your own, register it in your module registrar's Register method:

csharp

public void Register(IServiceRegistry registry, ModuleBootstrapContext context)
{
    registry.TryRegisterSingleton<IBarkAudioResolver>(ModuleId, new VoiceBankResolver());
}

Every module finishes registering before any module initialises, so yours is in place first and the default is skipped.

Related guides

• Barks