Inputs and outputs

Questphase inputs and outputs form an interface around a graph. They are implemented by nodes inside the child resource and matched by sockets on the parent’s questPhaseNodeDefinition.

Two socket layers

The names are easy to conflate:

parent phase node                 child graph boundary
-----------------                --------------------
input socket In1            ->   input socketName In1
                                  ordinary socket Out -> child work

output socket Out1          <-   output socketName Out1
                                  child work -> ordinary socket In

questInputNodeDefinition.socketName names the entry exposed by the child. Execution then leaves that node through its ordinary Out socket.

questOutputNodeDefinition.socketName names the result exposed by the child. Execution reaches that node through its ordinary In socket.

Lab 4’s focused terminating-child contract is:

Those names are CName values. They are not graph-local IDs and not CR2W handle IDs.

Entry is a contract, not an activation rule

The input node says where execution enters after a phase has been invoked. It does not decide why or when that invocation happens.

Activation policy belongs outside that boundary:

• ArchiveXL root attachment makes a root reachable;
• parent graph flow reaches the phase node’s In1;
• the parent node resolves its external child;
• the first child action begins only after the child enters through its matching socketName.

Lab 4’s child 0.Out activates the reach objective. The location behavior comes from later IsInside and IsOutside conditions, not from In1.

Terminating output returns one outcome

With type: Terminating, reaching child output node 1.In ends that child route. Its socketName: Out1 maps the result to parent node 13.Out1.

The parent resumes only through that matching phase-node output:

child 17.Out -> child 1.In
  child exposes Out1
    -> parent 13.Out1 -> parent 14.Active

The connection from 13.Out1 to the parent’s confirmation objective is essential. A child output does not automatically select the next parent node.

Termination does not:

• reset facts;
• remove journal history;
• deactivate world dependencies automatically;
• invent an outgoing parent connection;
• prove the root will never be evaluated again.

Those are separate lifecycle decisions.

In1 and Out1 are not universal

Lab 4 deliberately uses the smallest focused interface: one input and one terminating output. Do not infer that every native phase node has both.

Observed in vanilla: extract these files from your own game:

base\open_world\street_stories\watson\northside_industrial_district\
  sts_wat_nid_03\phases\sts_wat_nid_03.questphase

base\open_world\street_stories\watson\northside_industrial_district\
  sts_wat_nid_03\phases\sts_wat_nid_03_openworld.questphase

The inspected root contains an external phase node with In1, Out1, and CutDestination, and another external phase node with In1 and CutDestination but no Out1. That second shape is enough to reject “all phase nodes have In1/Out1” as an engine invariant.

Use In1/Out1 here because the parent must wait for one child activity and then continue. Copy the interface contract appropriate to the lifecycle you are implementing, not the nearest-looking graph.

Connect every named outcome

A child can expose several meaningful results only when the complete parent and child arrangement supports them:

child output "accepted" -> parent phase-node output "accepted" -> continuation
child output "declined" -> parent phase-node output "declined" -> cleanup

Every outcome requires:

1. a reachable child output node with the intended socketName;
2. a same-named output socket on the invoking phase node;
3. an intentional parent connection or documented terminal policy;
4. runtime evidence for the exact arrangement.

Lab 4 makes no multi-outcome claim. It returns only Out1.

Cut is a separate socket class

Lab 4’s input, output, and phase nodes retain structurally valid CutDestination sockets. None is connected. CutDestination is not an alias for Out1, and an unwired socket is not a tested interruption policy.

The presence and serialized type are Structurally validated. The runtime behavior of a wired cut, its propagation across the child boundary, and the required recovery state remain Experimental.

Review checklist

For each interface node, record:

A phase can serialize while an intended outcome remains unreachable. Review reachability, exact names, and both resources together.

Previous: Registering a root questphase. Next: Calling child phases.