Player Management

Handling players -- connecting, spawning, identifying, and occasionally removing them -- is a core part of any multiplayer world. Here's how HELIX gives you control over the player lifecycle.

Player Connections

When a player connects to your world, the server fires an event you can hook into. This is where you set up their character, load their data, or send them a welcome message.

Blueprint

// Override in your GameMode
void AMyGameMode::OnPostLogin(AController* NewPlayer)
{
    Super::OnPostLogin(NewPlayer);

    // Spawn a character for the new player
    FVector SpawnLocation = GetRandomSpawnPoint();
    AMyCharacter* NewCharacter = GetWorld()->SpawnActor<AMyCharacter>(
        CharacterClass, SpawnLocation
    );
    NewPlayer->Possess(NewCharacter);

    UE_LOG(LogTemp, Log, TEXT("Player connected: %s"), *NewPlayer->GetName());
}

Lua

-- Listen for new player connections
RegisterServerEvent('HEvent:PlayerReady', function(player)
    -- Player is ready to play
    print("Player connected: " .. player:GetName())
end)

JavaScript

// JavaScript uses the endpoint/call model for server communication.
// Player lifecycle events are handled through Lua or Blueprint.
// Use Helix.server() and Helix.endpoint() for server-side logic.
Helix.server(async () => {
    // Register endpoints for player-related actions
    Helix.endpoint('player:getData', async (helixId) => {
        const data = await loadPlayerData(helixId);
        return data;
    });
});

Getting Player Info

Every connected player has a unique ID, a display name, and various properties you can query.

Blueprint

// Get player details from a PlayerController
FString PlayerName = PlayerController->GetPlayerName();
FString PlayerID = PlayerController->GetUniqueNetId();
int32 Ping = PlayerController->GetPing();

Lua

-- Access player info
local name = player:GetName()
local ping = player:GetPing()
local is_local = player:IsLocalPlayer()

print(name .. " - Ping: " .. ping .. "ms")

JavaScript

// Access player info via Helix JS
const id = Helix.Player.helixId();
// Use endpoints to request player data from the server
const data = await Helix.call('player:getInfo', id.toString());

Iterating Over Players

Need to loop through everyone online? Maybe for a scoreboard, or to apply an effect to all players:

Blueprint

// Loop through all connected players
for (auto It = GetWorld()->GetPlayerControllerIterator(); It; ++It)
{
    APlayerController* PC = It->Get();
    // Do something with each player
}

Lua

-- Get all connected players
local all_players = HPlayer:GetAll()

for _, p in ipairs(all_players) do
    print(p:GetName() .. " is online")
end

JavaScript

// JavaScript: use an endpoint to get player list from the server
const players = await Helix.call('player:getAll');

Kicking Players

Sometimes you need to remove someone -- whether it's for bad behavior or because the round ended.

Blueprint

// Kick a player with a reason
AGameModeBase* GM = GetWorld()->GetAuthGameMode();
GM->GameSession->KickPlayer(PlayerController, FText::FromString("Kicked by admin"));

Lua

-- Kick a player from the server
player:Kick("Kicked by admin")

JavaScript

// Kick a player from the server
player.Kick("Kicked by admin");

Disconnect Handling

Don't forget to clean up when players leave. Destroy their character, save their data, and free up resources.

Blueprint

void AMyGameMode::Logout(AController* Exiting)
{
    // Save player data, clean up their character
    SavePlayerData(Exiting);
    Super::Logout(Exiting);
}

Lua

RegisterServerEvent('HEvent:PlayerUnloaded', function(player)
    print(player:GetName() .. " disconnected")
    -- Save data, clean up resources
    SavePlayerData(player)
end)

JavaScript

// Player lifecycle events are handled through Lua or Blueprint.
// Use Helix.endpoint() on the server to persist player data
// when called from client-side disconnect handlers.

Always handle disconnects gracefully -- players can drop unexpectedly due to network issues, not only from intentional logouts.