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Update your mod after a game update

Find what a Deadlock update changed, rebuild your mod on the new game files, test it, and post the new version from Divine's Creator Panel.

Intermediate

Updates break mods. The City Never Sleeps update (2026-09-29) broke most HUD mods at once, plus some model mods and many animation mods. This page shows how to find what changed, rebuild your mod, and post the fix. How Deadlock mods work explains why updates break things.

Players know this happens, so take the time you need.

What you need

Source 2 Viewer

latest dev build

Your CSDK 12 addon

and source files

Creator Panel

to post the fix

Lost your addon and source files? Open your old VPK in Source 2 Viewer and decompile the files back into an addon.

Five steps: the game update changes files, you check what changed, rebuild on the new files, test with only your mod, and post the fix on the same mod page

What updates break

Your mod ships a full copy of every file it replaces. If Valve changes that file, your old copy hides the new version. If Valve moves it, your copy sits at a path the game no longer reads.

What Valve changedWhat players seeWhat you do
A model moved foldersThe normal hero shows up, with no errorMove your files to the new path
Animation systemThe hero A-poses or has no animationsRebuild on a fresh copy of the current model
SkeletonBroken animations, also in other mods for that heroRemove any .vnmskel_c from your mod
Camera attachmentsThe camera sits in the middle of the screenCopy every attachment from the current model
HUD layoutA broken HUD, or the game crashes at launchRedo your change on the new HUD file
Hero dataNew heroes stay locked, or stats stay at old valuesRemove every scripts/*.vdata_c file from your mod
gameinfo.gi (player side)No mods load at allRedo the install edit, or let a mod manager do it

Cosmetic mods should never ship scripts/*.vdata_c files or a skeleton in the first place.

Fix it, step by step

Check what changed

  1. Read Valve's update notes in the official Changelog forum. Look for the heroes and items your mod touches. The notes never mention mods.
  2. Ask on Divine's Discord what broke for other creators. Big updates break the same mod types for everyone.
  3. Open the new game/citadel/pak01_dir.vpk in Source 2 Viewer.
  4. Find every file your mod replaces. Check that each path and file name still matches. Hero names and file paths shows how.

For a deeper check, use GameTracking-Deadlock on GitHub. It saves Valve's files for every build.

GameTracking-Deadlock

Valve's files for every Deadlock build, saved by SteamTracking.

  1. Open the history of heroes.vdata. Each commit is one game build.
  2. Click the commit for the new build.
  3. Look for changed lines near your hero's model path.
GameTracking-Deadlock on GitHub showing the history of heroes.vdata, with one commit per game build such as 6779 and 6769

Rebuild your mod

Pick your mod type.

Start from a fresh copy of the current hero model, not your old model file. The current model already has Valve's new skeleton, attachments, and animation data. One creator showed this fix in August 2026, before City Never Sleeps, so details may differ now.

  1. Update Source 2 Viewer. Versions before 20.0 exported attachments wrong.
  2. Open the new pak01_dir.vpk and find the hero's current model. Check its folder, since it may have moved.
  3. Decompile the model into your addon at its current path.
  4. Swap your mesh into this fresh model. The hero model swap guide covers the mesh and material steps.
  5. Check that every material points to the hero's current folder.
  6. Recompile, then pack only the files you changed.

This covers sounds, images, materials, and particles.

  1. Find the original file again in Source 2 Viewer.
  2. If its path or name changed, rebuild that path in your addon and staging folder.
  3. If Valve changed the file itself, decompile the new version. Redo your edit on it.
  4. Recompile and repack.

For materials, this means redoing your values from Recolor with material values on the new material.

  1. Decompile the new .vcss_c or .vxml_c file with Source 2 Viewer.
  2. Redo only your change on the new file. Never paste your old full file over it.
  3. Compile, pack, and test. Close Deadlock fully before each test. Reconnecting is not enough.

Save your change as a .patch file next time: a list of the lines you changed. Then you can reapply it to each new version instead of redoing it by hand. Restyle a HUD element has the full steps.

  1. Decompile the original clip again from the new game files.
  2. Check its frame count and FPS. If they changed, change your animation to match.
  3. Point the new .vnmclip at your DMX, recompile, and repack.

Nobody has published which City Never Sleeps change broke animation mods. Replace an animation has the full steps.

Test the fix

  1. Turn off your other mods.
  2. Load your mod in a private match. Follow Test your mod in game.
  3. Check the console for errors that name your files.

Post the new version

Divine is adding Deadlock mods. Once they arrive, you post updates from the Creator Panel.

  1. Open your mod in the Creator Panel and edit it. Post the fix there, not as a new mod.
  2. Upload the new archive.
  3. Say in the description what changed and which game update it works with.
  4. Submit the change.
Fixes stay free

Every mod on Divine is free, and so is every fix. Never lock a fix behind early access. Fixing someone else's mod? Ask them first. Credits, licenses, and permissions explains both rules.

Next steps

Publish your mod on Divine
Beginner

The Creator Panel, step by step.

Crashes, launch errors, and matchmaking blocks
Beginner

When an outdated mod crashes the game.

Credits

This guide is based on the work of these creators. Check out their original pages.

Éditer sur GitHub

On this page

What you needWhat updates breakFix it, step by stepCheck what changedRebuild your modTest the fixPost the new versionNext stepsCredits
Written by the Divine Skins community. Open source on GitHub.