Runtime 1.5.1 · Available now on Steam Workshop

Make every spawnfeel like an entrance.

Sandy Base replaces the normal first-person pop-in with a cinematic intro, then returns control through a smooth, centered handoff. Choose a favorite, build a random rotation, or preview any of 46 bundled intros.

Get it on Steam Workshop Explore Sandy Base Studio

Workshop item 3773380070. Lua-only and built from stock Garry's Mod and Half-Life 2 content. No additional Workshop dependencies or paid-game content required.

Bundled: 46 intros
Playback: 0.5×–3× speed
Accessibility: Reduced-motion filtering
Content: No extra dependencies

The bundled collection

Forty-six ways to arrive.

Camera-first classics sit beside animated stock-content scenes, compact accessible compositions, and a more aggressive director collection. Every route returns through the same universal first-person handoff.

0112 intros

Classic cameras

Orbits, dollies, flybys, shoulder sweeps, parallax rails, and carefully centered first-person merges.

Orbit Into First Person · Dolly Zoom · Boomerang · Crown Vault

027 intros

Animated scenes

Stock Half-Life 2 actors turn a spawn into a short scene without adding another content dependency.

Dropship Deployment · Agent Ready · Crow Guide · Stasis Wake-Up

0311 intros

Camera & accessible

A broader range of calm, compact, and expressive routes—including options authored for reduced motion.

Gentle Arrival · Checkpoint Scan · Long Lens · Corner Peek

048 intros

Stock encounters

Manhacks, rollermines, pigeons, Combine cameras, crates, and other familiar pieces cross the frame.

Manhack Escort · Camera Sentry · Pigeon Scramble · Energy Orb Pass

058 intros

Director collection

High-energy and restrained compositions built around cuts, lens movement, timing, and graphic presentation.

Time Freeze · Crash Zoom · Hero Triptych · Whip Pan

Player control

Your intros. Your rotation.

Search and preview installed intros, choose one fixed entrance, build a custom random pool, and favorite the shots you want to keep close. Collision-aware routes and centered handoffs help each intro adapt to the player and surrounding map geometry.

Fixed selection or customizable random pool
No immediate repeat in random rotation
Compatibility and server-availability labels
Filters for favorites, safe motion, cuts, and pool membership

SANDY BASE HUBREADY

Open the Sandy Base Library

Spawn Menu → Utilities → User → Sandy Base LibraryOr enter this in the console:sandybase_menuPress Space during an intro to skip when the server allows it.

Accessibility

Motion controls stay in your hands.

Adjust playback speed, letterboxing, HUD hiding, and skipping. Reduced-motion mode only selects intros explicitly marked safe; unknown third-party intros are never assumed to be accessible.

Multiplayer

Built for Sandbox servers.

Automatic spawn intros currently run in Sandbox. The server controls automatic selection and timing, and only compatible, server-approved intros can play automatically. Compatible client-only intros can still be previewed locally.

Selection: Server authoritative
Missing intro: Safe Orbit fallback
Manual API: Gamemode independent

For intro creators

Create an entrance of your own.

Sandy Base is also a shared runtime for third-party intro packs. Register generated timelines or advanced camera functions without bundling another copy of the base. Version checks, deterministic discovery, reduced-motion metadata, and duplicate-ID protection are built in.

Visit Sandy Base Studio Read release status

PUBLIC RUNTIME APISandyBase.RegisterIntro(definition)SandyBase.Play(player, id, options)SandyBase.PlayRandom(player, pool, options)SandyBase.Preview(id, options)

Current release / August 2, 2026

Runtime 1.5.1

Published to Workshop item 3773380070. This release improves prop and character startup timing, remasters Combine Checkpoint Scan for obstructed spawns, and improves compatibility with third-person and other CalcView camera addons.

View the Workshop release