Messaging and chat input

Table of Contents

• Messages
• CenterHtml
• ChatInput
• Vote

Messages

One service covers every message destination. See Messages and chat colors for colors, translation keys and broadcasts.

auto& msg = runtime.Messages;
 
msg.Send(slot, "Hello!");                                  // chat line
msg.Send(slot, "Look up", VoltMod::MessageKind::Center);   // plain center print
msg.Send(slot, "<b>Notice</b>", VoltMod::MessageKind::CenterHtml);
msg.Broadcast("Map change in 60s", VoltMod::MessageKind::Alert);
msg.SendKey(slot, "punish.banned", {{"admin", name}});     // translated for the player's language
 
msg.ClearCenterHtml(slot);
msg.Shake(slot, 1.0f, 40.0f, 8.0f);                        // duration, frequency, amplitude

CenterHtml

CS2 drops center HTML almost immediately after a death, a team switch or a HUD update, so a sticky panel has to be re-sent. VoltMod::CenterHtml owns that loop and nothing else; the deadline or expiry policy is yours.

// A member of your plugin object; the services belong to the runtime. A panel stops when its player leaves.
VoltMod::CenterHtml panel{runtime.Messages, runtime.Scheduler, runtime.Slots};
 
panel.Show(slot, /*refreshMs=*/100, [](int s) {
    return std::format("<b>Time left: {}s</b>", RemainingSeconds(s));  // re-rendered every refresh
});
 
panel.Stop(slot);   // cancel and clear the panel

ChatInput

A per-slot prompt registry. It powers menu text input and can be used directly.

runtime.ChatInput.BeginCapture(slot, "Enter your nickname:",
    [](int s, std::string_view text) -> bool {
        if (text.size() > 32)
            return false;                          // re-prompt
        StoreNickname(s, std::string(text));
        return true;                               // accept and clear the capture
    },
    /*timeoutMs=*/30000);

Method	What it does
BeginCapture(slot, prompt, callback, timeoutMs = 60000)	Wait for the slot's next chat line, replacing any pending prompt. A positive timeout cancels the capture.
IsCapturing(slot)	Whether a prompt is pending.
CancelCapture(slot)	Drop the prompt without firing the callback.
GetPrompt(slot)	A copy of the active prompt as std::optional<std::string>.

The service subscribes to VoltMod::SlotEvents itself, so a pending prompt is cancelled when the slot changes hands.

The framework consumes active prompts before it dispatches commands, and raises runtime.Players.Said only for a line neither took. A plugin with its own chat rules subscribes to that and sets Blocked to keep the line out of chat:

_subs.Add(runtime.Players.Said += [this](VoltMod::ChatMessage& chat) {
    if (IsMuted(chat.Sender.SteamId()))
        chat.Blocked = true;
});

Vote

VoltMod::Vote draws the engine's yes/no panel with user messages and counts the ballots itself, from the vote command the panel's F1/F2 keys send. The panel is the engine's, so the title must be a #SFUI_vote... or #Panorama_vote... token the client already has; arbitrary text does not render. Only one vote runs at a time, open to every connected human; bots get no ballot.

runtime.Vote.Start({
    .Title = "#SFUI_vote_changelevel",
    .Detail = "Dust II",                // the token's detail string
    .DurationMs = 20000,                // before it closes itself
    .Caller = callerSlot,               // whose name the panel credits; -1 for the server
    .Passed = [](const VoltMod::VoteTally& tally) {
        // Judging on ballots cast rather than everyone connected means abstaining is not a no.
        return tally.Cast() > 0 && tally.Yes * 2 > tally.Cast();
    },
    .Finished = [](bool passed, VoltMod::VoteEndReason reason) { /* act on the outcome */ },
});
 
runtime.Vote.InProgress();
runtime.Vote.End(VoltMod::VoteEndReason::Cancelled);   // call one off early

Start returns false when a vote is already running or no human is connected. A player who leaves without voting stops counting as eligible. VoteEndReason is AllVoted, TimeUp or Cancelled. Every callback runs on the game thread.