Write a custom targeting rule

Replace conversation targeting with your own rule when none of the built-in modes fit how your game chooses who to address.

Implement IConversationTargetProvider when none of the three built-in targeting modes fit your game — the character a UI list has selected, the one a quest is currently about, or the one standing in a trigger volume. Use this page instead of falling back to Manual and rebuilding the parts of targeting that already work correctly.

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with the model in How conversation targeting works
• A rule for choosing a target that the three built-in modes cannot express

Implement the interface

IConversationTargetProvider has a single method, ResolveTarget, called on every targeting evaluation.

using System.Collections.Generic;
using Convai.Runtime.Components;
using Convai.Runtime.Conversation;
using UnityEngine;

public sealed class QuestTargetProvider : MonoBehaviour, IConversationTargetProvider
{
    public ConvaiCharacter ResolveTarget(
        IReadOnlyList<ConvaiCharacter> candidates, ConvaiCharacter current) =>
        QuestState.CurrentSpeaker ?? current;

    private void Start() =>
        ConvaiManager.ActiveManager.SetConversationTargetProvider(this);
}

candidates lists every character currently in the room, in stable order, and is never null or empty when ResolveTarget is called. current is the character currently holding the conversation, or null when none does.

Return the character the player should be addressing. Return null to leave the conversation where it is. Returning a character that is not in candidates also leaves the conversation where it is.

Register the provider

ConvaiManager manager = ConvaiManager.ActiveManager;
manager.SetConversationTargetProvider(new QuestTargetProvider());

Pass null to SetConversationTargetProvider to remove the custom provider and restore the behavior configured by ConversationTargeting.Mode.

A registered provider replaces the built-in modes outright, including LookAt and Proximity. The ConversationTargeting settings on ConvaiManager have no effect while a provider is active.

What still applies on top of your rule

A provider only chooses which character to address. Everything that keeps the choice pleasant still applies on top of what the provider returns: the conversation still never moves mid-sentence, it still does not commit to a new target on the first frame it becomes a valid choice, and it still never leaves the player with nobody listening. See the three rules in How conversation targeting works for what this means in practice.

If ResolveTarget throws, the SDK catches the exception, logs it, and leaves the conversation where it is rather than letting one faulty provider take the conversation down.

Verify the provider is active

Enter Play mode and confirm the conversation follows your custom rule rather than the player's view or position. Check the Live section of the ConvaiManager Inspector — it reports the addressed character and the verdict behind the last targeting decision regardless of whether a built-in mode or a custom provider produced it.

Next steps

Script the conversation targetConversation targeting reference