Newsticker
The News Ticker object provides a smooth, scrolling text marquee for your Custom Launcher interface. It is the perfect tool for displaying announcements, live server statuses, patch notes, or community highlights without taking up valuable vertical screen space.
Because the ticker supports dynamic text replacement and event tracking, it can continuously cycle through real-time information, keeping your players informed the moment they open your Custom Game Launcher.
Typical Uses
- ❖ Broadcasting live server online/offline status
- ❖ Highlighting a new game update or season pass
- ❖ Displaying community event winners
- ❖ Showing rotating tips and tricks for new players
Default Settings
When placed in your editor, the News Ticker starts with a clean, highly readable layout.
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | Width: 400, Height: 30 |
| Scroll Speed | 2 (Pixels per frame) |
| Colors | Background: #222222, Text: #E0E0E0 |
| Border Styling | Color: #555555, Width: 1px, Radius: 4px |
| Typography | Font: Poppins, Size: 16px |
Properties
You can fine-tune the look and behavior of the ticker through the properties panel.
Content
- Ticker Text: The literal string of text that will scroll across the screen.
- Scroll Speed: Determines how many pixels the text shifts per frame. Higher numbers mean faster movement.
Appearance and Typography
- Colors and Background Alpha: Set the text color and adjust the transparency of the background to allow underlying launcher art to show through.
- Border Controls: Define the thickness, color, and corner roundness of the ticker boundary.
- Font Controls: Select the font family, font size, weight, and styling (italic, underline).
News Ticker Events
The News Ticker includes a highly specialized event allowing you to build complex display logic.
onLoopComplete
This event fires the exact moment the ticker text finishes one full scroll off the left side of the screen, just before it prepares to restart from the right. It is exceptionally useful for swapping out headlines smoothly without interrupting the user's reading experience.
All Possible Actions for the News Ticker
While standard visual manipulation applies to the ticker, the most powerful way to interact with it is through variable assignment.
| Action | How it works |
|---|---|
| Set Object Property from Variable | Available to Developer Tier. You can update the 'text' property of the News Ticker dynamically using string data stored in a global variable. |
Like all interface items, the ticker responds to Show Objects, Hide Objects, Move Object, and Resize Object.
Building Logic with the News Ticker
Combining the ticker with network requests and loop events allows you to build a living information feed.
Example 1: Live Server Message Integration
Fetch the message of the day from a remote endpoint and display it.
- Add a Query String object to your page targeting your text endpoint (e.g.,
https://yoursite.com/motd.txt). - Under the Query String's onQueryFinished event, use Push to Variable to grab the fetched text.
- Immediately after, use the Set Object Property from Variable action. Select your News Ticker, target the
textproperty, and apply your newly fetched variable.
Example 2: Cycling Multiple Headlines
Use the loop system to alternate between two different headlines seamlessly.
- Place a News Ticker on your page.
- Set up a global variable tracking the "current headline" index.
- On the ticker's onLoopComplete event, use a Compare a Variable condition to check the index.
- If 1, change the ticker text to Headline A, and set the index to 2. If 2, change the text to Headline B, and set the index back to 1. The text will update invisibly while off-screen!
Custom CSS Example
Using the Developer Edition, you can apply Custom CSS to completely revamp the ticker. In this example, we apply an aggressive, military/warning aesthetic utilizing an external Google font and solid striped borders.
Because the engine relies on the container's structural geometry to calculate the scroll animation timing, NEVER use !important on structural properties like width, height, or position in your Custom CSS.
This preview uses imported typography and targeted top/bottom borders to create a warning banner effect. Hovering the container pauses the text and adds an electric yellow glow.
/* Developer Edition Custom CSS Example for News Ticker */
/* Imports must remain at the very top of the code box */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Black+Ops+One&display=swap');
/* Style the main container wrapper */
box-sizing: border-box !important;
background: #111 !important;
border-left: none !important;
border-right: none !important;
/* Striped Borders using gradients or solids */
border-top: 4px solid #facc15 !important;
border-bottom: 4px solid #facc15 !important;
/* Add an internal glow on hover */
:hover {
background: #000 !important;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 15px rgba(250,204,21,0.2) !important;
}
/* Target the internal scrolling text span specifically */
.news-ticker-text {
font-family: 'Black Ops One', cursive !important;
color: #facc15 !important;
letter-spacing: 1px !important;
}
/* Optional: Make the text glow when the user hovers the ticker */
:hover .news-ticker-text {
text-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(250,204,21,0.6) !important;
}
Summary
The News Ticker object is a lightweight yet highly effective way to keep your community engaged. By coupling it with remote web queries and loop events, you can transform a static screen into a centralized hub of information inside your Custom Game Launcher.