HBOx

HBOx is a Unity project for generating and replaying AI-driven "Chats": short staged scenes with a cast, location, dialogue, sentiment, timing, and audio. The project started as polbots, but it now acts more like a shared runtime for multiple shows and worlds.

The current project is split into two main layers:

• Assets/Core Shared engine code for chat generation, playback, actor control, UI, config loading, external integrations, replay loading, and prompt resolution.
• Assets/Scenes Show-specific scenes, actors, prefabs, audio, and scene adapters.

How it works

At a high level, the pipeline looks like this:

1. A source provides an Idea. Sources include replay folders, Reddit batches, HTTP endpoints, and scene-specific systems like the polbots soccer integration.
2. ChatGenerator turns the idea into a Chat. It resolves prompt files from Vault, asks the LLM for topic/cast/location details, then runs attached generator components to fill in dialogue, reactions, voice lines, vibe, memories, and related metadata.
3. ChatManager queues and plays the chat. It switches to the correct scene/context, loads staging information, spawns actors, runs intermission hooks, and activates each ChatNode in sequence.
4. ActorController and scene components perform the scene. Shared actor subsystems handle animation, face/lips, camera look targets, voice playback, items, subtitles, and scene-specific behavior.

Scene responsibilities

Assets/Scenes/polbots

The original project, and still the heaviest scene-specific code layer.

Responsibilities:

• video-call presentation and per-actor cameras
• globe-mode staging and map-driven positioning
• country/flag-driven visuals
• soccer match integration that can emit live ideas back into the chat pipeline

Assets/Scenes/RomeBots

Mostly a content/world pack on top of the shared core. It currently has very little custom C# and relies primarily on shared generation/playback behavior plus its own actors, prefabs, and assets.

Assets/Scenes/AppyDays

Uses the shared core runtime with show-specific scene assets and actor data. No custom scene-side C# currently lives here.

Assets/Scenes/SpaceDrivel

Also uses the shared core runtime with its own cast, prefabs, and assets, with no current scene-side C# layer.

Important folders

• Assets/Core Runtime systems shared across all shows.
• Assets/Scenes Show scenes and content.
• Vault Prompt, input, output, and other text assets used during generation.
• MemoryCaptures Memory-related data produced by the project.
• replays-*.txt Local replay history trackers.
• reddit-*.txt Local Reddit history trackers.

Configuration

The project loads config.json from the executable root path through ConfigManager.

Each config entry must contain a Type field. Only the systems present in your scene/context need to be configured.

Example:

[
  {
    "Type": "openai",
    "ApiUri": "https://api.openai.com",
    "ApiKey": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY",
    "SlowModel": "gpt-4o",
    "FastModel": "gpt-4o-mini",
    "UseEmbeddings": false
  },
  {
    "Type": "tts",
    "GoogleApiKey": "YOUR_GOOGLE_TTS_KEY",
    "OpenAiApiKey": "YOUR_OPENAI_TTS_KEY"
  },
  {
    "Type": "discord",
    "AvatarURL": "https://...",
    "WebhookURLs": {
      "#stream": "YOUR_STREAM_WEBHOOK_URL"
    },
    "EnableBot": true,
    "BotToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    "ApplicationId": "YOUR_APP_ID",
    "SlashCommandGuildIds": ["YOUR_TEST_GUILD_ID"],
    "EnableIdeaCommand": true,
    "DefaultDailyIdeaLimit": 3,
    "BoosterDailyIdeaLimit": 10,
    "BoosterRoleIds": ["BOOSTER_ROLE_ID"]
  },
  {
    "Type": "folder",
    "ReplayDirectory": "polbots",
    "ReplayRate": 80,
    "ReplaysPerBatch": 20,
    "MaxReplayAgeInMinutes": 1440
  },
  {
    "Type": "reddit",
    "SubReddits": {
      "worldnews+anime_titties+todayilearned": "Default",
      "AskHistorians+UnitedNations+geopolitics": "History",
      "Africa+China+america+australia+europe": "Regional"
    },
    "MaxPostAgeInHours": 24,
    "BatchSize": 20,
    "BatchSizeLimit": 20,
    "BatchIterations": 1,
    "BatchPeriodOffset": "00:00",
    "BatchPeriodInMinutes": 480,
    "ActiveHoursStart": "00:00",
    "ActiveHoursEnd": "23:59",
    "EnablePitchGate": true,
    "PitchDiscordChannel": "#stream",
    "PitchExpirationMinutes": 180,
    "PitchAutoApprovalBatchSize": 0,
    "PitchMinimumVotesToQueue": 1,
    "MaxDepth": 3,
    "TopRoots": 3,
    "TopLevelLimit": 30,
    "PerLevelChildLimit": 20,
    "MaxDialogueLines": 16,
    "MaxCharsPerLine": 280,
    "Sort": "confidence"
  },
  {
    "Type": "obs",
    "VideosFolder": "C:/Videos/HBOx",
    "OBSWebSocketURI": "ws://localhost:4455",
    "IsStreaming": false,
    "IsRecording": false,
    "DoSplitRecording": true,
    "OnlyNewEpisodes": true
  },
  {
    "Type": "splash",
    "Splashes": [
      "Tonight on HBOx",
      "Previously on nothing"
    ],
    "TitleDuration": 5.0,
    "SplashDuration": 2.0
  }
]

