Cypher research arc

The Cypher research arc (story_research_cypher.xml, only 6KB) is the smallest story script in vanilla X4 — a single research arc triggered by the player claiming the Cypher ship at the end of Unbihexium. It serves as a closure / epilogue research line with Boso Ta’s mentor closure dialog.

Script: story_research_cypher.xml
DLC: Tides of Avarice
Theme: HQ research → mentor closure speak

Trigger

The arc activates when:

Cypher_Claimed event fires (player claimed the Cypher ship from Unbihexium climax)
$ShipClaimed = 1 flag set

Arc structure (compact)

Cypher_Claimed (player claimed Cypher ship)
    ↓
Cypher_Reasearch (ref Research_Unlock library)
    ↓
Check_Research_Unlocked → Research_Unlocked
    ↓
Research_Unlocked_Wait → Unhide_Research (1min polling) — research entry becomes visible
    ↓
Research_Entry_Selected (instantiated)
    ↓
Research_Finished (instantiated)
    ↓
Research_Finished_LastMentorSpeak (10s polling)
    ↓
Research_Finished_Speak_Ref_v2 (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor)
    ↓
Boso Ta delivers closing mentor speak

Mission entries

”Cypher Research Unlock”

Cue: Cypher_Claimed → Cypher_Reasearch → Check_Research_Unlocked → Research_Unlocked
In-game name: Research entry available at HQ
Path/Chapter: Cypher research (entry)
Find in game: HQ research menu, after Unbihexium Ch3 complete
Prerequisites: Cypher ship claimed (story state from Unbihexium)
What player encounters:
- Research_Unlocked_Wait → wait state for research visibility
- Unhide_Research (1-minute polling) — periodically checks if research should appear
- Player sees new research entry in HQ menu
Where: Player HQ research menu
Reward: Research entry available
Code reference: story_research_cypher.xml Cypher_Claimed block

”Research Selection”

Cue: Research_Entry_Selected
In-game name: Begin Cypher research
Path/Chapter: Cypher research (Selection)
Find in game: Player selects research at HQ
What player encounters:
- Research starts (instantiated cue per session)
- Research countdown begins
Reward: Research underway
Chains to: Research_Finished
Code reference: story_research_cypher.xml Research_Entry_Selected

”Research Finish + Mentor Closure Speak”

Cue: Research_Finished → Research_Finished_LastMentorSpeak (10s) → Research_Finished_Speak_Ref_v2
In-game name: Research complete; Boso Ta mentor closure
Path/Chapter: Cypher research (climax)
Find in game: Auto-fires when research completes
What player encounters:
- Research completion event
- Mentor closure system:
  - Research_Finished_LastMentorSpeak polls every 10s
  - When conditions met, Research_Finished_Speak_Ref_v2 (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor) fires
  - Boso Ta delivers a closing mentor speech
- The “Last Mentor Speak” naming suggests this is Boso Ta’s last mentor recognition in vanilla DLC content
Where: Wherever player is when polling triggers
NPCs involved: Boso Ta
Reward:
- Research-related unlocks (precise effects TBD per text page lookup)
- Mentor narrative closure — Boso Ta acknowledges player’s mentor arc completion
Code reference: story_research_cypher.xml Research_Finished*

Mod conflict risks — Cypher

❌ Mods that disable Boso Ta prevent mentor closure speech
❌ Mods that change HQ research mechanics break unlock detection
❌ Mods that change LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor affect speak delivery
⚠ Mods adding bulk HQ research may collide with Unhide_Research polling

Why Cypher is special

Cypher is the smallest story arc in vanilla but closes a longer narrative thread:

Tides of Avarice introduced player to espionage + mentor relationships
Unbihexium Ch3 ended with Ship_Claimed state
Cypher research arc delivers the final mentor recognition for that journey
The “Last Mentor Speak” name implies this is canonically Boso’s farewell to player as student

For modders: this is the shortest-but-complete vanilla story arc pattern — a useful template for short follow-up arcs in mod content.

Code references

Concern	Cue
Trigger event	`Cypher_Claimed`
Research_Unlock library ref	`Cypher_Reasearch` (note: vanilla typo “Reasearch”)
Research visibility	`Research_Unlocked_Wait` → `Unhide_Research`
Research selection	`Research_Entry_Selected` (instantiated)
Research finish	`Research_Finished` (instantiated)
Mentor closure poll	`Research_Finished_LastMentorSpeak` (10s)
Mentor closure speak	`Research_Finished_Speak_Ref_v2` (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor)

Vanilla typo note: The cue is literally named Cypher_Reasearch (with “Reasearch” instead of “Research”) — modders referencing this cue must use the misspelled form.

Tides arcs overview
Unbihexium arc — preceding arc (triggers Cypher)
Wiki: DLC handling — Tides of Avarice required

Cypher is the shortest vanilla story arc — but its presence as a “mentor closure” demonstrates that even small arcs deserve narrative resolution. The pattern is useful template for mod authors who want compact follow-up arcs without rebuilding the full HQ research framework.