sbox-cookbook

s&box Cookbook — Master Router

A library of independently authored recipes and language-neutral pseudocode informed by research into 51 current public-source s&box packages plus cited modern engine repositories. The citations support technical facts and comparison; they are not permission to reuse upstream code. No upstream source code is bundled. See references/SOURCE-PROVENANCE.md for the research boundary, references/SOURCE-REGISTRY.json for machine-readable source and license status, and references/CORPUS-INDEX.md for the pattern index.

This file is an index, not the answer. Find your system or genre below, then open that reference so you load only what you need.

The four skills, and when each fires

• sbox-cookbook (this) — recipes: "how do I build a tycoon / an inventory / a save system?" → routes to a grounded how-to.
• sbox-api — the brain: how to write correct s&box C# (the Unity→s&box table, the Ten Rules, per-area API references). Open it for exact API surface.
• sbox-build-feature — hands + eyes: the screenshot-driven bridge workflow + runtime gotchas. Open it to build it, run it, and SEE it.
• sbox-scaffold-game — turns one ask into a playable starter scene.

Authority of truth: the recipes teach the pattern; the live editor reflection (describe_type / search_types / get_method_signature) is the authoritative signature check for your installed SDK. If a recipe disagrees with live reflection, reflection wins.

---

🎮 Building a whole game? → Genre recipes

Each references/genres/<x>.md gives the system stack to compose, a build order, and how the real games do it (with code refs).

You're building…	Open	Research citations
Tycoon / idle / incremental (chop, mine, dig)	references/genres/tycoon-idle.md	chop_the_forest, s_miner, digging_simulator
Shopkeeper / management (kiosk, store, restaurant)	references/genres/shopkeeper.md	doner_kiosk, shop_manager, everything_must_go
Document / inspection sim (Papers-Please-like)	references/genres/document-sim.md	terryspapers
Roleplay (jobs, doors, money, factions)	references/genres/roleplay.md	darkrpog
Sandbox / voxel (spawn, build, tools)	references/genres/sandbox-voxel.md	sandboxwars, ss1
Social hub / lobby game	references/genres/social-hub.md	elevator
Platformer / obstacle course (your DeathMaze)	references/genres/platformer-obstacle.md	jumper, terrys_crash_course, xtrem_road
Deathmatch / arena combat	references/genres/deathmatch-arena.md	sdoomresurrection, versus
Card / draft battler	references/genres/card-battler.md	battledraft
Survival / horror	references/genres/survival-horror.md	natural_disaster_survival, backrooms, sdiver
Gacha / dungeon crawler	references/genres/gacha-crawler.md	gacha_crawler, multis_cases
Puzzle	references/genres/puzzle.md	15_puzzle_master
Vehicles	references/genres/vehicles.md	vehicle_tool_example
Party / microgames	references/genres/party-microgame.md	terry_games
Social deduction (hidden roles, vote/eject)	references/genres/social-deduction.md	suspectra, murder
Survivor / bullet-heaven roguelite	references/genres/survivor-roguelite.md	ss2
Co-op kitchen / assembly-line (Overcooked)	references/genres/coop-kitchen.md	wjse
Board game / turn-based (chess, minesweeper)	references/genres/board-game.md	chess_otb, sweeper_otso
Casino / gambling hub (case-opening)	references/genres/casino-gambling.md	s_sino, multis_cases
Physics sports (golf, climbing, skater)	references/genres/physics-sports.md	minigolf, nice_putt_idiot, ragroll

🧩 Need one system? → System how-tos

Each references/systems/<x>.md = what it is + the canonical modern approach + variations across games + gotchas + which games to read.

System	Open
Inventory / backpack / hotbar	references/systems/inventory.md
Economy / currency (host-authoritative, request→apply→confirm)	references/systems/economy-currency.md
Shop / vendor / trading	references/systems/shop-vendor.md
Save / persistence (signed, versioned, FileSystem.Data)	references/systems/save-persistence.md
Progression / upgrades / prestige (data-driven balance tables)	references/systems/progression-upgrades.md
Gacha / loot / cases (weighted tables, recharge)	references/systems/gacha-loot.md
Genetics / breeding (heritable genome, Gaussian inheritance, mutations, best-of registry)	references/systems/genetics-breeding.md
Leaderboards / services (Sandbox.Services stats, HTTP)	references/systems/leaderboards-services.md
Idle / offline earnings / round-robin ticks	references/systems/idle-offline.md
Building / placement (grid snap, footprint, modular)	references/systems/building-placement.md
Crafting (recipes, refine, mill/smelt)	references/systems/crafting.md
Dialogue / quest / VN	references/systems/dialogue.md
Cutscene / cinematic / Movie Maker / dialogue / conversation / story / NPC dialogue (bridge scaffolds)	references/systems/cutscenes-dialogue.md
Round / match / gamemode flow (phase machines)	references/systems/round-match.md
Spawning / waves / NPC	references/systems/spawning-waves.md
Anti-cheat / validation (clamp, sanitize, sign, provably-fair)	references/systems/anti-cheat.md
Level design & mapping (modular sets, lighting, blockout, triggers, spawns)	references/systems/level-design.md
AI director / adaptive pacing (telemetry-driven spawn cadence, composed multipliers)	references/systems/ai-director.md
Services backend / accounts (JWT auth, optimistic store + reconcile, HTTP)	references/systems/services-backend.md

