Announcements and updates
How Vantage tells you about a new version and about news from the maintainer, how to choose what you hear, and what it asks the network for.
On this page
Vantage has two ways of telling you something you did not ask about: the update checker, which looks for a newer
build of the mod, and announcements, which carry news from the maintainer. This page is for anyone who wants to
know where those messages come from, how to aim them at the builds you want, and how to make them quieter. It
covers both features, every option, the /vt news screen, and exactly what each asks the network for, as of
2.0.1.
Two different things
| Update checker | Announcements | |
|---|---|---|
| Tells you | that a newer Vantage release exists on your channel | releases, heads-ups, known problems and maintenance notices |
| Reads | GitLab's list of the mod's releases | one file in the mod's repository, announcements.json |
| How often | once per game session | shortly after start, when you join a world, and every 30 minutes |
| Shows | one toast and one chat line | a card at the top of the screen (or a toast), and a chat line |
| Feature | Update checker | Announcements |
Both are on by default, both live in the menu under General, then API and updates, and both are silent when the network is not there.
A new release can reach you both ways: the update checker's toast and, when the maintainer posts the release to the feed, a release card. To hear about releases only once, switch one of them off, either the update checker or the Announcements option Releases.
The update checker
About eight seconds after the game starts, the update checker asks GitLab for the mod's latest releases, once per session. If one is newer than the build you run and on a channel you follow, you get one toast, "Vantage update available", saying which version is out and which you are on, and a chat line with a link to that release's page. That is all: it never asks again in the same session, and it never downloads anything.
Channels
Every Vantage version belongs to a release channel, read from its version number.
| Channel | Version looks like | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Stable | 2.0.0 | everyone |
| Beta | 1.1.0-beta.5 | players who want new things early and accept that they may break |
| Alpha | 1.0.11-alpha.2 | testers |
The Channel option decides which releases you are told about. A channel also sees everything more stable than itself: on Beta you hear about beta and stable releases, on Alpha about all three, on Stable about stable ones only. Until you choose, the channel is the one your own build came from, so a stable build follows Stable.
Only compatible builds
On by default. Each release carries one jar per Minecraft version, and with this on the checker ignores a release that has no jar for the Minecraft version you are running. Turn it off to be told about builds for other versions too.
Announce in chat
On by default. Adds the chat line with a clickable link to the release, next to the toast, so the link outlives the toast.
Checking now
The Check now option has a Check button that runs the check at once, even if this session already did, and always answers in chat:
| Answer | Means |
|---|---|
| "Vantage version is up to date on the channel channel." | nothing newer on your channel |
| "Update check: no channel release for Minecraft version yet." | nothing on your channel has a jar for your Minecraft |
| the update toast and chat line | something newer is out |
| "Update check failed: reason" | GitLab could not be reached |
The release list is kept for up to 30 minutes, so a release published moments ago can take that long to appear, even with Check now.
Getting the update
The link goes to the release's page on GitLab, which carries two jars, one for each Minecraft version, and a
checksum beside each. Replace the old jar in your mods folder with the new one. Your settings live in
config/vantage, not in the jar, so they carry over. Install says which jar is yours.
Announcements
Where they come from
Announcements are one file, announcements.json, in the mod's public repository on GitLab. Vantage reads it
straight from the repository's main branch. There is no server of Vantage's involved and nothing to sign in to:
publishing an announcement is a commit to the repository, which also keeps a public history of everything ever
announced.
Each entry is one of four kinds:
| Kind | Used for | Toast colour |
|---|---|---|
| release | a new version | green |
| news | anything else worth knowing | your accent |
| warning | a feature misbehaving, a Hypixel change that affects Vantage | amber |
| maintenance | a planned interruption | amber |
Who gets what
An entry can be aimed. It may name a release channel (an entry for beta reaches beta and alpha followers, using the update checker's Channel), a range of Vantage versions, a list of Minecraft versions, a date it starts and a date it expires. Whatever an entry does not set is open to everyone. Vantage keeps only the entries that apply to your build.
A release entry is news for everyone. If you are behind it, the card is an update prompt and says "Update
available · you are on version". If you already run it, the same card arrives as the notes for your build and
says "This is the build you are running". An entry dated more than 30 days ago is never dealt as a card, so a
fresh install is not greeted by a stack of history; it is still on the /vt news screen.
