Timers & Delays

Oxygen provides a built-in, thread-safe timer system designed specifically for game logic. Unlike Thread.Sleep or Task.Delay, Oxygen timers are managed. This means if your plugin is reloaded or unloaded, all pending timers are automatically cancelled, preventing errors and memory leaks.

One-Time Timers (`After`)

Use this.After to execute code once after a specified delay. This is perfect for delayed rewards, teleports, or cooldowns.

Signature: Guid After(float seconds, Action callback)

[Command("reward")]
public void RewardCommand(PlayerBase player, string[] args)
{
    player.Reply("Wait 5 seconds for your reward...");

    // Execute logic after 5 seconds
    this.After(5f, () =>
    {
        // Give 100 Fame Points
        // We use the player object passed from the command context
        player.ProcessCommand("SetFamePoints 100");
        
        player.Reply("You received 100 Fame Points!");
        Console.WriteLine($"[Reward] Player {player.Name} got reward.");
    });
}

Repeating Timers (`Every`)

Use this.Every to execute code repeatedly at a fixed interval. Useful for auto-saving, scheduled messages, or server maintenance tasks.

Signature: Guid Every(float seconds, Action callback)

public override void OnLoad()
{
    // Example 1: Auto-Save every 5 minutes (300 seconds)
    this.Every(300f, () =>
    {
        Console.WriteLine("[Oxygen] Performing Auto-Save...");
        
        // Send global save command
    });
    
    // Example 2: Simple Console Log every 30 seconds
    this.Every(30f, () =>
    {
        Console.WriteLine("[Oxygen] Plugin is running...");
    });
}

Cancelling Timers

Both After and Every return a unique Guid. You can save this ID to cancel the timer manually before it executes.

Signature: void CancelTimer(Guid id)

private Guid _trapTimer;

[Command("trap_start")]
public void StartTrap(PlayerBase player, string[] args)
{
    player.Reply("Trap activated! 10 seconds to detonation!");

    _trapTimer = this.After(10f, () => 
    {
        // If not cancelled, this runs:
        player.ProcessCommand(""); // spawn trap zombie or some like kill player
        Console.WriteLine($"Player {player.PlayerName} fell into the trap.");
    });
}

[Command("trap_disarm")]
public void DisarmTrap(PlayerBase player, string[] args)
{
    // Cancel the pending timer
    this.CancelTimer(_trapTimer);
    
    player.Reply("Trap disarmed! You are safe.");
}

Best Practices

Do	Don't
Use `this.After` for game delays.	Never use `Thread.Sleep()`. It freezes the entire server.
Use `CancelTimer` for logic that can be interrupted (like casting a spell or disarming a bomb).	Don't use `async/await Task.Delay` unless you know how to handle cancellation tokens properly.
Keep timer logic simple.	Avoid complex database queries inside fast-repeating timers (e.g., every 1 second).

Note on Reloads: You do not need to manually cancel timers in OnUnload. The Oxygen Core automatically tracks and destroys all timers belonging to your plugin when it is reloaded.

Timers & Delays

One-Time Timers (After)

Repeating Timers (Every)

Cancelling Timers

Best Practices

On this page

One-Time Timers (`After`)

Repeating Timers (`Every`)