Classes Library

This page details the class system functions.

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Overview

The classes library loads Lua definitions that describe player classes. Classes act like temporary jobs within a faction. The library stores available classes, applies default values, and provides lookup functions by index or text search.

See Class Fields for configurable CLASS properties and Class Hooks for customization callbacks.

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lia.class.register

Purpose

Registers a new class or updates an existing one with matching uniqueID. Applies default values and validates that the provided faction exists.

Parameters

• uniqueID (string): Unique identifier for the class.
• data (table): Properties such as name, desc, faction, limit, etc.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• table | nil: The registered class table, or nil if the faction is invalid.

Edge Cases

• Sets defaults of name to L("unknown"), desc to L("noDesc"), limit to 0, and OnCanBe to a function returning true when those fields are missing.
• Logs an error and returns nil when faction is missing or not a valid team.

Example Usage

-- Register a class for the Combine faction
local class = lia.class.register("overwatch", {
    name = "Overwatch Soldier",
    desc = "Transhuman soldier of the Combine.",
    faction = FACTION_COMBINE,
    limit = 4,
    isWhitelisted = true
})

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lia.class.loadFromDir

Purpose

Loads every .lua file within the supplied directory. Each file should define a CLASS table inserted into lia.class.list with an automatic index. Skips files whose uniqueID already exists and requires each class to have a valid faction. Defaults name to L("unknown"), desc to L("noDesc"), limit to 0, and OnCanBe to a function returning true. Files prefixed with sh_ have the prefix stripped when determining uniqueID.

Parameters

• directory (string): Folder path containing class Lua files, typically "schema/classes" in a schema.

Edge Cases

• After inclusion, the temporary global CLASS is cleared to avoid leaking state.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• nil: This function does not return a value.

Example Usage

-- Load all classes for the schema
lia.class.loadFromDir("schema/classes")

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lia.class.canBe

Purpose

Validates faction membership, current class, and population limits before calling the CanPlayerJoinClass gamemode hook and the class’s OnCanBe method. This function does not automatically enforce class whitelists.

Parameters

• client (Player): Player attempting to join.

• class (number): Class index to join.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• boolean | nil, string?: false and a localized reason when basic checks fail. If either the hook or OnCanBe returns false, this function simply returns false. On success, returns the class’s isDefault flag (true for default classes, otherwise nil).

Example Usage

local canJoin, reason = lia.class.canBe(client, classID)
if not canJoin then
    print(reason)
end

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lia.class.get

Purpose

Retrieves the class table associated with the given index.

Parameters

• index (number): Class index to look up.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• table | nil: Class table if found, or nil for an invalid index.

Example Usage

-- Retrieve the class table for the engineer class
local classData = lia.class.get(CLASS_ENGINEER)

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lia.class.getPlayers

Purpose

Returns an array of players whose characters belong to the given class.

Parameters

• class (number): Class index to check.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• table: List of player objects. Returns an empty table when no players are in the class.

Example Usage

for _, ply in ipairs(lia.class.getPlayers(classID)) do
    print(ply:Nick())
end

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lia.class.getPlayerCount

Purpose

Counts the number of players currently in the specified class.

Parameters

• class (number): Class index to check.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• number: Player count (returns 0 if none).

Example Usage

local count = lia.class.getPlayerCount(classID)
print("Players in class:", count)

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lia.class.retrieveClass

Purpose

Finds a class whose uniqueID or name matches the given text (case-insensitive, partial matches allowed).

Parameters

• class (string): Name or uniqueID to look up.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• number | nil: Matching class index or nil if not found.

Example Usage

local id = lia.class.retrieveClass("police")
print("Class index:", id)

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lia.class.hasWhitelist

Purpose

Checks if the class requires a whitelist. Default classes and invalid class indices always return false.

Parameters

• class (number): Class index to check.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• boolean: true if the class is whitelisted; otherwise false.

Example Usage

-- Check whether the class is whitelisted
if lia.class.hasWhitelist(classID) then
    print("Whitelist required")
end

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lia.class.retrieveJoinable

Purpose

Returns all classes the specified client is eligible to join by calling lia.class.canBe on each registered class.

Parameters

• client (Player?): Player to check. Defaults to LocalPlayer() when called on the client. If invalid or omitted on the server, an empty table is returned.

Realm

Shared

Returns

• table: List of class tables the client can join. Returns an empty table if the client is invalid.

Example Usage

for _, class in ipairs(lia.class.retrieveJoinable(client)) do
    print("Can join:", class.name)
end

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