Entities

Namespace: DeadworksManaged.Api

All Source 2 server entities are wrapped by CBaseEntity and its subclasses (CCitadelPlayerPawn, CNPC_Trooper, CParticleSystem, …). This page covers what every entity has in common: creation, lifecycle, transform, parenting, and how to escape into raw schema access when the managed API doesn't expose what you need.

Creation & Lookup

var prop = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("prop_dynamic");
var boss = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("npc_boss_tier2");

var entity = CBaseEntity.FromHandle(someHandle);
var pawn   = CBaseEntity.FromHandle<CCitadelPlayerPawn>(handle);

Method	Returns	Description
CreateByName(string className)	CBaseEntity?	Create by C++ class name (e.g. "info_particle_system", "prop_dynamic")
CreateByDesignerName(string designerName)	CBaseEntity?	Create by designer name. Many entities in Deadlock are subclasses of other classes.
FromHandle(uint handle) / FromHandle<T>(uint)	CBaseEntity? / T?	Look up by entity handle
FromIndex(int index) / FromIndex<T>(int)	CBaseEntity? / T?	Look up by global entity index

Rule of thumb: prefer CreateByDesignerName. Entities that rely on subclass VData (npc_boss_tier2, citadel_breakable_prop, …) routinely crash when created via CreateByName alone because their VData pointer isn't populated before Spawn().

Common Properties

Property	Type	Description
Name	string	Entity targetname
DesignerName	string	Designer/map name ("npc_boss_tier3", "player")
Classname	string	C++ class name ("CCitadelPlayerPawn")
EntityHandle	uint	Full 32-bit entity handle
EntityIndex	int	Index (lower 14 bits of handle)
Position	Vector3	World position (via BodyComponent.SceneNode.AbsOrigin)
AbsVelocity	Vector3	Absolute velocity (get/set). See Transform for the caveats around writing it.
TeamNum	int	Team index (get/set)
Health / MaxHealth	int	Direct schema health values (get/set)
GetMaxHealth()	int	Effective max health including modifier/buff effects — prefer this over MaxHealth for reads
Heal(float amount)	int	Heal clamped to max; returns the actual amount healed
LifeState / IsAlive	LifeState / bool	Lifecycle state (Alive, Dying, Dead, Respawnable, Respawning)
IsOnGround	bool	true when m_hGroundEntity is valid
GroundEntity	CBaseEntity?	The entity the pawn is standing on, or null if airborne
ModifierProp	CModifierProperty?	Entry point for modifiers and state flags — see Modifiers
BodyComponent	CBodyComponent?	Scene node, transform, model
SubclassVData	CEntitySubclassVDataBase?	Subclass VData pointer; .Name returns the designer key

Type Checking & Casting

if (entity.Is<CCitadelPlayerPawn>())
{
    var pawn = entity.As<CCitadelPlayerPawn>();
    // pawn is typed, or null if the cast failed
}

Method	Description
Is<T>()	Native class name matches T
As<T>()	Typed wrapper, or null if the cast would fail

Lifecycle

Method	Description
Spawn()	Queue and execute spawn
Spawn(CEntityKeyValues)	Spawn with key-values (model path, origin, custom params)
Remove()	Mark for removal at end of frame (UTIL_Remove)

Remove() immediately after CreateByName()

Some entity types (info_particle_system, projectiles) crash with WriteEnterPVS: GetEntServerClass failed if removed on the same tick they were created. Delay by at least one tick:

Timer.Once(1.Ticks(), () => entity.Remove());

Spawning Props With a Model

prop_dynamic and prop_physics_override need the model path supplied via CEntityKeyValues before Spawn(). Calling SetModel() on a freshly-created prop prior to spawn shows the purple-checkerboard error model.

public override void OnPrecacheResources()
{
    Precache.AddResource("models/hideout/hideout_sandbox_ball.vmdl");
}

[Command("ball")]
public void CmdBall(CCitadelPlayerController caller)
{
    var pos = caller.GetHeroPawn()?.Position ?? Vector3.Zero;

    var prop = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("prop_dynamic");
    if (prop == null) return;

    var ekv = new CEntityKeyValues();
    ekv.SetString("model", "models/hideout/hideout_sandbox_ball.vmdl");
    ekv.SetVector("origin", pos + new Vector3(0, 0, 128));
    prop.Spawn(ekv);
}

Model-path rules:

• Use the .vmdl path — not .vmdl_c. The compiled suffix crashes the server on spawn.
• The model must be listed in OnPrecacheResources. Runtime precache after map load isn't reliable.
• Browse available models using Source2Viewer.

Frozen physics prop

var prop = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("prop_physics_override");
var ekv = new CEntityKeyValues();
ekv.SetString("model", "models/abilities/viscous_cube.vmdl");
ekv.SetBool("massless", true);
ekv.SetVector("origin", pos);
prop.Spawn(ekv);
prop.AcceptInput("DisableMotion"); // lock in place

Disabling collision

"solid" = 0 in the EKV does not disable collision on prop_dynamic. Fire the input after spawn:

prop.AcceptInput("DisableCollision");

Transform

// Teleport — pass null to leave a component unchanged
entity.Teleport(
    position: new Vector3(100, 200, 300),
    angles:   null,
    velocity: null);

// Set velocity mid-flight via Teleport
entity.Teleport(null, null, new Vector3(0, 0, 1500));

Reading velocity is straightforward (entity.AbsVelocity). Writing via the AbsVelocity setter works for simple cases, but for projectiles and anything driven by the physics path, use Teleport(velocity: …) — it's the only write that routes through the engine cleanly. See Tracing — Projectile velocity is weird for the gory detail.

