Troubleshoot dynamic context

Fix dynamic context updates that arrive too late, trigger unexpected responses, or appear ignored after a flush or reconnect.

Use this page when a dynamic context update does not appear to work. Start with the four checks below, then follow the symptom sections if the issue persists.

First-line checks

Run these four checks before diving into detailed symptoms:

Check	How to verify	What it tells you
Session is connected	Get Chatbot Connection State returns Connected	Whether a network flush can reach Convai
Local tracker accepted the value	Get Context State Value returns expected OutValue immediately after Set Context State	Whether the Blueprint wiring and Name pin are correct
Flush completed before the conversation turn	Wait one debounce cycle (ContextDebounceWindow, default 0.5 s), or set bFlushImmediately = true after connect	Whether timing caused the character to respond before the update arrived
ShouldRespond matches your intent	Never → run_llm: "false"; Auto → run_llm: "auto"; Always → run_llm: "true"	Whether the update was sent with the wire value you expected

1

Confirm the session is connected

Call Get Chatbot Connection State on the Convai Chatbot component. The return value should be Connected before you expect a network flush to reach Convai.

Default debounced updates staged before connect queue safely in PendingContextBatch. After the session connects, they flush on the first tick where the debounce deadline has elapsed. That is expected behavior, not an error.

2

Verify the local tracker accepted the value

Call Get Context State Value immediately after Set Context State and print the OutValue pin. If OutValue returns the expected value, the local tracker accepted the update.

If the local value is correct but the runtime conversation test does not reflect it, confirm that the network flush completed before the test turn.

3

Allow the debounce window to elapse

Unless bFlushImmediately is true, the plugin waits ContextDebounceWindow seconds (default 0.5) after the last staged update before flushing. Wait at least one full debounce cycle before starting a conversation turn that depends on the new context.

4

Check the ShouldRespond setting

If the update reached Convai but the wire run_llm value was not what you intended, verify ShouldRespond on the node that staged the update.

Context update appears ignored

Runtime conversation test does not reflect the state

Symptom: You called Set Context State before an end-to-end runtime test, but the test did not reflect the state value.

Cause 1 — Update arrived after the conversation turn. The debounce timer fires after the last staged update. If the player spoke before the timer elapsed, Convai processed the turn without the update.

Fix: Send the update earlier in the gameplay flow, or set bFlushImmediately = true when timing is critical.

Verify: Get Context State Value returns the expected value locally. If it does and the character still omits the state, increase lead time before the conversation turn or use bFlushImmediately = true.

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Cause 2 — ShouldRespond is Never, so the update used run_llm: "false".

Fix: If this update should use a different wire value, use ShouldRespond = Auto or ShouldRespond = Always for that call. Keep Never for background facts that should only update context.

Verify: Confirm the node pin uses the intended ShouldRespond value before the update is staged.

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Cause 3 — Session was not connected when you expected a network flush. Staged updates accumulate offline but do not reach Convai until connect plus debounce.

Fix: Check Get Chatbot Connection State before testing conversation behavior.

Verify: Get Chatbot Connection State returns Connected before the dependent test turn.

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Remove Context State has no visible effect

Symptom: You called Remove Context State but the character still references the removed value.

Cause: The removal was staged but not yet flushed when the conversation turn occurred, or the same fact exists outside the dynamic context tracker.

Fix: Set bFlushImmediately = true on the Remove Context State call after the chatbot is connected. If the value is gone from the tracker after a confirmed flush, inspect other project-specific context sources outside this dynamic context page.

Verify: Get Context State Value for the removed key returns false after the flush.

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Debounce timing surprises

Multiple rapid updates merge into one flush

Symptom: You called Set Context State ten times in a single tick but observed one dynamic context send.

Cause: Intended debounce behavior. Rapid updates within ContextDebounceWindow coalesce into one flush.

