Campaign force viewer

[hridaysabz 14]

Hey guys, I was wondering what the function was that would let you see the whole AAF force like the 2nd company, bravo company, alpha company, and it was accessible from the AAF logo in the campaign map top left? I really appreciate any replies.

[HKFlash 9]

There's no function as far as I can tell. It uses a Finite State Machine file to create the Order of Battle.

Edited November 1, 2013 by HKFlash

[hridaysabz 14]

Is there any way of making those? I need it for putting icons that way in my missions.

[moricky 211]

There's a function (BIS_fnc_ORBATOpen) and there's a module (Strategic > ORBAT Group), while the hierarchy is defined in CfgORBAT (you can view available groups through the config viewer).

Example:

[configfile >> "CfgORBAT" >> "BIS" >> "B_Falcon"] call bis_fnc_ORBATOpen

The same config path is used in "CfgORBAT Path" and "CfgORBAT Ceiling" attributes of the module. When the module is not synced to strategic map module, the symbols will be shown directly in the map.

[hridaysabz 14]

Thanks a lot, Moricky!

---------- Post added at 15:55 ---------- Previous post was at 15:49 ----------

Noobie question here, is there any way of editing the preset orbat groups in the config editor?

[moricky 211]

Yes, you can also add new ones in config.cpp or description.ext, even without FSM editor. Detailed documentation coming soonâ„¢

[hridaysabz 14]

My screen goes blank, can you help me set up an example orbat group?

---------- Post added at 16:19 ---------- Previous post was at 16:00 ----------

How do I edit the information in the already made group?

[HKFlash 9]

Interesting. Will give this a go.

Edited November 1, 2013 by HKFlash

[hridaysabz 14]

Interesting. Will give this a go.

If you can manage to tweak the preset groups, could you let me know? Thanks.

[iceman77 18]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is all this "orbat" stuff about? What is "orbat"?

[ProfTournesol 956]

Order of Battle

[hridaysabz 14]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is all this "orbat" stuff about? What is "orbat"?

When you launch the campaign and go ingame, many times will you see huge interactive markers in different places that will show you arrangement of the squad or platoon.

[iceman77 18]

Ahh you mean like with the millitarySymbols module?

militarySymbols module init:

setGroupIconsVisible [true,true]

[HKFlash 9]

He means this.

[hridaysabz 14]

HKFLASH, did you manage to edit the presets in any way? I can't figure it out.

[HKFlash 9]

HKFLASH, did you manage to edit the presets in any way? I can't figure it out.

Well the presets are inside the cfgORBAT.fsm which requires the FSM editor to be read and changed. This file is inside the campaign .pbo.

[2nd ranger 282]

Here's an example of how it can be used

description.ext:

class CfgORBAT {
class [color="#FF0000"]TAG[/color] {
	class [color="#0000FF"]TAG_B_1[/color] {
		commander = "Bozz";
		id = 2;
		commanderRank = "Sergeant";  
		description = "Bozz's band of BLUFOR badasses.";
		//insignia = "\a3\missions_f_epa\data\img\orbat\B_Aegis_ca.paa";
		side = "West";
		size = "Squad";
		type = "Infantry";
		//text = "1 Platoon";
		//textShort = "1 PLT";
		//texture = "\a3\missions_f_epa\data\img\orbat\B_Aegis_texture_ca.paa";
		//assets[] = {"I_Plane_Fighter_03_CAS_F", "I_MRAP_03_hmg_F"};
	};

};
};

I just worked this out in the last ten minutes so I haven't investigated it fully, but here's a brief rundown of what that means:

First off, TAG and TAG_B_1 are just your own category and classname, they could be anything.

Commander is obviously the name that appears on the icon. This can be anything you want.

id: This just seems to refer to the number of the group that is displayed, for example 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad, etc.

commanderRank: Rank of the group commander. Displays appropriate rank insignia.

description: anything you want, appears underneath the icon.

insignia: texture that appears in a box underneath everything else. TF Aegis logo in this example.

side: side

size: "Squad", "Platoon" etc

type : Infantry, Recon, Maintenance, Medical, Service, Support, HQ, MechanizedInfantry, Helicopter, Armored, Artillery, Fighter, Maritime

text: Replaces the default "1st Squad" thing at the top, can be anything you want. Negates all of the information displayed by "id" and "size".

texture: Replaces the icon with something like the TF Aegis insignia.

assets: displays assets available to the group. For example, the AAF fighter squadron at the airbase has some jets in a row underneath the icon. Assets can be given as classnames of vehicles.