Camera and view angles are networked separately from entity angles. Teleport(angles: …) rotates the model, not the client's camera. For player view control see Networking — Set client camera angles.

Model swapping

pawn.SetModel("models/heroes_wip/werewolf/werewolf.vmdl"); // precache first

See the shipped SetModelPlugin example for a complete command that swaps the player to a werewolf model.

Parenting

entity.SetParent(parentEntity); // implemented via AcceptInput("SetParent", …)
entity.ClearParent();

Parented children are removed automatically when the parent is removed — handy for pawn-attached UI (point_worldtext nametags, timer overlays). See World Text — Nametag pattern.

Entity I/O

entity.AcceptInput("Start", activator, caller, "value");

See Entity I/O for hooking inputs and outputs rather than just firing them.

Modifiers

Entities expose modifiers through two surfaces:

• entity.AddModifier(…) / entity.RemoveModifier(…) — apply and remove by name or instance
• entity.ModifierProp — state flags (SetModifierState) and the list of currently-active modifiers

Both overloads of AddModifier live on CBaseEntity:

// Plain
using var kv = new KeyValues3();
kv.SetFloat("duration", 5.0f);
entity.AddModifier("modifier_citadel_knockdown", kv);

// With per-instance ability-value overrides (for modifiers that read
// values off their owning ability)
entity.AddModifier("ability_doorman_bomb/debuff",
    abilityValues: new() { ["SlowPercent"] = 100.0f },
    kv: kv);

Full reference: Modifiers.

Damage

entity.Hurt(100f);                                   // self-damage, default attribution
entity.Hurt(100f, attacker: shooter);                // credited to shooter
entity.TakeDamage(customTakeDamageInfo);             // full CTakeDamageInfo control

Full reference: Damage.

Audio

entity.EmitSound("Mystical.Piano.AOE.Explode");
entity.EmitSound("Damage.Send.Crit", pitch: 100, volume: 0.5f, delay: 0f);

Full reference: Sound — covers global sound, per-client limitations, and soundevent discovery.

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Schema Access (Advanced)

Advanced

Raw schema access requires some engine knowledge — you're reading and writing the game's networked fields directly. If you're not sure whether this is the right approach for what you're trying to do, ask in the Deadworks Discord.

When the managed API doesn't expose the field you need, you can read or write it by class + field name.

One-off reads and writes

int health = entity.GetField<int>("CBaseEntity"u8, "m_iHealth"u8);
entity.SetField<int>("CBaseEntity"u8, "m_iHealth"u8, 500);

Cached accessors (preferred for hot paths)

SchemaAccessor<T> resolves the offset once and caches it — use this whenever the access happens in a loop, timer, or tick hook.

private static readonly SchemaAccessor<int> _health =
    new("CBaseEntity"u8, "m_iHealth"u8);

int hp = _health.Get(entity.Handle);
_health.Set(entity.Handle, 500);

Variants

Accessor	Use for
SchemaAccessor<T>	Single-value fields of unmanaged type (int, float, Vector3, byte, …)
SchemaStringAccessor	CUtlSymbolLarge string fields (write-only)
SchemaArrayAccessor<T>	Array-typed fields — use an index parameter

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Entities (Static Class)

Iterate entities currently on the server.

foreach (var e in Entities.All) { … }
foreach (var p in Entities.ByClass<CCitadelPlayerPawn>()) { … }
foreach (var b in Entities.ByDesignerName("npc_boss_tier3")) { … }

Member	Returns	Description
Entities.All	IEnumerable<CBaseEntity>	All valid server entities
Entities.ByClass<T>()	IEnumerable<T>	Filter by native C++ type
Entities.ByDesignerName(string)	IEnumerable<CBaseEntity>	Filter by designer name

EntityData<T>

Per-entity keyed storage that auto-evicts entries when the entity is deleted. Use this instead of stashing entity references in a plain Dictionary — the latter leaks or holds stale handles.

private readonly EntityData<IHandle?> _timers = new();

_timers[entity] = timerHandle;

if (_timers.TryGet(entity, out var value)) { … }

_timers.Remove(entity);

Method	Description
this[entity]	Set value
TryGet(entity, out T)	Try-get, returns true on hit
GetOrAdd(entity, defaultValue) / GetOrAdd(entity, factory)	Get existing or insert
Has(entity)	Does an entry exist
Remove(entity) / Clear()	Remove one / all

NativeEntity (Base)

CBaseEntity inherits from NativeEntity, the minimal wrapper over a native pointer. You'll only touch this directly when writing custom schema wrappers.

Property	Type	Description
Handle	IntPtr	Raw pointer to the native object
IsValid	bool	Non-null pointer check

IsValid is a null-check, not a liveness check

IsValid only verifies the wrapper's pointer is non-null. It keeps returning true after the underlying entity has been Remove()d or a player disconnects. To check whether an entity still actually exists in the engine, round-trip through the handle table:

bool IsAlive(CBaseEntity? e) =>
    e != null && CBaseEntity.FromHandle(e.EntityHandle) != null;

Do this whenever you're holding an entity reference across ticks (timer callbacks, cached fields, collections).

See Also

• Players — CCitadelPlayerPawn, CCitadelPlayerController, ability and currency helpers
• Modifiers — AddModifier, EModifierState, CModifierProperty
• Damage — Hurt, CTakeDamageInfo, OnTakeDamage
• Sound — EmitSound, global/per-client playback recipes
• Entity I/O — Hooking designer inputs and outputs
• Tracing — Ray and shape traces for LOS, collision, aim