Skip to main content

Custom Content

Custom content is any .vpk a server needs its players to have: Panorama addons, models and maps. The launcher downloads what a server advertises before the game starts.

To serve custom content:

  1. Copy the .vpk to the server.
  2. List it in the config.
  3. Host a compressed copy for players to download.

Configuration​

Content is listed under serverbrowser in game/bin/win64/configs/deadworks.jsonc:

{
  "serverbrowser": {
    "content_addons": ["myaddon"],
    "extra_maps": ["dl_express"],
    "fastdl_url": "https://dl.example.com/deadworks"
  }
}
KeyDescription
content_addonsLists the addons the server mounts and players download. Each file is read from game/citadel/deadworks_server_addons/vpks/<name>.vpk.
extra_mapsLists the maps players download besides the current map. Each file is read from game/citadel/maps/<name>.vpk.
fastdl_urlSets the base URL players download from. See Hosting the files.

Names are given without the .vpk extension. The current map is always advertised and needs no entry.

Use names of 1 to 64 characters from a-z, 0-9 and _. Launchers skip every other name.

note

The server reads the config once at startup. Restart the server after editing it.

Hosting the files​

Players download each file from fastdl_url. There are three ways to host:

HostSetup
Rented serverNone.
Free hostingUpload each .vpk to your Deadworks account.
Your own hostCompress each .vpk and upload it to any HTTP server.

Rented servers​

A server rented from Deadworks hosts its own content, and fastdl_url is already set. Copy the file to the server and list it in the config.

Free hosting​

  1. Sign in at deadworks.net/content.
  2. Set fastdl_url to the URL the page shows. It is the same for every server on the account.
  3. Upload each .vpk. The page compresses it in the browser before uploading.

A .vpk.zst or .vpk.bz2 is uploaded as it is. See Compression.

LimitValue
Addon300 MB compressed
Map1 GB compressed
Account3 GB compressed, 200 files
  • Uploading a name again replaces the file.
  • Names belong to the account. Another account's dl_harbor does not affect yours.
  • Maps that ship with Deadlock are refused. Players already have them.
warning

Upload again after every change to a .vpk. Until then, players are warned that the download does not match the server.

Your own host​

  1. Set fastdl_url to a directory on the host and start the server. The console prints the files to serve, at startup and whenever the list changes:

    [ContentAddons] fastDL: clients will fetch these from https://dl.example.com/deadworks/ (stock maps can be skipped - players already have them):
      addons/myaddon_9330149c74886724.vpk.zst  (zstd of myaddon.vpk; a bzip2 named .vpk.bz2 also works)
      maps/dl_express_5d0c1e7a94b3f268.vpk.zst  (zstd of dl_express.vpk; a bzip2 named .vpk.bz2 also works)

  2. Compress each .vpk:

    zstd -19 -T0 myaddon.vpk

  3. Upload each .vpk.zst under the printed path.

The 16 hex digits in a file name are the start of the .vpk's SHA-256. A changed .vpk gets a new name, so a published file never changes and can be cached indefinitely.

warning

Upload the new build before restarting the server or changing map. The server advertises the new name from then on.

Compression​

Files are served compressed with zstd. bzip2 is also accepted. Free hosting compresses a .vpk for you; on your own host, compress each file yourself.

FormatExtensionCommand
zstd.vpk.zstzstd -19 -T0 myaddon.vpk
bzip2.vpk.bz2bzip2 -k myaddon.vpk

Launchers request the .vpk.zst first, then the .vpk.bz2 if the host has no such file. zstd unpacks far faster than bzip2 and, at level 19, is smaller.

warning

Do not use a zstd window above 128 MiB (--long=28 or higher). Launchers refuse the file.

Verification​

Launchers check every download against the hash the server advertises. On a mismatch the player is told the download host does not match the server, and can choose to install the file anyway.

See also​