Timeline / Cutscene Sequencer

TaleNode includes a timeline system for sequencing cutscene events alongside dialogue. Define camera moves, animations, audio cues, and waits in a named sequence that your game engine plays back.

Overview

A timeline is an ordered list of steps. Each step has an action type (camera, animation, audio, etc.), action-specific parameters, and an optional delay before execution. Timelines are independent from the node graph — use them for scripted sequences, cutscenes, or any timed event chain.

Managing Timelines

Open the Timeline panel via View > Timeline in the menu bar. The panel appears as a dockable tab.

Adding a Timeline

Click + Add Timeline to create a new timeline.

Field	Type	Description
Name	String	Timeline name (e.g., "Intro Cutscene")
Description	String	Optional description
Loop	Bool	Whether the timeline loops after the last step

Adding Steps

Click + Step within a timeline to add a new step (defaults to Wait 1s).

Each step has:

Field	Description
Action Type	Dropdown: Dialogue, Camera, Animation, Audio, Wait, SetVariable, Custom
Action Fields	Type-specific parameters (see below)
Delay	Seconds to wait before executing this step (0 = immediate)

Action Types

Action	Fields	Description
Dialogue	(linked node)	Reference a dialogue node to play
Camera	target, duration	Move camera to target over duration seconds
Animation	target, clip	Play animation clip on target object
Audio	clip, volume	Play audio clip at specified volume (0.0–1.0)
Wait	seconds	Pause the timeline for N seconds
SetVariable	key, value	Set a game variable during the sequence
Custom	action_type, data	Engine-specific custom action

Reordering Steps

Use the ^ (up) and v (down) buttons next to each step to reorder the sequence.

Removing Steps and Timelines

• Click X next to a step to remove it
• Click Delete Timeline at the bottom of a timeline's section to remove the entire timeline

Export

Timelines are included in the JSON export:

{
  "timelines": [
    {
      "name": "Intro Cutscene",
      "description": "Opening sequence",
      "steps": [
        {
          "action": { "type": "camera", "target": "player", "duration": 2.0 }
        },
        {
          "action": { "type": "wait", "seconds": 1.0 },
          "delay": 0.5
        },
        {
          "action": { "type": "audio", "clip": "intro_music.ogg", "volume": 0.8 }
        },
        {
          "action": { "type": "dialogue", "node_id": null }
        }
      ],
      "loop_playback": false
    }
  ]
}

The timelines array is omitted when no timelines are defined. The delay field is omitted when zero. The description field is omitted when empty. The loop_playback field is omitted when false.

Runtime Integration

Your game engine should:

1. Load the timelines array
2. For each timeline, iterate through steps in order
3. Apply the delay before executing each step's action
4. Dispatch the action to the appropriate system (camera controller, animation player, audio manager, etc.)
5. If loop_playback is true, restart from the first step after the last one completes

Example Pseudocode

func play_timeline(timeline):
    for step in timeline.steps:
        if step.delay > 0:
            wait(step.delay)
        match step.action.type:
            "camera": move_camera(step.action.target, step.action.duration)
            "animation": play_anim(step.action.target, step.action.clip)
            "audio": play_sound(step.action.clip, step.action.volume)
            "wait": wait(step.action.seconds)
            "set_variable": set_var(step.action.key, step.action.value)
            "dialogue": show_dialogue(step.action.node_id)
            "custom": handle_custom(step.action)
    if timeline.loop_playback:
        play_timeline(timeline)

Tips

Tip

Use the delay field to stagger actions. A delay of 0.5 on a camera step means "wait 0.5s, then start the camera move."

Tip

Combine timelines with Event nodes. Trigger a timeline from an event action, then resume dialogue after the cutscene completes.

Tip

The Custom action type is a catch-all for engine-specific behavior. Store whatever data your engine needs in the data field.