Fix: No fix required. If you need separate sends, space calls outside the debounce window. Sending individual immediate flushes on every state change is not recommended for real-time gameplay.

Verify: Wait one debounce cycle and confirm the final local value with Get Context State Value.

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Update arrives too late after a fast conversation turn

Symptom: A test turn starts immediately after a game event pushes a state update, before the flush has completed.

Cause: The debounce window delayed the flush past the conversation turn.

Fix: Set bFlushImmediately = true on the context update call, or push the update earlier (for example, at zone entry rather than at conversation start). For important events, Add Context Event with ShouldRespond = Always sends run_llm: "true".

Verify: Confirm Get Chatbot Connection State is Connected and allow the flush to complete before the dependent conversation turn.

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ContextMaxDebounceWindow is not visible in the Details panel

Symptom: You want to adjust the debounce cap but cannot find ContextMaxDebounceWindow.

Cause: The underlying fields ContextDebounceWindow and ContextMaxDebounceWindow are Advanced Display properties under Convai > DynamicContext.

Fix: Expand the Advanced section in the Details panel and look for Context Debounce Window (s) and Max Debounce Window (s).

Verify: Both labels are visible after expanding Advanced.

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ShouldRespond misuse

Health update sends run_llm unexpectedly

Symptom: Each call to Set Context State for PlayerHealth is staged with ShouldRespond = Auto or Always.

Cause: ShouldRespond is set to Auto or Always on the Set Context State node.

Fix: Use ShouldRespond = Never for background state. Reserve Auto or Always for updates where the wire run_llm value should be "auto" or "true".

Verify: The Set Context State node for PlayerHealth has ShouldRespond set to Never.

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Event update does not send the intended run_llm

Symptom: You called Add Context Event for a significant context event but the update did not use the run_llm value you expected.

Cause: ShouldRespond was not set to the enum value you intended, or another staged item in the same debounce window changed the aggregate rank.

Fix: Set ShouldRespond = Always when the update should send run_llm: "true". Use Is Talking only as a local status check when sequencing your own Blueprint logic.

Verify: Temporarily switch to ShouldRespond = Always in isolation and confirm the update is sent with run_llm set to "true".

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Reset Dynamic Context and reconnect

Local state still appears after Reset Dynamic Context

Symptom: You called Reset Dynamic Context, but Get Context State Value still returns true for a key you expected to clear.

Cause: The Reset has not flushed yet, or new state was staged after the Reset call.

Fix: Allow the reset flush to complete before staging new state values when starting from empty dynamic context.

Verify: Get Context State Value for cleared keys returns false after the Reset flush.

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Reset did not clear everything

Symptom: Reset Dynamic Context completed, but related runtime data still appears in the project.

Cause: Reset Dynamic Context operates on the runtime dynamic context tracker only. It clears tracked state and events after sending the Reset context-update, but other update paths are separate.

Fix: Change DynamicEnvironmentInfo explicitly if that text also needs to change. Update action and scene metadata through their own environment metadata paths.

Verify: Get Context State Value returns false for cleared keys, and any remaining data is handled through the relevant non-tracker update path.

Reset Dynamic Context clears the local state tracker and sends a Reset context-update. It does not clear DynamicEnvironmentInfo or environment metadata.

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Staged updates disappeared after offline Reset

Symptom: You called Reset Dynamic Context in BeginPlay, then staged new states, but the character never sees the new data.

Cause: Reset Dynamic Context marks a pending Reset that fires after staged content at the first post-connect flush. This applies to staged updates in the same offline window whether they were staged before or after the Reset call.

Fix: Let the reset flush complete after connect, then stage the new Set Context State or Add Context Event calls.

Verify: After the first post-connect flush, Get Context State Value returns false for keys that should have been cleared.

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Context update diagnostic flow

Use this flow after the first-line checks. Follow the branches from local tracker state to connection state, flush timing, and the intended run_llm value.

Next steps

Sync behavior and timingDynamic context Blueprint reference