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Networking

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-10

Overview​

The networking module provides server- and client-side utilities for managing networked game events, including chat, player authentication, mod synchronization, world resets, and party/lobby interactions. It serves as the central hub for inter-client communication, server command processing, and UI feedback during network operations. It does not define a traditional ECS component but instead exposes global functions used across network layers.

Usage example​

-- Example: Announce a player joining the game
Networking_JoinAnnouncement("PlayerName", {1, 0, 0, 1})

-- Example: Send a message through a character's talker component (server-only)
Networking_Say("entity_guid", 12345, "Player Name", "waxwell", "Hello world!", nil, false, false)

-- Example: Validate and spawn a new player on the server
local prefab, skin, body, hand, legs, feet = ValidateSpawnPrefabRequest(userid, "waxwell", "waxwell_none", "", "", "", "", "", true)

Dependencies & tags​

Components used: skinner, talker, playerspawner, skilltreeupdater, seamlessplayerswapper, worldcharacterselectlobby, autosaver, talker, skilltreeupdater.
Tags: No tags are added/removed by this module; it only reads or checks tags on components (e.g., mime, cursed) via external component calls.

Properties​

PropertyTypeDefault ValueDescription
FirstStartupForNetworkingbooleanfalseGlobal flag to ensure SpawnSecondInstance() only triggers once.

Main functions​

Networking_SlashCmd(guid, userid, cmd)​

  • Description: Processes remote slash command requests on the server. Invokes UserCommands.RunTextUserCommand with the parsed command string.
  • Parameters:
    guid (string?) — entity GUID of the caller, if applicable.
    userid (string) — unique user identifier.
    cmd (string) — the slash command string (e.g., /kick).
  • Returns: Nothing.

Networking_Say(guid, userid, name, prefab, message, colour, whisper, isemote, user_vanity)​

  • Description: Handles chat message delivery. Outputs the message via talker:Say (if not an emote) and records it in ChatHistory.
  • Parameters:
    guid (string) — entity GUID.
    userid (string) — user ID.
    name, prefab, message, colour, whisper, isemote, user_vanity — chat metadata (see ChatHistory:OnSay).
  • Returns: nil if message exceeds MAX_CHAT_INPUT_LENGTH.

Networking_Announcement(message, colour, announce_type)​

  • Description: Broadcasts a system or user-generated announcement to all players via ChatHistory:OnAnnouncement.
  • Parameters:
    message (string?) — announcement text.
    colour (table?) — RGB(A) colour table. Defaults to {1,1,1,1}.
    announce_type (string?) — category (e.g., "death", "join_game", "mod"). Defaults to "default".

Networking_JoinAnnouncement(name, colour), Networking_LeaveAnnouncement(name, colour), etc.​

  • Description: Formats and broadcasts standard player lifecycle events (join, leave, kick, ban, vote, roll) using localized strings and Networking_Announcement.

ValidateSpawnPrefabRequest(...)​

  • Description: Validates a player’s requested character, skin, and clothing against ownership, compatibility, and server rules.
  • Parameters:
    user_id, prefab_name, skin_base, clothing_body, clothing_hand, clothing_legs, clothing_feet, allow_seamlessswap_characters (boolean).
  • Returns: Up to six validated values: prefab, skin_base, clothing_body, clothing_hand, clothing_legs, clothing_feet. Invalid values may be replaced with defaults.

SpawnNewPlayerOnServerFromSim(...)​

  • Description: Spawns a new player on the server after setting skin and clothing via skinner, applying item skins via OnNewSpawn, updating skill selection, and calling playerspawner:SpawnAtNextLocation.
  • Parameters:
    player_guid, skin_base, clothing_body, clothing_hand, clothing_legs, clothing_feet, starting_item_skins, skillselection.

SpawnSeamlessPlayerReplacementFromSim(...)​

  • Description: Performs a seamless character swap on the server. Replaces the old player entity with the new one, applies clothing/skin, triggers seamlessplayerswapper:OnSeamlessCharacterSwap, and fires ms_seamlesscharacterspawned.
  • Parameters:
    player_guid, old_player_guid, skin_base, clothing_body, clothing_hand, clothing_legs, clothing_feet.

VerifySpawnNewPlayerOnServerRequest(user_id)​

  • Description: Checks whether a player may spawn, e.g., if lobby state permits it. Kicks the user if spawning is blocked.
  • Returns: true if spawning is allowed; false otherwise.

DownloadMods(server_listing)​

  • Description: Manages mod synchronization when joining a modded server. Temporarily disables/enables mods, downloads missing ones from Workshop, and configures mod state before connecting.

WorldResetFromSim(), WorldRollbackFromSim(count)​

  • Description: Handles server-initiated world resets and rollbacks. Deletes world data, truncates snapshots, and resets to a previous save via DoReset.

StartDedicatedServer()​

  • Description: Initializes and starts a dedicated server. Generates server metadata, saves configuration, and launches the game instance.

JoinServer(server_listing, optional_password_override)​

  • Description: Orchestrates joining a remote server, handling mod warnings, password prompts, and client-server mod compatibility checks before calling TheNet:JoinServerResponse.

MigrateToServer(serverIp, serverPort, serverPassword, serverNetId)​

  • Description: Initiates a seamless transition to a new server session, optionally saving the current player state first.

GetAvailablePlayerColours()​

  • Description: Returns a deterministic ordered list of available player colours and a fallback default.
  • Returns: {colours: table, default: colour}.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to:
    None directly — events are handled in other components (e.g., ms_requestedlobbycharacter is listened to elsewhere).
  • Pushes:
    twitchmessage — username, message, colour.
    twitchloginresult — success, result.
    twitchstatusupdate — status.
    ms_requestedlobbycharacter — userid, prefab_name, skin_base, clothing_*.
    ms_seamlesscharacterspawned — player entity.
    ms_worldreset — no payload.
    ms_clientauthenticationcomplete — userid.
    ms_clientdisconnected — userid.
    ms_playerreroll and ms_playerseamlessswaped — via seamlessplayerswapper.