Name & Ordinals - Sockets 101

How sockets and name-ordinal indexing works for quest and scene nodes

Imagine nodes are like LEGO blocks with connection points:

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Block A   │────▶│   Block B   │
│             │     │             │
│ OUT socket  │     │ IN socket   │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘

• OUT sockets = Where signals LEAVE a block

• IN sockets = Where signals ENTER a block

• Name & Ordinal in a nutshell is the "address" that tells signals which socket to use

🎬 Enter: Cut

When you're watching a movie and suddenly:

• The phone rings and interrupts the conversation

• Explosions start and everyone stops talking

• An emergency happens and the scene changes immediately

That's a "Cut" - something that interrupts the normal story flow

In Cyberpunk:

Normal Story Flow:
V talks to Jackie ───▶ Jackie responds ───▶ Conversation continues

With a Cut:
V talks to Jackie ───▶ 💥 COMBAT STARTS! ───▶ Conversation STOPS
                      ↑
                   Cut signal

🔄 Two Types of Connections:

1. Normal connections = "Continue the story naturally"

2. Cut connections = "INTERRUPT! Something urgent happened!"

Every node in a scene or quest can:

• Send normal signals = "Here's the next part of the quest or scene"

• Send cut signals = "STOP! Emergency!"

• Receive normal signals = "Ok, continuing the story..."

• Receive cut signals = "Oh no! I'm being interrupted!"

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📬 Now, How Do We Address These Messages?

Every message between story blocks needs an address label with two numbers:

📝 The Address System:

• Name = "What KIND of message?" (Normal=0, Cut=1, etc.)

• Ordinal = "Which version/slot?" (Usually 0)

🤔 But Here's the Tricky Part:

Quest nodes and Scene nodes use different rules for these addresses. They speak different languages:

Quest Node Logic: "I organize by message type first"

• Normal message #1: Name:0, Ordinal:0

• Normal message #2: Name:0, Ordinal:1 ← Same Name, different Ordinal

• Emergency message or a cut: Name:1, Ordinal:0

Scene Node Logic: "I organize by giving each path a unique ID"

• Normal message: Name:0, Ordinal:0

• Emergency message or a cut : Name:1, Ordinal:0 ← Different Name, same Ordinal

• Story path 1: Name:2, Ordinal:0

• Story path 2: Name:3, Ordinal:0

Think of it like this:

• Quest nodes count: "Type 0: slot 1, slot 2, slot 3..."

• Scene nodes count: "Path 0, Path 1, Path 2, Path 3..."

That's it! The rest is just knowing which system each block type uses! 🎯

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The Complete Socket Reference Table

Node Type	Connection Type	Name	Ordinal	Socket Index	Socket Name
Quest	Cut Destination	0	0	0	"CutDestination"
Quest	Normal Input	0	1	1	"In"
Scene	Normal Input	0	0	0	"In"
Scene	Cut Input	1	0	1	"Cut"

Output Sockets (Both Types):

Node Type	Output Type	Name	Ordinal	Socket Index
Both	Normal Out	0	0	0
Both	Cut Out	1	0	1

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🎨 ASCII Visual Guide

Quest Node Layout:

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│        Quest Node           │
│                             │
│ INPUT:                      │
│  ● [0] CutDestination       │ ← N:0, O:0
│  ● [1] In                   │ ← N:0, O:1
│                             │
│ OUTPUT:                     │
│  ● [0] Out (Normal)         │ ← N:0, O:0
│  ● [1] Out (Cut)            │ ← N:1, O:0
└─────────────────────────────┘

Scene Node Layout:

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│        Scene Node           │
│                             │
│ INPUT:                      │
│  ● [0] In                   │ ← N:0, O:0
│  ● [1] Cut                  │ ← N:1, O:0
│                             │
│ OUTPUT:                     │
│  ● [0] Out (Normal)         │ ← N:0, O:0
│  ● [1] Out (Cut)            │ ← N:1, O:0
└─────────────────────────────┘

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🔗 Connection Flow Examples

Normal Story Flow:

Quest Node ────────────────▶ Scene Node
N:0, O:1 (Out)              N:0, O:0 (In)
"Normal flow"               "Normal input"

Cut/Interrupt Flow:

Scene Node ────────────────▶ Scene Node
N:1, O:0 (Cut Out)          N:1, O:0 (Cut In)
"Interrupt signal"          "Interrupt input"

Mixed Example:

┌─────────────┐    Normal    ┌─────────────┐    Cut      ┌─────────────┐
│ Quest Node  │─────────────▶│ Choice Node │────────────▶│ Section     │
│             │  N:0, O:1    │             │  N:1, O:0   │             │
│ ● Out       │              │ ● In        │             │ ● Cut       │
└─────────────┘              │ ● Cut       │             └─────────────┘
                             └─────────────┘

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📋 Quick Reference for Modders

When Creating Connections:

TO Quest Nodes:

• Normal flow: Name: 0, Ordinal: 1

• Cut flow: Name: 0, Ordinal: 0

TO Scene Nodes:

• Normal flow: Name: 0, Ordinal: 0

• Cut flow: Name: 1, Ordinal: 0

FROM Any Node (Outputs):

• Normal output: Name: 0, Ordinal: 0

• Cut output: Name: 1, Ordinal: 0

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⚠ Common Mistakes to Avoid

DON'T Mix Systems:

❌ BAD: Scene node with N:0, O:1 (Quest pattern on Scene node)
✅ GOOD: Scene node with N:1, O:0 (Proper Scene pattern)

Remember the Rule:

• Quest nodes: Ordinal determines socket

• Scene nodes: Name determines socket type