Resources and meta.xml

Full example

<meta>
    <info author="You" name="My mode" version="1.0" type="gamemode" />

    <script src="server.lua" type="server" />
    <script src="client.lua" type="client" />
    <script src="shared.lua" type="shared" />
    <script src="secret.lua" type="client" cache="false" />

    <file src="logo.png" />
    <file src="music.mp3" download="false" />

    <download_priority_group>10</download_priority_group>
    <export function="giveReward" type="server" />
</meta>

info

Describes the resource. The type attribute is script (default) or gamemode. Game modes start last, once other resources are ready.

script

file

A file sent to the player: an image, sound, font or data. The player downloads it on join, and on later joins only if the file changed.

With download="false" the file is not downloaded on start. The client script fetches it when needed with downloadFile("music.mp3") and gets the result in the onClientFileDownloadComplete event.

Patterns in src

In the src of script, file and map tags you can write a pattern instead of a single name:

<meta>
    <script src="shared/**/*.lua" type="shared" />
    <script src="client/*.lua" type="client" />
    <file src="images/**" />
</meta>

Files from one pattern are loaded in alphabetical order. A pattern in file skips files declared as script (server code never reaches players), meta.xml and hidden folders (.git etc.). A pattern that matches no file prints a warning in the server console, and the resource starts normally.

download_priority_group

Download order when a player joins. A higher number is downloaded earlier, the default is 0, negative values come last. Useful when a login screen should appear before heavy files from other resources arrive.

export

Makes a function available to other resources. You call it through exports:

-- meta.xml of the "rewards" resource: <export function="giveReward" type="server" />
function giveReward(player, amount)
    givePlayerMoney(player, amount)
    return true
end

exports.rewards:giveReward(player, 500)

Inside an exported function sourceResource is the resource that called it, and sourceResourceRoot its root. This lets a resource with exports clean up after resources that stopped (e.g. close their panels in onResourceStop with source == sourceResourceRoot):

local calls = {}
function giveReward(player, amount)
    calls[sourceResource] = (calls[sourceResource] or 0) + 1
    givePlayerMoney(player, amount)
    return true
end

include

<include resource="name" /> = this resource needs another one. On start the server first starts the resources from <include> (including ones in disabled_resources), and when one of them is missing from resources/, the resource does not start and the console shows an error. A dependency loop (A needs B, B needs A) also stops the start.

<meta>
    <include resource="trilogy_core" />
    <script src="server.lua" type="server" />
</meta>

Which resources start and in what order

• Every folder with a meta.xml in resources/ (also inside group subfolders) starts with the server.
• Order: alphabetical by name, with <info type="gamemode"> resources last. Dependencies from <include> start before the resource that needs them.
• To disable one without deleting the folder: "disabled_resources": ["name"] in server-config.json. You can still start it with start name or as another resource's dependency.
• A new folder added while the server runs: start name in the console, or from a script refreshResources() and startResource(getResourceFromName("name")).

Limits and console

A single file can be up to 64 MB, a whole resource up to 256 MB. Everything a resource creates (vehicles, objects, windows, timers) disappears when it stops.