Notes

• Remove a config block entirely to disable that integration.
• folder is the active replay loader type registered at runtime.
• reddit.SubReddits is a dictionary, not a simple string array.
• reddit.EnablePitchGate changes Reddit intake from direct RedditSource -> Idea generation into RedditSource -> PitchCandidate -> Discord vote -> Idea.
• reddit.PitchDiscordChannel must match a configured Discord webhook key, usually #stream.
• reddit.BatchPeriodOffset and reddit.BatchPeriodInMinutes control Reddit fetch cadence all day; reddit.ActiveHoursStart and reddit.ActiveHoursEnd only gate queueing/autoapproval work.
• Pitch votes resolve after the voting window closes: more thumbs-up than thumbs-down queues the pitch as an Idea; more thumbs-down rejects it; ties or too few votes expire.
• reddit.PitchExpirationMinutes is how long a posted pitch can receive approval votes before it is treated as stale.
• reddit.PitchAutoApprovalBatchSize is how many top evaluator-approved Reddit pitches can skip Discord voting and queue directly per active Reddit batch slot. Set it to 0 to require voting for every pitch.
• reddit.PitchMinimumVotesToQueue is the minimum total vote count required before an expired positive voted pitch can queue.
• Autoapproved pitch candidates are sorted by Reddit comment count weighted most heavily, then Reddit karma, then newest post first.
• Pitch generation uses Vault/{show}/Prompts/Reddit Source/Pitch Candidate.md, then Vault/{show}/Prompts/Reddit Source/Pitch Evaluator.md to reject weak or overlong pitches before posting.
• Posted pitch cards surface the pitch, cast, source subreddit, Reddit karma/comment counts, and evaluator approval reason; the approved Idea still includes the raw Reddit post text and mined thread material for generation context.
• In pitch-gate mode, Reddit posts are only written to the local seen history after a pitch is accepted for voting, so evaluator-rejected posts can be reconsidered later.
• Approved pitch posts are pinned by the Discord bot when bot permissions allow it, and the operator panel reads /api/pitches for the current pitch deck.
• OpenAI text generation and OpenAI TTS are configured separately.
• Some integrations only matter in specific scenes, such as soccer in polbots.

