XML Configs¶

XML is used alongside LTX for a specific subset of game data: UI layouts, localization strings, dialog trees, character spawn profiles, and task definitions. The two formats serve different purposes and are never interchangeable.

Where XML is used¶

Folder	Contents
`configs/ui/`	UI element definitions — positions, sizes, textures, fonts
`configs/text/<lang>/`	Localization string tables
`configs/gameplay/`	Task definitions, dialog trees
`configs/gameplay/character_desc_*.xml`	NPC character profiles
`configs/gameplay/spawn_sections*.xml`	Spawn profiles

Syntax overview¶

Anomaly XML follows standard XML rules with a few conventions:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1251"?>
<root_element>
    <!-- This is a comment -->
    <child_element name="my_name" x="10" y="20" width="100" height="50">
        <nested>content</nested>
    </child_element>
</root_element>

Important: Anomaly XML must be encoded as windows-1251, not UTF-8. Opening these files in a modern text editor set to UTF-8 may corrupt non-ASCII characters.

UI layout files¶

UI XML files define control positions, sizes, textures, and fonts. The Lua script then loads these definitions using CScriptXmlInit.

<!-- configs/ui/my_mod_window.xml -->
<w>
    <background x="0" y="0" width="400" height="300" stretch="1">
        <texture>ui\ui_common_window</texture>
    </background>

    <button name="btn_ok" x="155" y="260" width="90" height="24">
        <text font="letterica16" r="200" g="200" b="200">OK</text>
    </button>

    <static name="lbl_title" x="20" y="15" width="360" height="30">
        <text font="letterica18" align="c" r="255" g="215" b="0"/>
    </static>

    <edit_box name="input_field" x="20" y="60" width="360" height="24"/>
</w>

Common attributes:

Attribute	Description
`x`, `y`	Position in virtual 1024×768 screen space
`width`, `height`	Dimensions
`stretch="1"`	Scale texture to fill bounds
`align`	Text alignment: `"l"`, `"c"`, `"r"`
`font`	Font name: `"letterica16"`, `"letterica18"`, `"graffiti19"`, `"small"`
`r`, `g`, `b`	Text colour (0–255)

Loading in Lua:

local xml = CScriptXmlInit()
xml:ParseFile("my_mod_window.xml")

self.btn_ok    = xml:Init3tButton("button[name=btn_ok]", self)
self.lbl_title = xml:InitTextWnd("static[name=lbl_title]", self)
self.input     = xml:InitEditBox("edit_box[name=input_field]", self)

See UI Scripting for the full window building pattern.

Localization string tables¶

String tables are simple key→value XML files. Every piece of visible text in the game goes through this system.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1251"?>
<string_table>
    <string id="my_mod_quest_title">
        <text>The Lost Signal</text>
    </string>

    <string id="my_mod_reward_fmt">
        <text>You received %d roubles.</text>
    </string>

    <string id="my_mod_hint">
        <text>%c[d_green]Hint:%c[default] Check the stash near the bridge.</text>
    </string>
</string_table>

Files go in configs/text/eng/ (and optionally other language folders)
Filename can be anything — all files in the folder are loaded
Keys must be globally unique; prefix with your mod name
Look up with game.translate_string("my_mod_quest_title")

See Localization for the full system.

Dialog trees¶

Dialog XML defines the conversation trees shown when the player talks to an NPC. Each phrase is a line of dialog; next links to the next phrase; precondition and action call Lua functions.

<dialog id="my_mod_quest_dialog">
    <phrase_list>
        <!-- Opening line (always phrase 0) -->
        <phrase id="0">
            <text>my_mod_dialog_greeting</text>
            <next>1</next>
            <next>2</next>
        </phrase>

        <!-- Option 1: start quest (only shown if quest not yet started) -->
        <phrase id="1">
            <text>my_mod_dialog_ask_quest</text>
            <precondition>my_mod_can_give_quest</precondition>
            <action>my_mod_give_quest</action>
            <next>10</next>
        </phrase>

        <!-- Option 2: goodbye -->
        <phrase id="2">
            <text>my_mod_dialog_goodbye</text>
        </phrase>

        <!-- NPC response after accepting quest -->
        <phrase id="10">
            <text>my_mod_dialog_quest_given</text>
        </phrase>
    </phrase_list>
</dialog>

precondition and action reference global Lua function names. The functions receive (first_speaker, second_speaker) where first_speaker is the NPC and second_speaker is the actor.

Dialogs must also be registered in the NPC's character description XML:

<specific_character id="my_npc_character">
    ...
    <actor_dialog>my_mod_quest_dialog</actor_dialog>
</specific_character>

Task definitions¶

Tasks (quests) are defined in configs/gameplay/ XML files:

<game_task id="my_mod_find_item_task">
    <title>my_mod_task_find_title</title>
    <descr>my_mod_task_find_descr</descr>
    <job_descr>my_mod_task_find_job</job_descr>
    <icon>ui_icon_default</icon>
    <article>article_my_mod</article>

    <objectives>
        <objective>
            <text>my_mod_task_objective_1</text>
            <infoportion_complete>my_mod_item_found</infoportion_complete>
            <on_complete>my_mod_on_task_complete</on_complete>
        </objective>
    </objectives>
</game_task>

All <text> values are localization keys. infoportion_complete is an info portion ID — the task objective completes automatically when the actor receives that info portion.

NPC character profiles¶

Character profiles define an NPC's appearance, voice, faction, and dialog:

<specific_character id="my_npc_unique_stalker" team_default="1">
    <name>my_npc_name_key</name>
    <icon>ui_inGame2_Stalker_1</icon>
    <bio>my_npc_bio_key</bio>
    <class>stalker</class>
    <community>stalker</community>
    <rank>400</rank>
    <reputation>200</reputation>
    <money count="500" delay="0"/>
    <rank_insignia id="0"/>
    <visual>actors\stalker_soldier\stalker_soldier_1</visual>
    <actor_dialog>my_mod_quest_dialog</actor_dialog>
    <start_dialog>my_mod_greeting_dialog</start_dialog>
    <supplies>
        [wpn_ak74] count = 1
        [ammo_5.45x39_fmj] count = 2
    </supplies>
</specific_character>

Reading XML from Lua¶

Beyond UI layouts, scripts can directly inspect XML using CScriptXmlInit:

local xml = CScriptXmlInit()
xml:ParseFile("gameplay\\my_task_file.xml")

-- Navigate to a specific element
local count = xml:GetNodesNum("game_task", 0)  -- number of <game_task> elements

For runtime XML modification, use DXML.

Modding XML files¶

Don't replace files directly when other mods might also modify them. Replacing ui_inventory.xml means your version wins and the other mod's changes are lost.

Use DXML to apply targeted patches instead — it lets multiple mods modify the same XML file without conflicts.

The exception is new files you create from scratch (new dialogs, new string tables, new UI windows). Those don't conflict with anything and can simply be placed in the appropriate folder.