Composing across games? references/CORPUS-INDEX.md cross-references which of the 51 mined games implement each system/genre, with the single best file to read — use it to pull pieces from several games into one system.

⚙️ Engine concern? → Engine references

(For raw API surface, also open sbox-api.)

Concern	Open
Networking & authority ([Sync] vs FromHost, [Rpc.*], host/proxy, ownership)	references/engine/networking-authority.md
Architecture (GameObjectSystem<T>, ISceneEvent<T>, partial-class, registries)	references/engine/architecture.md
Component & GameObject lifecycle (+ freeze-class gotchas, FindMode, solo-gate)	references/engine/components-lifecycle.md
Player controller (identity/body/mover split, MoveMode, view-models, spectator)	references/engine/player-controller.md
Razor UI (BuildHash reactivity, HUD bootstrap, world panels)	references/engine/ui-razor.md
Weapons / combat (Can/Wants/Do, hitscan vs projectile, AoE, reloads)	references/engine/combat-weapons.md
Input & interaction (named actions, IPressable, analog, ClientInput)	references/engine/input-interaction.md
Physics, traces & custom movement (Scene.Trace, kinematic, forces, suspension)	references/engine/physics-traces-movement.md
World-gen & custom rendering (libsdf, VertexMeshBuilder, render-to-texture)	references/engine/worldgen-rendering.md
Performance & threading (frame budget, RunInThreadAsync, dynamic audio)	references/engine/performance-threading.md
Data assets (GameResource, prefab registries, editor tooling split)	references/engine/data-assets.md

---

The cross-cutting laws (true in every recipe)

These bite across every system — they're repeated in the references but live here too so you internalize them:

1. Authority is the #1 bug class. Mutating synced state on a proxy silently rolls back. Gate every mutator with if (IsProxy) return; (owner-authoritative) or if (!Networking.IsHost) return; (host-authoritative); Assert.True(Networking.IsHost,…) in dev makes silent desync loud.
2. [Rpc.Host] is callable by any client with forged args. NetFlags restrict who invokes, not security — re-validate ownership/permission/limits and rate-limit (cooldown keyed by Rpc.CallerId) inside every host body. The proven shape is request → apply → confirm (client optimistic → [Rpc.Host] re-clamp → [Rpc.Owner] echo authoritative).
3. Money/health/score must be [Sync(SyncFlags.FromHost)]. Plain [Sync] lets a client author the value — a classic exploit. Collections use NetList<T>/NetDictionary<K,V>, not [Sync] List<>.
4. Network.IsOwner is false in solo editor playtests (no lobby = no owner), so IsOwner-only guards silently disable whole systems. Combine with a LocalSimulation property: ShouldSimulate => LocalSimulation || Network.IsOwner.
5. NetworkSpawn is required for replication — Clone()/new GameObject is local-only. Configure before spawn, pass a Connection for authority, spawn on exactly one machine (guard with !IsProxy).
6. Persisted state must sanitize + clamp on load (and version-migrate). Saves outlive your balance changes; FNV/SHA signatures are anti-tamper deterrents, not crypto. Anything with real economy value needs server-side re-validation.
7. API names drift between SDK builds, and some training-data APIs are dead. Verify with describe_type/search_types before writing; wrap volatile calls in try/catch with a fallback.
8. async void in the frame loop leaks (continuations outlive the GameObject, swallow exceptions). Use TimeUntil + Destroy for timed lifetimes; cancel a CTS on teardown for loops.
9. Static singletons are wiped on hotload. Use GameObjectSystem<T> (reconstructs safely) or LocalComponent<T> + IHotloadManaged; null static Instance in OnDestroy.
10. Time.Delta is 0 when paused (Scene.TimeScale=0) — use RealTime.SmoothDelta/RealTimeSince for anything that must move while time-scaled. Prefer TimeUntil/TimeSince over hand-rolled timers.

---

Router only. Find the system or genre, open its reference, and verify exact API live. Do not answer s&box build questions from this file alone.