Features

Timer System

Create countdown, interval, and stopwatch timers that trigger VMSC actions when they complete or cycle. Timers live alongside your rules and persist across sessions.

Overview

The Timer System was introduced in v1.2.58 as a new sub-tab on the Rules page, alongside Camera, Outfits, Goals, and Sounds. It lets you create timers that fire actions on completion or at regular intervals — useful for timed segments, periodic reminders, and stream countdowns.

Timer Types

VMSC supports three types of timers:

Countdown

A countdown timer starts at a specified duration and counts down to zero. When it reaches zero, the linked action fires. Countdowns are ideal for timed challenges (e.g., “gift goal ends in 5 minutes”) or scheduled segment transitions.

Interval

An interval timer fires its linked action repeatedly at a fixed interval. For example, an interval of 10 minutes will fire the action every 10 minutes for as long as the timer is running. Use intervals for periodic reminders, rotating overlays, or scheduled shoutouts.

Stopwatch

A stopwatch counts up from zero with no automatic end. It does not fire actions on its own — it is purely a display timer. Use it to track how long a segment has been running or to show elapsed stream time on an overlay.

TypeDirectionFires ActionRepeats
CountdownDown to zeroOn completionNo
IntervalCyclesOn each cycleYes
StopwatchUp from zeroNoN/A

Creating a Timer

  1. Navigate to the Rules page and click the Timers sub-tab.
  2. Click + New Timer.
  3. Select the timer type (Countdown, Interval, or Stopwatch).
  4. Set the duration or interval (hours, minutes, seconds).
  5. For Countdown and Interval timers, select a linked action from the action picker.
  6. Optionally enable Auto-Start so the timer begins automatically when VMSC launches.
  7. Click Save.

Live Display

Each timer shows a live countdown display with a progress bar directly in the Timers tab. The display updates every second and shows the remaining time (for countdowns) or elapsed time (for stopwatches and intervals).

The progress bar fills from left to right for countdowns (showing how much time has passed relative to the total duration) and cycles for interval timers.

Controls

Each timer has the following controls:

  • Start / Pause — Start or pause the timer.
  • Reset — Reset the timer to its initial value.
  • Enable / Disable — Disabled timers cannot be started and will not auto-start.
  • Auto-Start toggle — When enabled, the timer starts automatically when VMSC launches.

Persistence

All timer configurations are persisted to your VMSC config. This means your timers, their durations, linked actions, and auto-start preferences survive VMSC restarts. However, the current elapsed time of a running timer is not persisted — timers reset to their initial value when VMSC restarts.

If you need a timer to survive restarts, enable Auto-Start so it begins counting again automatically after VMSC relaunches.

Use Cases

  • Timed giveaway — Set a 15-minute countdown. When it hits zero, trigger an action that announces the winner.
  • Periodic hydration reminder — Create a 30-minute interval that plays a sound effect reminding you to drink water.
  • Segment timer — Use a stopwatch to track how long you have been playing a particular game, and display it on an overlay.
  • Ad break countdown — Set a 3-minute countdown before returning from break, with the linked action switching your overlay back to the main scene.