Broadcast Pixelcard ⭐ messages on delay

Description
BroadcastPixelcard is a chat broadcast plugin that combines pixel-art patterns with custom card messages, sending them to all online players on a configurable timer.

Features

• Automatic timed broadcasts. Configurable start delay and loop interval.
• Cycle mode: Rotates through all loaded pixelcards
• Single-card mode: Targets one specific card by name every broadcast.
• Pattern selection: Choose a fixed pattern or let the plugin pick one randomly.
• Smart text wrapping with configurable line length and maximum message size.
• Skips broadcasting when no players are online.
• Add new patterns : it supports standard Minecraft color codes (`&a`, `&b`…), legacy section symbols (`§`), and modern hex colors (`#RRGGBB`).
• Reload support via /bpc reload without restarting the server.

Architecture
No extra dependency JAR is required on the server.

Permissions

• broadcastpixelcard.reload — Allows use of `/bpc reload`. Defaults to `false`.

Commands

• /bpc reload — Reloads `config.yml`, re-reads `patterns.json` and `pixelcards.json`, and restarts the broadcast task.

Configuration (config.yml)

• pixelcard-to-display`: `"CYCLE_THE_CARDS"` to rotate, or a specific card name to repeat that card.
• pixelart-pattern`: `"random"` for random selection, or a specific pattern name string.
• broadcast-delay-on-start-minutes`: Minutes to wait before the first broadcast after plugin startup.
• broadcast-delay-loop-minutes`: Minutes between each broadcast loop.
• message-line-length`: Maximum characters per line (default 32)
• message-max-length`: Hard cap on message length (default 128)
• debug`: `true` or `false`. When enabled, prints extra info to the console.

Data Files
The plugin expects two JSON files in its data folder (`plugins/BroadcastPixelcard/`):

• pixelcards.json — An array of card objects, each with:
  • name`: Identifier string.
  • text`:
  • header`: Short title/heading text.
  • content`: The main message body.

• patterns.json — A map of pattern names to arrays of 8 strings (the art lines).

Both files are extracted from the plugin JAR on first run **only if they do not already exist**, preserving any edits made by the server owner.

Color Formatting
Three formats are accepted inside JSON and config strings:
1. Legacy section symbols (`§a`, `§b`…) — decoded automatically from JSON Unicode escapes.
2. Ampersand codes (`&a`, `&b`…) — translated at runtime.
3. Hex codes (`#RRGGBB`) — converted to Minecraft's `§x§R§R§G§G§B§B` format

Compatibility

• Server: Spigot or Paper 1.21+
• Java: Compiled for Java 17+ compatibility
• Target: Tested against Spigot API 1.21.11

Usage
1. Place the plugin JAR into your server's `plugins/` folder.
2. Start the server once to generate `config.yml`, `patterns.json`, and `pixelcards.json`.
3. Stop the server, edit the JSON files with your cards and patterns, and adjust `config.yml`.
4. Start the server. The broadcasts will begin automatically after the configured delay.

-----

---

-----
edit the pixelcards.json.
By default, there are 3 example cards:

Code (Text):

[
    {
        "name": "MOTD",
        "text":
        {
            "content": "&6Welcome back&r on our server! We have &emany&r tools and games for you, &bcheck our website!",
            "header": "&22BT3 SERVER"
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "CUSTOM1",
        "pattern": "bee",
        "text":
        {
            "content": "This is a custom message.",
            "header": "Header"
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "CUSTOM2",
        "pattern" : "pig",
        "text":
        {
            "content": "This is a second custom message.",
            "header": "Second Header"
        }
    }
]


    [/COLOR]