Graph execution

A questphase graph is a set of node definitions connected through named sockets. Execution enters a node through an input socket, the node performs its operation or evaluates its condition, and execution continues through one or more output sockets.

The graph is not executed according to the order in which nodes happen to appear in serialized JSON or in a WolvenKit list.

Nodes, sockets, and connections

Every quest node has a graph-local numeric id and an array of socket handles. A socket has:

• a name such as In, Out, Active, Succeeded, True, or False;
• a direction or role such as Input, Output, or CutDestination;
• zero or more graph connections.

A connection joins one source output socket to one destination input socket:

node 12, Out  ──────────>  node 13, In

The socket names carry semantics. Sending execution into Active on a journal node activates an entry; sending it into Succeeded changes that same entry to a different state. The node type and path can be identical while the incoming socket changes the operation.

Entry and termination

A small child-compatible phase commonly exposes:

questInputNodeDefinition   socketName: In1
    ...
questOutputNodeDefinition  socketName: Out1
                           type: Terminating

In1 and Out1 are the phase interface. Internal node sockets can still be named In and Out.

A terminating output is an explicit lifecycle boundary. Reaching the last gameplay node is not the same as terminating the phase unless an edge reaches the output node.

Evaluate now versus wait

The two most important condition shapes have different control semantics.

questConditionNodeDefinition

This node evaluates when execution reaches it and immediately chooses a named output such as True or False.

Lab 1 uses it for:

cqa001_completed == 0
    True  -> activate the quest
    False -> terminate

It does not wait for a false condition to become true.

questPauseConditionNodeDefinition

This node holds its execution path until the condition becomes true, then emits Out.

Lab 1 uses a questRealtimeDelay_ConditionType for ten seconds. Later chapters use pause conditions for facts, triggers, actor readiness, inventory, and other wait-until gates.

Replacing one condition node type with the other changes the quest’s behavior even if their nested comparison data looks identical.

Fan-out, joins, and ordering

One output can connect to several inputs. That starts several paths; it does not establish a secret order among them.

arrival
  +-> update objective
  +-> start hostility setup

If later work requires both paths, use a node with explicit join semantics. If only the first signal should win, use a race/XOR shape. Do not use visual proximity or JSON array order as a substitute for control flow.

An ordered sequence needs edges:

activate community
  -> wait for spawn readiness
  -> start scene

Starting all three from one fan-out would permit the scene to begin before its actor is ready.

Ordinals are local semantics

Some scene and quest node types attach ordinals to ordered sockets or options. An ordinal belongs to that node type’s local contract; it is not the execution order of the entire graph.

For example, Observed in vanilla, scene choice nodes use option socket ordinals and additional padded sockets. That rule does not mean every quest output socket needs an ordinal or that node ID 12 executes before node ID 13.

Preserve ordinals when copying a verified node shape. Explain their purpose before generating or renumbering them.

Cut and interrupt sockets

Many graph nodes contain a CutDestination socket in addition to their normal inputs and outputs. It belongs to cancellation or interruption routing, not to ordinary success flow.

The presence of the socket does not mean every tutorial should wire it. Interruption policy must answer:

• what work is currently active;
• what journal or world state must be cleaned up;
• whether a scene or child phase must receive a cut;
• which output tells the parent that interruption is complete.

Until a guide proves those answers, an unwired cut socket should be described as a visible lifecycle obligation rather than filled with a guessed edge.

Reading the Lab 1 graph

Trace the exact Lab 1 figure by following socket labels:

1. In1 emits Out into the one-shot guard’s In.
2. True enters the quest journal node through Active.
3. Each ordinary Out advances the first-run sequence.
4. The delay’s Out enters the objective through Succeeded.
5. The final quest journal operation enters through Succeeded.
6. Both the guard’s False route and the successful route reach the same terminating output.

That trace explains behavior without relying on how WolvenKit arranged the boxes.