Installing and configuring the core

<- Back to contents

Save every file as UTF-8 without BOM, e.g. with Notepad++

Overview

The plugin is modular: the core does the main work and modules add the features. The core manages VIP players, configs and the database and handles commands; modules add the actual features (HP, speed, etc.). The core works with a local SQLite database or a remote MySQL database.

Installing the core

1. Download the archive for your SourceMod version from GitHub Releases (or HlMod.net, or build it from the sources). SourceMod 1.10 or newer is required.
2. Unpack the archive and copy the files into the matching folders on the server.
3. The modules translation file vip_modules.phrases.txt comes with the core; the newest version is also on HlMod.net.
4. To use MySQL, add to addons/sourcemod/configs/databases.cfg:

     "vip_core"
     {
      "driver"      "mysql"
      "host"        "ip"        // MySQL server address
      "database"    "vip"       // database name
      "user"        "root"      // database user
      "pass"        "pass"      // the user's password
     }
   

   Without this entry the core uses SQLite: addons/sourcemod/data/sqlite/vip_core.sq3. The tables are created automatically.

5. Start the server and check that the plugin is running and there are no errors in the logs.
6. Adjust cfg/vip/VIP_Core.cfg (created automatically on the first start), see Cvars.
7. Install the modules you need: How to install modules.

Configuring the core

Files

• addons/sourcemod/data/vip/cfg/
  • groups.ini - VIP groups and their features
  • times.ini - durations offered in the admin menu
  • sort_menu.ini - order of the VIP menu items
  • info.ini - info messages (on join, on expiry, etc.)
• addons/sourcemod/data/vip/modules/
  • downloadlist.txt - files to send to players for download
  • ... - module configs
• addons/sourcemod/plugins/
  • VIP_Core.smx - the core
  • ... - modules
• addons/sourcemod/translations/
  • vip_core.phrases.txt - core translations
  • vip_modules.phrases.txt - module translations
  • ... - other module translation files
• cfg/vip/
  • VIP_Core.cfg - core settings
  • ... - module settings

Cvars

Cvar	Default	Description
sm_vip_admin_flag	z	Admin flag needed to manage VIP players (commands and admin menu)
sm_vip_menu_commands	vip;sm_vip;sm_vipmenu	Commands that open the VIP menu, separated by ;
sm_vip_server_id	0	Server ID when using MySQL (VIPs are bound to a server)
sm_vip_storage_id	0	Server group ID for the player data storage when using MySQL
sm_vip_auto_open_menu	0	Open the VIP menu automatically on join
sm_vip_time_mode	0	Time units for commands: 0 - seconds, 1 - minutes, 2 - hours, 3 - days
sm_vip_delete_expired	1	Delete expired VIPs: -1 - never, 0 - immediately, > 0 - days after expiry
sm_vip_delete_outdated	-1	Delete VIPs who haven’t joined for X days: -1 - never, > 0 - days (minimum 3)
sm_vip_update_name	1	Update VIP names in the database on join
sm_vip_spawn_delay	1.0	Delay before features are applied after spawn
sm_vip_hide_no_access_items	0	Unavailable features in the VIP menu: 0 - shown disabled, 1 - hidden
sm_vip_features_default_status	1	Default status of toggleable features: 0 - off, 1 - on
sm_vip_logs_enable	1	Write logs/VIP_Logs.log

VIP groups

Every group is a section in groups.ini with the parameters of the modules it gets. The parameter names and values are given in each module’s description.

"VIP_GROUPS"
{
    "vip1"                      // group name
    {
        "HP"            "120"   // HP on spawn
        "Armor"         "100"   // armor on spawn
        "Money"         "16000" // money on spawn
        "QuickDefuse"   "1"     // quick defuse
        "Speed"         "1.3"   // speed (1.0 - normal)
        "RegenHP"       "5"     // HP regenerated per second
        "RegenArmor"    "5"     // armor regenerated per second
    }

    "vip2"
    {
        "HP"            "120"
        "Speed"         "1.3"
    }
}

Group inheritance (extend)

A group can take the parameters of other groups with the extend key, so shared parameters are written once. List the groups separated by ;.

"VIP_GROUPS"
{
    "base"
    {
        "HP"        "100"
        "Armor"     "50"
    }

    "silver"
    {
        "extend"    "base"
        "HP"        "150"
        "Speed"     "1.2"
    }

    "gold"
    {
        "extend"    "base;silver"
        "Speed"     ""          // don't inherit Speed
        "Gravity"   "0.8"
    }
}

Here gold gets HP 150, Armor 50 and Gravity 0.8.

Rules:

• the group’s own parameters beat inherited ones;
• when the listed groups have the same parameter, the group listed later wins (base;silver - silver wins);
• an empty value "" removes an inherited parameter;
• chains work: a group can extend a group that extends another one;
• only plain "key" "value" parameters are inherited, nested sections are not;
• group names in extend must match exactly (including case); an unknown group or a loop (a extends b, b extends a) is written to the SourceMod error log and that entry is skipped;
• extend is resolved when the configs load (server start, sm_reload_vip_cfg); groups added by modules can’t be extended.

Info messages

Everything is described with examples in addons/sourcemod/data/vip/cfg/info.ini. To turn a message off, delete its section from the file. A line break in a chat message is written as \n; every line is sent as a separate chat message.

VIP menu order

Set in addons/sourcemod/data/vip/cfg/sort_menu.ini: list the feature names in the order you want, one per line.

HP
Armor
Money
Speed

Features not listed come after the sorted ones.

Admin menu order

To order the VIP items in the admin menu, add to addons/sourcemod/configs/adminmenu_sorting.txt:

"vip_admin"
{
    "item"        "add_vip"
    "item"        "edit_vip"
    "item"        "del_vip"
    "item"        "list_vip"
    "item"        "reload_vip_players"
    "item"        "reload_vip_cfg"
}

Build options

These are set in VIP_Core.sp, after a change the plugin has to be recompiled.

Define	Default	Description
DEBUG_MODE	0	1 - write a debug log
USE_ADMINMENU	1	0 - remove the VIP section from the admin menu (and sm_vipadmin)
USE_MORE_SERVERS	1	1 - a VIP with server ID 0 is active on every server sharing the database
USE_CLIENTPREFS	0	Where toggle statuses of features are stored: 0 - the core’s vip_storage table (statuses saved in cookies by older versions are moved automatically), 1 - clientprefs cookies