Soccer config example

soccer is scene-specific and currently powers three separate match-time layers in polbots:

• Lines: live event narration text and residue
• InterruptSeeds: short pre-generated reaction seeds for injected micro-chats
• announcer settings: optional TTS playback for narrated event lines

Example:

{
  "Type": "soccer",
  "MatchTimeLimit": 10,
  "TimeBetweenGames": 0,
  "MaxVolume": 1.0,
  "EnableAnnouncer": true,
  "AnnouncerVolume": 0.9,
  "MaxAnnouncerQueue": 4,
  "SkipAnnouncerDuringInterrupts": false,
  "AnnouncerVoice": "alloy",
  "ClearSceneOnGameEnd": true,
  "RequireTextPatternMatch": false,
  "GameOnStart": false,
  "GameOnBatchEnd": false,
  "GameOnMatchEnd": false,
  "Lines": {
    "FirstWhistleEvent": [
      "The whistle blows.",
      "And we're off.",
      "Kickoff."
    ],
    "FinalWhistleEvent": [
      "# That's the final whistle! {1}",
      "# Game over! {1}",
      "# And that's full-time! {1}"
    ],
    "RefereeShortWhistleEvent": [
      "Quick whistle!",
      "What's the call?",
      "The ref steps in!"
    ],
    "BallHitTheWoodWorkEvent": [
      "SO CLOSE!",
      "Denied by the post!",
      "Off the bar!"
    ],
    "PlayerSlideTackleEvent": [
      "{0} lunges in!",
      "{0} goes for the slide tackle!",
      "{0} clatters into them!"
    ]
  },
  "InterruptSeeds": {
    "Pregame": [
      "Kickoff is approaching. Deliver a very short pregame beat about nerves, legitimacy, betting chatter, or alliance rivalry before play starts.",
      "The match is about to begin. Deliver a very short pregame beat about diplomatic pageantry, procedural anxiety, or quiet panic before kickoff."
    ],
    "GoalScoredEvent": [
      "A goal has just been scored. React briefly and sharply without naming a specific score or minute.",
      "A goal has changed the atmosphere instantly. Deliver a short reaction about humiliation, momentum, or political overreaction without citing exact numbers."
    ],
    "RefereeShortWhistleEvent": [
      "The referee has interrupted play. Deliver a brief reaction about procedure, officiating, corruption, or legitimacy.",
      "A quick whistle just cut through the match. React briefly to the call, the process, or immediate suspicion of bias."
    ],
    "KeeperSavesTheBallEvent": [
      "A dramatic save just happened. React briefly without naming a specific score or minute.",
      "The keeper just denied what looked inevitable. Deliver a short reaction about survival, theft, or divine intervention without exact numbers."
    ],
    "BallHitTheWoodWorkEvent": [
      "A near miss just rattled the stadium. React briefly without naming a specific score or minute.",
      "The ball hit the woodwork and everything nearly changed. Deliver a short reaction about fate, robbery, or nerves without exact numbers."
    ],
    "PlayerSlideTackleEvent": [
      "A hard tackle just changed the emotional temperature of the match. Deliver a brief reaction.",
      "A heavy slide tackle just landed. React briefly about aggression, legitimacy, revenge, or selective outrage."
    ]
  }
}

Notes:

• Lines are short event phrases used for live narration, residue, and the optional announcer voice layer.
• InterruptSeeds are not dialogue output; they are brief generation seeds used to prebuild character reaction packets.
• Keep InterruptSeeds generic enough that pre-generated packets do not go stale immediately when the score changes.
• Full-scene soccer framing now lives in Vault under Vault/polbots/Prompts/Soccer Mode/Idea Seeds.

Replay and generation data

Generated chats are serialized to the user's Documents folder under a per-show directory:

• Documents/<ShowName>/<chat-slug>.json

Those replay files can later be reloaded by the folder replay source and mixed back into the queue.

Prompt inputs and outputs are also written under Vault/<ShowName>/Inputs/... and Vault/<ShowName>/Outputs/... as generation runs.

Development notes

• ChatManagerContext defines a show's cast, sentiments, spawn points, audio, config manager, and scene identity.
• Scene-specific scripts should generally subscribe to core events instead of replacing the playback pipeline.
• If a show only needs different actors, prefabs, prompts, and locations, it can usually be built without adding new scene-side C#.

Legacy note

Older docs, file names, and comments may still refer to polbots. In the current project, that is just one show/context inside the larger HBOx runtime.