Pop Control 1.7.0

PopControl

PopControl.cs is an Oxide/uMod Covalence plugin for Rust that dynamically adjusts server population limits and provides chat/console population tools.

Features

• Elastic max player scaling based on current online population.
• Configurable minimum/maximum bounds and optional never-drop-below-online behavior.
• Debounced updates when players connect/disconnect.
• Private /pop command for instant population stats.
• Public !pop command with global cooldown.
• Optional private cooldown feedback for !pop spam attempts.
• Optional periodic broadcast of population stats.
• Chat icon/avatar support via configurable SteamID64 and mode selection.
• Admin console helpers for status, apply, bot icon, and test messages.

Configuration

The repository includes config/PopControl.json with these defaults (also matching what the plugin generates on first load):

{
  "MaxPlayersOffset": 1,
  "CooldownPeriodSeconds": 10.0,
  "MaximumPopulation": 200,
  "MinimumPopulation": 100,
  "ConsoleMessagesEnabled": true,
  "NeverBelowOnline": true,
  "EnableChatCommands": true,
  "EnablePeriodicBroadcasts": false,
  "BroadcastIntervalSeconds": 300.0,
  "PopCommandCooldownSeconds": 10.0,
  "ShowPopCooldownFeedback": true,
  "ColorLabel": "#ff2E36",
  "ColorNumber": "#FFFFFF",
  "BotName": "Population Bot",
  "BotSteamId": 76561199680521298,
  "UseMode2ForIcon": true
}

Key Settings

• MaxPlayersOffset: Target max players = online + offset (before bounds).
• MinimumPopulation / MaximumPopulation: Clamp dynamic max player result.
• NeverBelowOnline: Ensures max player count never falls below active online count.
• CooldownPeriodSeconds: Debounce time after join/leave before recalculating.
• EnablePeriodicBroadcasts: Enables timed global population messages.
• BroadcastIntervalSeconds: Seconds between periodic broadcast messages.
• PopCommandCooldownSeconds: Global cooldown for !pop command.
• ShowPopCooldownFeedback: When enabled, tells the triggering player how many seconds remain if !pop is still on cooldown.
• BotSteamId: Steam profile used for chat icon/avatar (0 disables forced icon).

Commands

Chat Commands

• /pop
  • Sends population stats privately to the requester.
• !pop
  • Broadcasts population stats to all online players.
  • Subject to global cooldown (PopCommandCooldownSeconds).
  • If ShowPopCooldownFeedback is enabled, the triggering player receives a short private cooldown-remaining message when blocked.

Console Commands (Server / Owner)

• ep.apply
  • Immediately recalculates and applies max player target.
• ep.status
  • Prints current population and configuration status.
• ep.botid <steamid64|off>
  • Sets avatar SteamID64 or disables forced icon.
• ep.iconmode <2|name>
  • Chooses chat icon mode/signature.
• ep.testmsg
  • Sends a test population message using current icon settings.

How Scaling Works

1. Read current online player count.
2. Compute target = online + MaxPlayersOffset.
3. Clamp to MinimumPopulation and MaximumPopulation.
4. If NeverBelowOnline is enabled, force target >= online.
5. Apply ConVar.Server.maxplayers = target if changed.

Installation

1. Copy plugins/PopControl.cs to your Rust server plugins folder:
2. oxide/plugins/PopControl.cs
3. Copy config/PopControl.json to your server config folder:
4. oxide/config/PopControl.json
5. Reload plugin:
6. oxide.reload PopControl

Notes

• The plugin uses Rust/Oxide runtime objects (BasePlayer, ConVar.Server, ServerMgr, ConsoleSystem).
• If BotSteamId is invalid, it is reset to a default valid-looking SteamID64 during config load.
• Color output in chat uses RichText color tags.