amxx-modding-kit-api-assets

name	amxx-modding-kit-api-assets
description	Guide for Assets API usage managing models, sounds, and resources from JSON configuration files.

Assets API

Configuration-driven asset management, replacing hardcoded paths with external JSON library files.

For complete API documentation, see README.md.

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Key Principles

1. Never hardcode paths - Always use Asset_Precache from JSON config
2. Models need path buffers - Pass global buffer to Asset_Precache for model paths
3. Sounds usually don't need buffers - Use Asset_EmitSound directly
4. Sound arrays for Asset_EmitSound - Just Asset_Precache, no need to store paths
5. Sound arrays for manual emit_sound - Use Asset_PrecacheList to get paths
6. Config values without precaching - Use Asset_GetFloat, Asset_GetInteger, etc.

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Migration from Hardcoded Paths

Feature	Old Implementation	New Implementation
Precaching	precache_model, precache_sound	Asset_Precache(Library, AssetName, ...)
Emitting Sounds	emit_sound	Asset_EmitSound(Entity, Channel, Library, AssetName, ...)
Hardcoded Paths	"models/w_ak47.mdl"	Asset_Precache fills a global buffer

Before (Hardcoded)

new const g_szModel[] = "models/w_myweapon.mdl";

public plugin_precache() {
  precache_model(g_szModel);
  precache_sound("weapons/myweapon_shoot.wav");
}

// Later in code
emit_sound(pPlayer, CHAN_WEAPON, "weapons/myweapon_shoot.wav", VOL_NORM, ATTN_NORM, 0, PITCH_NORM);

After (Configuration-driven)

#define ASSET_LIBRARY "myplugin"
#define ASSET_WEAPON_MODEL "weapon.model"
#define ASSET_SHOOT_SOUND "weapon.shoot"

new g_szModel[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];

public plugin_precache() {
  // For models, pass a buffer to retrieve the actual path from config
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_WEAPON_MODEL, g_szModel, charsmax(g_szModel));
  
  // For sounds, you usually don't need the path reference
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_SHOOT_SOUND);
}

// Later in code - use Asset_EmitSound
Asset_EmitSound(pPlayer, CHAN_WEAPON, ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_SHOOT_SOUND, .flVolume = VOL_NORM, .flAttenuation = ATTN_NORM);

---

Asset Library Structure (JSON)

Place JSON files in addons/amxmodx/configs/assets/:

{
  "player.model": "models/player.mdl",
  "player.sounds.hit": [
    "player/hit1.wav",
    "player/hit2.wav",
    "player/hit3.wav"
  ],
  "weapon.damage": 30.0,
  "weapon.rate": 0.125,
  "effects.glow.color": [255.0, 128.0, 0.0]
}

Asset Value Types

Type	JSON Example	Pawn Getter
Model	"models/item.mdl"	Asset_Precache, Asset_GetModelIndex
Sound	"sound.wav" or array	Asset_Precache, Asset_EmitSound
Float	30.0	Asset_GetFloat
Integer	10	Asset_GetInteger
Bool	true	Asset_GetBool
String	"text"	Asset_GetString
Vector	[1.0, 2.0, 3.0]	Asset_GetVector

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Naming Convention

For standalone plugins, use #define for frequently used paths:

#define ASSET_LIBRARY "myplugin"
#define ASSET_PLAYER_MODEL "player.model"
#define ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS "player.sounds.hit"
#define ASSET_WEAPON_DAMAGE "weapon.damage"

For rarely used paths, pass string literals directly:

Asset_Precache("myplugin", "player.model", g_szPlayerModel, charsmax(g_szPlayerModel));

---

Loading and Precaching

Single Asset with Path Buffer

new g_szPlayerModel[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];

public plugin_precache() {
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_PLAYER_MODEL, g_szPlayerModel, charsmax(g_szPlayerModel));
}

Sound Array (with Asset_EmitSound)

When using Asset_EmitSound, you don't need to store paths - just precache:

public plugin_precache() {
  // Just precache - Asset_EmitSound handles path lookup internally
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS);
}

// Later - plays random sound from the list
Asset_EmitSound(pEntity, CHAN_BODY, ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS);

Sound Array (with manual emit_sound)

Only use Asset_PrecacheList when you need the actual paths for manual emit_sound:

new g_rgszHitSounds[4][MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];
new g_iHitSoundsNum = 0;

public plugin_precache() {
  // Store paths only if you need them for manual emit_sound
  g_iHitSoundsNum = Asset_PrecacheList(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS, 
    g_rgszHitSounds, sizeof(g_rgszHitSounds), charsmax(g_rgszHitSounds[]));
}

// Later - manual sound emission
emit_sound(pEntity, CHAN_BODY, g_rgszHitSounds[random(g_iHitSoundsNum)], VOL_NORM, ATTN_NORM, 0, PITCH_NORM);

Force Library Load

public plugin_precache() {
  // Load library without precaching specific assets
  // Useful for mod core plugins to ensure library is available
  Asset_Library_Load(ASSET_LIBRARY);
}

---

Using Assets

Emit Sound from Asset

// Random from list
Asset_EmitSound(pEntity, CHAN_BODY, ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS);

// Specific sound from list (index 0)
Asset_EmitSound(pEntity, CHAN_BODY, ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_HIT_SOUNDS, 0);

Get Model Index with Static Caching

SomeFunction() {
  static iModelIndex = 0;
  if (!iModelIndex) {
    iModelIndex = Asset_GetModelIndex(ASSET_LIBRARY, ASSET_ENTITY_MODEL);
  }
  // Use iModelIndex...
}

Get Configuration Values

new Float:flDamage = Asset_GetFloat(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapon.damage");
new iCount = Asset_GetInteger(ASSET_LIBRARY, "max.count");
new Float:vecColor[3]; Asset_GetVector(ASSET_LIBRARY, "glow.color", vecColor);

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Nested Asset Paths

JSON supports nested objects with dot notation access:

{
  "weapons": {
    "crowbar": {
      "model": "models/v_crowbar.mdl",
      "damage": 25.0
    }
  }
}

Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapons.crowbar.model");
new Float:flDamage = Asset_GetFloat(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapons.crowbar.damage");

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Integration with Custom Entities/Weapons

Entity Setup

new g_szModel[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];

public plugin_precache() {
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, "entity.model", g_szModel, charsmax(g_szModel));
  
  CE_RegisterClass(ENTITY_NAME);
  CE_ImplementClassMethod(ENTITY_NAME, CE_Method_Create, "@Entity_Create");
}

@Entity_Create(const this) {
  CE_CallBaseMethod();
  CE_SetMemberString(this, CE_Member_szModel, g_szModel);
}

Weapon Setup

new g_szWeaponModelV[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];
new g_szWeaponModelP[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];
new g_szWeaponModelW[MAX_RESOURCE_PATH_LENGTH];

public plugin_precache() {
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapon.model.v", g_szWeaponModelV, charsmax(g_szWeaponModelV));
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapon.model.p", g_szWeaponModelP, charsmax(g_szWeaponModelP));
  Asset_Precache(ASSET_LIBRARY, "weapon.model.w", g_szWeaponModelW, charsmax(g_szWeaponModelW));
  
  CW_RegisterClass(WEAPON_NAME);
  // ...
}

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Checklist

• Create JSON library file in configs/assets/
• Use #define for frequently used asset paths
• Use Asset_PrecacheList for sound arrays
• Store paths in global variables for models
• Get model indices with static caching when needed
• Use Asset_EmitSound instead of emit_sound for config-driven sounds