The card
New announcements wait in an inbox and are dealt one at a time, only while a world is on screen. The card drops in from the top of the screen and shows:
- a line naming the kind and the date, in the colour of its kind;
- the title, at reading size;
- for a release, whether it is an update for you or the notes for your build;
- the text, up to six lines; a longer one says "Full text: /vt news";
- a bar showing how long the card has left.
The card's clock runs only while it is drawn. An announcement that arrives on the title screen, or while you are
between lobbies, waits with its clock at zero and starts when a world is on screen; a card interrupted by a world
change carries on where it was. F1 hides it along with the rest of the HUD. An entry counts as seen only once
its card has played out, and the next card waits until the last one has gone, so two never land on top of each
other.
A soft chime plays as the card arrives, pitched by its kind. The chime goes through your Notifications settings, so Play sounds, Alert volume and do not disturb all apply to it. Do not disturb quiets the chime; the card still arrives.
To get a card off the screen early, type /vt news dismiss. It skips to the fade, and the entry still counts as
seen.
Card or toast
The Style option chooses between the card and an ordinary toast. A toast carries the title and the first line of the text, stays for twelve seconds, counts as seen at once, and follows every toast setting on the Notifications page, including the severity switches and do not disturb.
Also in chat
On by default. Each announcement also leaves a chat line in its kind's colour, with the text, an [open] link
when it has one, and a [/vt news] link, so the announcement and its link outlive the card.
Every option
| Option | Default | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Releases | on | announce releases: an update prompt when you are behind, the notes for your build when you are on it | |
| Notes for the build you run | on | show a release even when you already run it. Off means only updates you do not have yet. Greyed out while Releases is off. | |
| News and warnings | on | everything that is not a release | |
| Style | Card | Card, Toast | see above |
| Card stays for | 14 s | 5 to 40 s | how long a card holds before it fades |
| Chime | on | the soft chime as a card arrives | |
| Chime volume | 60 % | 10 to 100 %, steps of 5 | the chime's own volume, under Alert volume |
| Also in chat | on | the chat line with its links | |
| Re-check every | 30 min | 10 to 180 min, steps of 5 | how often a running game looks for new announcements |
And four buttons under Actions: Open opens /vt news; Check fetches the file at once and says in chat
how many new announcements there are; Show repeats the most recent announcement that applies to you, even if
you have seen it; Preview shows a sample card the way a real one would arrive. Close the menu to watch it.
The record: /vt news
/vt news, or /vt announcements, opens every announcement that applies to your build, newest first. The top
line says how many are unread, or "You are up to date". Unread entries carry a filled dot and the word NEW. Each
entry has an Open link button when it has a link, which opens it in your browser, and Show as card, which
plays it again. Check now fetches the file and reopens the screen with whatever is new.
Opening the screen counts as reading it: everything listed is marked as seen, so no card for it arrives later.
How often each looks
| When | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Update checker | about 8 s after the game starts, once per session | the release list is reused for up to 30 minutes |
| Announcements | about 12 s after the game starts | |
| when you join a world | unless a check ran in the last five minutes | |
| every Re-check every minutes, 30 by default | ||
| Check now or Check | always asks the network |
A check that is not one you asked for reuses a copy of the feed fetched in the last ten minutes. When the network is not there, both checks stay silent apart from one line in the game's log, and Vantage carries on with the last copy it saw. When you press a button, you always get an answer in chat.
What it asks the network for
Two requests, both to GitLab, both for public files:
https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/85904176/releases?per_page=30
https://gitlab.com/Ekoss/vantage/-/raw/main/announcements.jsonNeither sends anything about you, your account or your game beyond what every Vantage request carries: a
User-Agent line naming the Vantage and Minecraft versions. Which announcements you have seen is kept on your
computer, in config/vantage/announcements-seen.json, and never sent anywhere. Data and privacy
lists every host the mod talks to.
Turning them off
Switch the Update checker or Announcements feature off in the menu, or from chat:
/vt toggle update_checker
/vt toggle announcementsWith the update checker off, Vantage never asks GitLab for releases on its own. With Announcements off, it never
fetches the feed on its own either; /vt news still opens, and its Check now button still fetches the file
when you press it. You can always look at the
releases page or this site's changelog yourself.
Related
- Notifications: the toast, sound and do not disturb settings both features go through.
- Install: which jar to take, and where it goes.
- Data and privacy: every host the mod contacts.
- Releasing: how a release and its announcement are made, for developers.