Message

The Message is a Serpulo-only interactable block used to display custom text to players in the world. It functions as both a player-editable sign and as an output target for the logic system, allowing readable messages to be placed at bases, chokepoints, or strategic locations. The block is categorized among logic blocks because it accepts text input from Logic Processors, and it is often used for instructions, labeling, alerts, or decorative text.

Players can edit a Message directly by clicking the block and using the pencil button to type their own text. The player-editable text is limited to 220 characters. Text displayed on a Message supports HTML-like color tags: inserting a color tag at the start of a substring changes the color of that substring. Colors may be specified by preset names or by hexadecimal values. An empty pair of square brackets acts as a color reset to the previously used color; if no previous color exists this defaults to white.

On desktop platforms with keyboard and mouse, icons for blocks, items, and units can be inserted into a Message by shift-clicking entries in the Core Database to copy their icon text and pasting it into the Message input. This works because the Core Database entries include renderable icon tokens that the game accepts inside text fields.

Logic Processors can write to a Message using the Print and Print Flush commands. The Print command appends a string to an internal queue; multiple Print commands accumulate their strings in order. When Print Flush is executed targeting the Message, the queued string is pushed to the block’s display and the queue is cleared. This allows scripts to build multi-part messages or to programmatically update signs only when a full message is ready rather than on every concatenation step.

Practical notes:

• Use Messages to mark resource lines, give build instructions, or warn of active defenses; their visibility makes them useful for cooperative play.
• Combine color tags and icons to make messages stand out and convey information at a glance.
• When scripting, accumulate components with Print and call Print Flush once to avoid intermediate flicker or partial messages.
• Remember the 220-character cap when composing long automated reports; truncate or split across multiple Message blocks if needed.