Gamemodes
Audience: Content creators, server operators · Prereqs: Moderation
Canonical source:
src/shell/gametypes.js
What you can configure about gamemodes without writing any code - creating a genuinely new gamemode is a coding task, covered in Plugin Development instead.
Only two gamemodes are actually built into the base game
gametypes.js itself only defines FFA and Teams. Every other mode you'll see in a normal LegacyShell instance's mode dropdown (Timed variants, Scale Shift, Lifesteal, Apocalypse, Parkour, etc.) is added by a plugin hooking game:GameTypesInit - typically ones already bundled in plugins_default/ on a standard install, not something baked into core. If you're trying to find where a specific mode "lives" in the codebase and it's not FFA or Teams, it's in a plugin, not gametypes.js.
mapPool - why some maps don't show up for some modes
Every gamemode declares a mapPool name ("FFA", "Teams", or a custom one a plugin defines). A map is only offered for a gamemode if the map's own modes field (see Maps) marks it valid for that pool - this is why adding a new map sometimes means also checking its modes object includes every gamemode you want it playable in, not just exporting it from the editor and assuming it'll show up everywhere.
Per-room settings (gameOptions)
The actual player/room-facing configurability - team toggles, item spawn rates, gravity/speed/damage modifiers per team, timed-round settings, weather - is the gameOptions object, adjustable per-room via slash commands rather than server-wide config. See Moderation and the generated slash command reference for the full change/room/rounds/weather command list - these are the same commands a private-room owner uses to customize their own game (see Users and Ranks for why private rooms get more command access than public ones).
Creating an actual new gamemode
This requires hooking game:GameTypesInit and is a coding task, not a config one - see Events (concept) and the Plugin Development section generally. A "New Gamemode" recipe is planned but not yet written - see Recipes for what's currently available.
Next: Seasonal Events.
This page was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy. If something looks wrong, please open a PR or flag it.