In the editor, place an ORBAT Group module and in "CfgOrbat Path", put this;

missionconfigfile >> "CfgORBAT" >> "[color="#FF0000"]TAG[/color]" >> "[color="#0000FF"]TAG_B_1[/color]"

Here's how it looks with the 'insignia' field displaying the TF Aegis logo.

Edited November 6, 2013 by 2nd Ranger

[superxpdude 1]

Some more info related to the post above, with a few details that I've figured out.

Commander:

The name of who you want the commander of the group listed as.

id:

The order in which this squad will be placed when listed as a subordinate squad (More on this farther down)

commanderRank:

The rank of the commanding unit, plain text with the same ranks as used for in-game units. (List below)

Description:

The text that you would like to have shown when a player hovers over your group on the map, shown below the commander's name and above the insignia.

Insignia:

The image shown below the group info when you hover your mouse over the group icon on the map, not sure about required image size yet.

side:

The side of the group, used to determine the appropriate icon colour and shape for the group.

size:

The size of the group, used to determine how large the icon is on the map, and the appropriate group size icon to be placed above the group. (List Below)

type:

Determines the type of the group and the corresponding icon type to use. (List below)

Text:

The title text displayed when a player hovers their mouse over the group on the map, displayed above the commander's name. Special variables can be used (List below)

textShort:

The text used to represent the group when using the ORBAT group viewer (which can be accessed by clicking on any ORBAT group, it shows the subordinates of each group)

texture:

Replaces the preset icon defined by the type, side and size of the group.

subordinates:

A list of groups that are under the control of this group, these will be shown in the ORBAT group viewer.

assets:

A list of equipment operated by the group, objects can be listed on their own or in an array with the corresponding number of units. They will be displayed below the description but above the insignia. (Examples below)

Allowed List of Commander Ranks:

Private
Corporal
Sergeant
Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Colonel

Allowed List of group types:

Infantry
MotorizedInfantry
MechanizedInfantry
Armored
Recon
Helicopter
Fighter
HQ
Maintenance
Maritime
UAV
Artillery
Mortar
Medical
Service
Support

Allowed list of group sizes:

FireTeam
Squad
Section
Platoon
Company
Battalion
Regiment
Brigade
Division
Corps
Army
ArmyGroup

Special variables in the text block:

So far here's what I've figured out (from looking at the default cfgORBAT.
%1 will be replaced with the [b]ID[/b] of the group.
%2 will be replaced with the [b]type[/b] of the group
%3 will be replaced with the [b]size[/b] of the group. (Although the Section size seems to incorrectly be replaced with FireTeam).

Examples of group assets:

Unfortunately the assets list doesn't seem to properly accept arrays (although the game's config files does). So for now you have to list each unit individually. You can list the units as such:

assets[] = {"I_Plane_Fighter_03_CAS_F","I_Plane_Fighter_03_CAS_F"};

Edited November 6, 2013 by Superxpdude

[Kydoimos 916]

Awesome 2nd Ranger - really awesome, thanks for breaking it down! :)

[hridaysabz 14]

Perfect! Thanks for explaining, 2nd Ranger!

[Zatan13th 10]

wow, with this function...

then is it possible that EP2 or EP3 will be a free roaming open world game? (player can choose any squad to assign for playing their specific owned mission)

[2nd ranger 282]

Examples of group assets:

Unfortunately the assets list doesn't seem to properly accept arrays (although the game's config files does). So for now you have to list each unit individually. You can list the units as such:

assets[] = {"I_Plane_Fighter_03_CAS_F","I_Plane_Fighter_03_CAS_F"};

Ah, cool. Yeah for some reason the array thing works with the BIS groups but not custom ones. Thanks for the additional info.

The ORBAT is awesome. It can add alot to a briefing because you can have extra information about certain units on the map, rather than overloading your briefing with it.

Edited November 7, 2013 by 2nd Ranger

[cozza 24]

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ORBAT_Viewer

We got something up on the biki now

[ProfTournesol 956]

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ORBAT_Viewer

We got something up on the biki now

That's nice :)

[IndeedPete 1038]

Does anybody know how to add custom ranks to the ORBAT? I'd like to use ranks like Admiral or Commander but sadly this system isn't very flexible. I already tried a description.ext based approach like

class CfgRanks
{
class commander
{
	displayName = "Commander";
	displayNameShort = "Cdr";
	rank = "Commander";
	texture = "\A3\Ui_f\data\GUI\Cfg\Ranks\lieutenant_gs.paa";
};
};

but of course, this doesn't work.