Skip to main content

World Text

Namespace: DeadworksManaged.Api

Display text in the 3D world or anchored to a player's screen.

CPointWorldText​

Wraps the point_worldtext entity — a world-space text panel rendered in 3D.

Creating World Text​

var text = CPointWorldText.Create(
    message: "Hello World",
    position: new Vector3(100, 200, 300),
    fontSize: 100f,
    worldUnitsPerPx: null,     // null = auto-calculated from fontSize
    fontName: null,            // null = default font
    r: 255, g: 255, b: 255, a: 255,  // RGBA color
    reorientMode: 0            // 0 = no reorientation
);

Parameters​

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
messagestring—Text to display
positionVector3—World-space position
fontSizefloat100fFont size in pixels
worldUnitsPerPxfloat?nullWorld units per pixel (null = auto-calculated as 0.25 / 1050 * fontSize)
fontNamestring?nullFont name (null = default, max 63 bytes UTF-8)
r, g, b, abyte255RGBA color components
reorientModeint0Reorientation mode (0 = none)

Instance Properties​

PropertyTypeDescription
EnabledboolEnable/disable the text entity
FullbrightboolWhether text is fullbright (ignores lighting)
FontSizefloatFont size in pixels
WorldUnitsPerPxfloatWorld units per pixel
DepthOffsetfloatDepth offset for rendering
FontNamestringFont name (max 63 bytes UTF-8)
ColorABGRuintColor as ABGR uint32
JustifyHorizontalHorizontalJustifyHorizontal text justification
JustifyVerticalVerticalJustifyVertical text justification

Updating Text​

text.SetMessage("Updated text!");
text.SetColor(255, 0, 0);           // RGB (alpha defaults to 255)
text.SetColor(255, 0, 0, 128);      // RGBA

Cleanup​

text.Remove();  // Inherited from CBaseEntity

Positioning Tips​

ParameterRecommended ValueNotes
fwdOffset-50fPlaces text close to camera (behind eye position)
posX2.341fHorizontal center (accounting for shoulder camera)
posY2.6fVertical center
PixelSize50fGood size for pixel art blocks
SpacingX0.023fHorizontal character spacing
SpacingY0.06fVertical character spacing (~2.6x taller than wide for "█")
Pixel Art

Use the full block character "█" for pixel-art style displays. The "." character is invisible at small sizes. The block character is approximately 2.6x taller than wide, so adjust SpacingX and SpacingY accordingly for square pixels.

The EKV Workflow (Full Control)​

CPointWorldText.Create covers the common case. When you need access to keys the helper doesn't expose (reorientation, justify, depth offset, font name, fullbright), spawn the entity directly with CEntityKeyValues:

var text = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("point_worldtext");
if (text == null) return;

var ekv = new CEntityKeyValues();
ekv.SetString("message", controller.PlayerName);
ekv.SetInt("font_size", 128);
ekv.SetString("font_name", "Comic Sans MS");
ekv.SetFloat("world_units_per_pixel", 0.15f);
ekv.SetInt("enabled", 1);
ekv.SetColor("color", 255, 255, 255, 255);
ekv.SetFloat("depth_render_offset", 0.125f);
ekv.SetInt("justify_horizontal", 1);   // 0 left, 1 center, 2 right
ekv.SetInt("reorient_mode", 1);        // 1 = always face the camera (around up axis)
ekv.SetInt("fullbright", 1);
text.Spawn(ekv);

text.Teleport(pawn.Position + new Vector3(0, 0, 96), new Vector3(0, 180, 90));
text.SetParent(pawn);

A few gotchas worth knowing before you burn hours on them:

  • The EKV key is font_name, not font. Passing font silently does nothing.
  • fullbright: 1 is required for the color to show unfiltered — without it, text is tinted by world lighting and often reads as dim gray indoors.
  • reorient_mode: 1 rotates the text around its up axis so it faces each viewer's camera. Mode 0 is a fixed-orientation billboard.
  • depth_render_offset nudges the text toward the camera in world units — use a small positive value (0.125) to push text in front of geometry it would otherwise z-fight with.
  • Fonts are looked up from the player's OS. Deadlock does not ship fonts as usable by this entity. Stick to Windows 10 default fonts (Arial, Segoe UI, Consolas, Comic Sans MS, Verdana, …). Custom font files in the game's pak01_dir do not work.

Nametag Pattern​

Parent a worldtext to the pawn and it follows them around, bright side facing camera:

public override void OnClientFullConnect(ClientFullConnectEvent args)
{
    var pawn = args.Controller?.GetHeroPawn();
    if (pawn == null) return;

    var text = CBaseEntity.CreateByDesignerName("point_worldtext");
    var ekv = new CEntityKeyValues();
    ekv.SetString("message", args.Controller.PlayerName);
    ekv.SetInt("font_size", 128);
    ekv.SetFloat("world_units_per_pixel", 0.12f);
    ekv.SetInt("justify_horizontal", 1);
    ekv.SetInt("reorient_mode", 1);
    ekv.SetInt("fullbright", 1);
    ekv.SetColor("color", 255, 255, 255, 255);
    text.Spawn(ekv);

    text.Teleport(pawn.Position + new Vector3(0, 0, 96), new Vector3(0, 180, 90));
    text.SetParent(pawn);
    // No need to track: when the pawn is removed, parented children die with it.
}

Attaching to the Camera​

You can't parent a worldtext to the player's camera directly. The camera is not a networked entity, and the player controller sits at (0,0,0) on the server. Common workarounds:

  • Attach to the pawn and accept that the text moves with the model (fine for nametags, timers, debug overlays)
  • Recompute position every tick in OnGameFrame based on EyePosition + forward * distance (visible stutter because client prediction can't help)
  • Use CCitadelUserMsg_HudGameAnnouncement for real HUD text (see chat-and-hud)

See Also​