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Uploading Content

Custom content (Panorama addons, models, maps) reaches players through the launcher, which downloads whatever your server advertises before the game starts. There are two steps: upload the file so clients can fetch it, then list it in the config so the server advertises it.

Get your server token​

Credentials are generated automatically the first time your server registers with the server browser:

game/bin/win64/configs/ServerBrowser/credentials.json
{
  "server_id": "…",
  "server_token": "…"
}

Start the server once and let it register before looking for this file.

Upload​

Go to https://deadworks.net/server/<server_id>/content, paste your server_token, and upload your assets.

Names are globally unique

Addon and map names are claimed across all of Deadworks, not per server. If someone else has already uploaded content under a given name, that name is taken and you cannot reuse it. Pick something specific to your server or project.

List it in the config​

game/bin/win64/configs/deadworks.jsonc, under serverbrowser. Names go in without the .vpk extension:

{
  "serverbrowser": {
    "content_addons": ["myaddon"],
    "extra_maps": ["dl_express"]
  }
}

The config is read once at startup, so restart the server after editing it.

content_addons​

VPKs the server mounts and clients download. On startup the server advertises the list to connecting clients and mounts each entry from deadworks_mods/vpks/<name>.vpk, so the VPK needs to be on the server as well as uploaded. The launcher puts the client's copy in citadel/deadworks_addons/vpks/.

extra_maps​

Maps cannot be mounted at runtime the way an addon can, so they are listed separately and fetched ahead of time. The launcher downloads them into citadel/maps/ before the game launches. Name only, no extension.

Gotchas​

  • An unlisted server distributes nothing. With "unlisted": true in the config (or -nomaster on the command line) the server never registers, never heartbeats, and never mounts content addons, so it never gets credentials either.
  • Upload and config are separate steps. Uploading a file does not advertise it, and listing a name that was never uploaded gives clients nothing to download.
  • Names must match everywhere. The string in content_addons is the VPK's filename without .vpk, on the server and in the upload alike.