Game Updates

Game Updates let you offer alternative builds or branches of a game that users can switch between on their service — for example Vanilla / Paper / Spigot for Minecraft, or different Steam betas. Installing an update replaces the game files, and only one update can be installed per service at a time.

Updates vs. Mods

An update swaps the whole game build (one at a time). Mods are optional add-ons that can be installed alongside each other. Use Updates for "which build of the game", and Mods for "extra content on top of the build".

Creating an update

Updates are managed per game from the game blueprint's Updates page. Each update has:

• Name, group, icon, comments, and display order — how it appears to users.
• Source — where the files come from (see below).
• Extract path — where the files are placed inside the service, relative to the service root. Leave empty for the service root.
• Reinstallable — whether a user can re-install the update they already have.
• Default install — only one update per game can be the default.
• Roles — which roles can see and install this update.
• Scripts — optional scripts that run during install (see Scripting).

Source: where the update files come from

The Source field decides what happens on install:

Source	What happens
Empty (or none)	No files are placed — only the update's scripts run.
A URL (http://… / https://…)	TCAdmin downloads the file from that URL.
A file name	TCAdmin pulls the file from your update files folder (see below).

If a download URL doesn't end in a real file name (for example an API link), set Save as filename so TCAdmin knows what to call the downloaded file and whether it should be extracted.

When the file is an archive (.zip, .tar.gz, etc.) it is extracted into the extract path. Anything else (a single .jar, .exe, etc.) is copied as-is.

Where to place update files

When the Source is a file name (not a URL), TCAdmin looks for the file in a folder named TCA.Updates inside the game's setup folder, on whatever storage your servers use for game files.

The path is always relative to your game-files storage, so it works the same whether your servers keep game files on the local disk or on a remote file provider:

• Local game files — place the file on the server (or master) under: …/GameFiles/<game setup folder>/TCA.Updates/<your file>
• FTP, SFTP, S3, or a File Server — upload the file to the same relative location on that provider: <game setup folder>/TCA.Updates/<your file>

The <game setup folder> is the game's auto-setup folder name. For example, for an update with Source paper-1.21.jar, you'd place paper-1.21.jar in …/<game setup folder>/TCA.Updates/, and TCAdmin copies it onto the service when the update is installed.

tip

Sub-folders work too — a Source of builds/paper-1.21.jar looks for TCA.Updates/builds/paper-1.21.jar.

Who can install updates

Two things must be true for a user to install an update:

1. The user's role has the Updates feature enabled for the service.
2. The specific update is assigned to one of the user's roles.

An update with no roles assigned is admin-only. This lets you offer (for example) a beta build to beta-tester roles while everyone else only sees the stable builds.

Scripting

You can attach scripts to an update that run before and after the files are installed — useful for stopping a server cleanly, migrating config, or running post-install setup.

Events

Event	Fires
BeforeUpdateInstall	Before the update files are placed.
AfterUpdateInstall	After the update files are placed and the service is marked as having that update.

Attaching scripts is a two-step process

Adding BeforeUpdateInstall / AfterUpdateInstall to a script's events only makes it eligible. The script doesn't run until you also attach it to a specific update in the update editor's Update scripts list. A script that isn't attached to an update never runs for that update.

Available variables

Update scripts run with the standard service objects — ThisService, ThisServer, ThisGame, ScriptConsole, and the managers (ServiceManager, GameServiceManager, …). See Script Objects for the full list.

Example: announce after an update installs

This script runs on AfterUpdateInstall and writes a message. Attach it to the update from the Update scripts list.

//refAssemblies: TCAdmin.SDK.dll, TCAdmin.GameHosting.SDK.dll, TCAdmin.Scripting.dll, TCAdmin.Monitor.dll
var Globals = new TCAdmin.Scripting.Engines.Addons.CSharpGameGlobals(); // DO NOT MODIFY THIS LINE

ScriptConsole.WriteLine($"Update finished installing on '{ThisService.Name}'.");

Example: install an update from a script

You can also trigger an install from any script using GameServiceManager:

//refAssemblies: TCAdmin.SDK.dll, TCAdmin.GameHosting.SDK.dll, TCAdmin.Scripting.dll, TCAdmin.Monitor.dll
var Globals = new TCAdmin.Scripting.Engines.Addons.CSharpGameGlobals(); // DO NOT MODIFY THIS LINE

// Queue the install of update #42 on the current service
await GameServiceManager.InstallUpdate(ThisService.ServiceId, updateId: 42);
ScriptConsole.WriteLine("Update install queued.");