Sending Game Context

This page describes how the client and server exchange player information, vote options, and tuning parameters after the Initial Handshake has loaded the map. These messages must be exchanged before the player enters the game.

Preparing the Player

1. The client sends NETMSGTYPE_CL_STARTINFO, containing the player's name, clan, country, skin, and colors.
2. The server applies this information and sends NETMSGTYPE_SV_VOTECLEAROPTIONS, followed by the available vote options through NETMSGTYPE_SV_VOTEOPTIONLISTADD.
3. The server sends NETMSGTYPE_SV_TUNEPARAMS, containing the movement and weapon settings used by the game.
4. The server records that the player's start information has been processed, then sends NETMSGTYPE_SV_READYTOENTER.
5. The client responds with NETMSG_ENTERGAME. The server adds the player to the game and starts sending snapshots.

The server must process CL_STARTINFO before accepting ENTERGAME. Ignore repeated CL_STARTINFO after the first one has been processed, even if it has a different vital sequence number.

INFO

The server must keep track of whether it has processed CL_STARTINFO for each client. This is what makes the player ready to enter the game. SV_READYTOENTER and ENTERGAME both have empty payloads; this information is not sent as an extra field.

Changing Maps

When the server sends NETMSG_MAP_CHANGE on an existing connection, repeat the map-loading and game-context steps. Do not accept ENTERGAME until the server has processed the client's new CL_STARTINFO.

The connection stays established. Do not reset the connection ACKs or vital chunk sequence numbers when restarting the map handshake.