Game Events

Namespace: DeadworksManaged.Api

Listen to and create Source 2 game events.

GameEventHandlerAttribute

Auto-register a method as a game event handler:

[GameEventHandler("player_hero_changed")]
public HookResult OnPlayerHeroChanged(PlayerHeroChangedEvent args)
{
    var pawn = args.Userid?.As<CCitadelPlayerPawn>();
    if (pawn != null)
    {
        // Do stuff
    }
    return HookResult.Continue;
}

Typed Event Classes

For every event in the game's .gameevents schema, the SDK source-generates a typed class named after the event in PascalCase (player_hero_changed → PlayerHeroChangedEvent, player_death → PlayerDeathEvent), with one property per field. Your handler can take either the typed class or the untyped GameEvent (with GetString/GetInt/GetFloat/GetBool/GetPlayerPawn/GetPlayerController/GetEHandle accessors).

Fields typed player_controller_and_pawn in the schema (e.g. player_death.userid/attacker) generate split properties — UseridController/UseridPawn, AttackerController/AttackerPawn — there is no single Userid property on those events. Fields typed player_pawn (like player_hero_changed.userid) generate a single pawn-typed property.

You can also subscribe dynamically without an attribute via GameEvents.AddListener(name, handler) / GameEvents.RemoveListener(...).

GameEventWriter

Wraps a newly created game event for setting fields and firing.

var ev = GameEvents.Create("my_custom_event");
if (ev != null)
{
    ev.SetInt("player_slot", 0);
    ev.SetString("action", "test");
    ev.Fire();
    // After firing, the event is owned by the engine — do not use it again
}

Methods

Method	Returns	Description
SetString(string key, string value)	GameEventWriter	Set string field (chainable)
SetInt(string key, int value)	GameEventWriter	Set int field (chainable)
SetFloat(string key, float value)	GameEventWriter	Set float field (chainable)
SetBool(string key, bool value)	GameEventWriter	Set bool field (chainable)
Fire(bool dontBroadcast)	bool	Fires the event. Returns success. After firing, owned by engine — must not be used

Common Game Events

Event Name	Typical fields	Notes
player_death	userid, attacker	Fires on hero death
player_spawn	userid	See warning below — fires before the pawn is fully materialized on the first spawn
player_hero_changed	userid	More reliable than player_spawn for post-hero-select logic
player_used_ability	player, caster, abilityname, annotation	Fires for every ability activation including shots (citadel_weapon_*) and melee (ability_melee_*)
ability_added	userid, ability (ehandle)	Fires when an ability/item is granted — use this to detect item purchases
game_state_changed	game_state_new	Fires at major match transitions, including end-of-match

The full list of Source 2 events shipped by Deadlock is available at SteamTracking-Deadlock/resource/core.gameevents and game.gameevents. These files list every event name and its field schema.

Common Patterns

Detecting a melee attack

[GameEventHandler("player_used_ability")]
public HookResult OnAbility(GameEvent ev)
{
    var name = ev.GetString("abilityname", "");
    if (!name.StartsWith("ability_melee")) return HookResult.Continue;

    // annotation tells heavy vs light melee (event keys are case-sensitive)
    var kind = ev.GetString("annotation", ""); // "heavy_melee" or "light_melee"
    Console.WriteLine($"Melee attack: {kind}");
    return HookResult.Continue;
}

You could also use OnAbilityAttempt with InputButton.Weapon1, but player_used_ability fires only on successful activation and gives you the heavy/light distinction for free.

Detecting a weapon shot

Same event, different prefix check:

if (name.StartsWith("citadel_weapon_")) { /* shot fired */ }

Detecting an item purchase

[GameEventHandler("ability_added")]
public HookResult OnAbilityAdded(GameEvent ev)
{
    var pawn = ev.GetPlayerPawn("userid")?.As<CCitadelPlayerPawn>();
    if (pawn == null) return HookResult.Continue;

    // ability_added fires both for ability unlocks and for item purchases.
    // Walk the pawn's abilities on the next tick to see what's actually there.
    Timer.Once(1.Seconds(), () =>
    {
        foreach (var ab in pawn.AbilityComponent.Abilities)
            if (ab.IsItem && ab.AbilityName == "upgrade_unstoppable")
                Console.WriteLine("Bought Unstoppable!");
    });
    return HookResult.Continue;
}

Detecting match end

The cleanest signal is game_state_changed.

player_spawn Is Racy on First Spawn

The player_spawn event fires before the pawn is fully populated the first time a player connects. Subsequent spawns are fine. If your handler dereferences hero data (GetHeroPawn, AbilityComponent, etc.), either:

• Subscribe to player_hero_changed instead — it fires after hero data is ready, and
• Use Timer.NextTick or a short delay to re-check the pawn before touching it.

[GameEventHandler("player_hero_changed")]
public HookResult OnPlayerHeroChanged(PlayerHeroChangedEvent args)
{
    var pawn = args.Userid?.As<CCitadelPlayerPawn>();
    if (pawn == null) return HookResult.Continue;
    // safe to inspect pawn's hero-specific state here
    return HookResult.Continue;
}

See Also

• Players — Player pawn and controller access