Precaching

Namespace: DeadworksManaged.Api

Resources (particles, models, heroes) must be precached during map load before they can be used at runtime.

When to Precache

Override OnPrecacheResources() in your plugin — it is called during map load:

public override void OnPrecacheResources()
{
    Precache.AddResource("particles/upgrades/mystical_piano_hit.vpcf");
    Precache.AddResource("particles/abilities/bull_drain.vpcf");
}

Important: All Precache methods must be called inside OnPrecacheResources(). Calling them at other times has no effect.

Precache Methods

Method	Description
`AddResource(string path)`	Precache a resource by path (particles, models, etc.)
`AddHero(string heroName)`	Precache a hero by internal name (e.g. `"hero_inferno"`)
`AddHero(Heroes hero)`	Precache a hero by enum value (calls `hero.ToHeroName()` internally)

Resource Paths

Resources use Valve's VPK path format:

// Particle effects
Precache.AddResource("particles/upgrades/mystical_piano_hit.vpcf");
Precache.AddResource("particles/abilities/bull_drain.vpcf");

// Models (if needed)
Precache.AddResource("models/props/my_model.vmdl");

What Happens If You Skip Precaching

If a resource isn't precached before you try to use it, the symptoms are:

Models — the entity spawns with the purple-checkerboard error model
Particles — nothing renders, or silent fallback to a generic particle

If you see error models after adding a prop spawn, the first thing to check is whether you listed the model in OnPrecacheResources.

File Path Format

Use the uncompiled path (.vmdl, .vpcf, .vmat), not the compiled variant (.vmdl_c, .vpcf_c). The engine resolves precache requests by the source path; passing _c suffixes silently fails or crashes on spawn.

// Correct
Precache.AddResource("models/abilities/viscous_cube.vmdl");

// Wrong — will not precache, may crash on use
Precache.AddResource("models/abilities/viscous_cube.vmdl_c");

Custom Content For Clients

Deadworks runs on the server, but the client still has to own the files — models, sounds, custom maps. Deadlock's client has no built-in "download from server" path, unlike Source 1 games. This means:

If you want a custom map, every player must install it (such as via the Deadworks Launcher)
Custom skins, fonts in .vmat, and custom sounds all require client-side installation
point_worldtext fonts come from the player's operating system font library — you can't ship a font via the server. Stick to common Windows fonts (Arial, Segoe UI, Comic Sans MS, Consolas…)

When to Precache​

Precache Methods​

Resource Paths​

What Happens If You Skip Precaching​

File Path Format​

Custom Content For Clients​

See Also​