MISSIONS: Store them.

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

Hello.

 

While downloading/checking missions from workshop
found some that i liked for SP/MP or because they are

very interesting to learn from their scripts.
I would like to store these in their original form.

Here comes my questions and i will be grateful if
you can help me to learn and go further : 🙏

 

1. Where can i find the mission to store it ?
2. Is PBO the unique/standard format of all missions from workshop ? or there is/are alternative(s) ?
3. Which is the location that workshop is storing the original downloaded mission ?
4. Is this mission will be moved to another location after downloaded ? if it does in which location ?
5. Once you load the mission in SP or MP will be somehow temporary expanded ? if it will in which location ?
6. Any save through EDEN is visible to use it as SCENARIO or HOST it online. Is this location and this form the best to use instead moving missions to other locations for SP or MP ?

 

I know i am asking too many questions but i have more
that is better to leave them aside for the time being.

Thank you.

PS:
I've watched (again & again) Gunter's and others recent and even old videos of how to:
expand mission/mod, categorize, name missions, create mission and load it as SP/MP etc
but i couldn't find the location (besides EDEN) that you have to place it so to be visible in

SP/MP stage and this is what i am looking for or i may missed it if was in 1 sec frames😄.
Also, by searching forum and googling for any recent and old related posts, found Arma
related files in different forms in the directories:
USER/AppData/Local/Arma 3/MPMissionsCache/
USER/Documents/Arma 3 - Other Profiles/USER/Saved/
Steam/userdata/NUMBERS/ugc/referenced/NUMBERS/*.pbo and data.vdf
Steam/steamapps/workshop/content/107410/
I am not sure which one to follow so to properly/safe store those missions.

There were some results after some testings but sure something was WRONG as f.e. i couldn't see the intro pic, hear sounds, files were missing etc

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Hi Prof,

You've seen my tutorial here https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/231279-tutorial-how-to-edit-a-steam-workshop-mission-scenario/

 

and followed the video? How to edit a steam workshop mission?

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Is PBO the unique/standard format of all missions from workshop ? or there is/are alternative(s) ?

Yes, the game only reads pbos, pbos can be created through the editor by exporting them, or using pbomanager or another tool to pbo a mission file.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Which is the location that workshop is storing the original downloaded mission ?

See step 3 of my tutorial, theres 2 items there, one for sp and the other for mp.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Is this mission will be moved to another location after downloaded ? if it does in which location ?

No, as above depending on what mission is for be it sp or mp then it will be installed into those folders accordingly,

thing is in order for those mission files to show up there as said in my tutorial you must play the mission, doing so will

install the mission. All you need to do is once you subbed to a mission then just start it to where your ingame, then exit it,

and the game will save and install it.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Once you load the mission in SP or MP will be somehow temporary expanded ? if it will in which location ?

No, once the mission is installed after you have started it and or played it as said above, its still in a pbo format.

   Its up to you if you want to look at the mission further, as in the any scripts or whatever, hence the tutorial is to

locate the mission file, extract it, and then move the extracted file to the mission folder for the editor.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Any save through EDEN is visible to use it as SCENARIO or HOST it online.

A save is a save, if you create a new mission in the editor, it will create a folder accordingly, and yes

you can then play the mission in the editor via preview, or play it through mp lan or on a dedicated, though

heres the catch, saving a mission in the editor only creates a folder with the mission.sqm inside.

 

     You would want to export the mission if you were planning on putting the mission on a dedicated server which is not local

to your machine, otherwise you can start up an mp lan server through the editor and play that way.

     So keep in mind if your not playing through the editor and are going to put the mission online somewhere

then export the mission, export it as sp or mp dont matter, the pbo that gets created will show up in the main arma 3 directory

based on what folder your exported it too.

 

For example if you exported the mission as a sp mission then the pbo will show up here

C:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\Missions

then you will see the mission under scenarios on the main menu of the game.

 

If you exported the mission to mp, then the pbo will show up here:

C:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions

and to see the mission here host your own mp lan server and the mission will be seen on the map its on

in the server lobby. To move the pbo to put on a dedicated (not on your machine) then just grab the pbo from that

folder address above.

4 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

I've watched (again & again) Gunter's and others recent and even old videos of how to:
expand mission/mod, categorize, name missions, create mission and load it as SP/MP etc
but i couldn't find the location (besides EDEN) that you have to place it so to be visible in

SP/MP stage 

So you watched my video here on how to organize your missions based on the terrain?

and your question is you are unable to find the location to where a sp mission will show up in scenarios,

and for mp in the mp lan lobby?

I explained above in my previous reply.

 

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

Hello Gunter and thank you very much for your time & answers.

 

So, a workshop mission, as single standalone file in PBO format,
will be visible/available, ONLY if found inside the: "Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions" directory ?
Please correct me if i am wrong.

 

Your helpful tutorial explains how to import a workshop mission and the whole unpack/rename/copy/import procedure, for EDEN.
What if i just want to use the PBO as it is, without change it in any way ?

I've tried rename/copy a mission.pbo in: "Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions" but it wasn't visible.

Only missions that their name was like MISSIONAME.pbo either as standalone PBO or in unpacked form, were visible and functional.

You've mentioned something by saying "this is a problem" in your video, but there was no further explanation about this problem. To me seems that mission.pbo

naming is a default variable that left nil/blanked for a reason and can be filed with a name, but i won't and i can't make any more assumptions for this now.

Is there another way to make it work (you've mentioned some other pbo tools) or the only one is according your tutorial through EDEN ?

 

Thank you.

 

PS:

Additionally, i did some more tests and there were some results that i can't fully understand.

Test A:
I have the subscribed downloaded mission from workshop.
An exported PBO version of the mission (through EDEN)
was created in Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions.
Will there be any conflict once the same mission exists in two different locations at the same time ?
Result A:
I can see both of them in mission list, but with different color.
The original is orange and if i click it i can see the picture details owner etc,

while the exported is white and it doesn't show any picture plus that the information is different.

Once the exported version is different, it may be corrupted and broken.

 

Test B:
After backed-up both "Arma 3" and "Arma 3 - Other Profiles", i've deleted all missions.
Result B:
At HOST stage, i still can see and use all of them. This means that the missions exist and in another location different than the profile(s) directories.

In your tutorial (Step-3) you are using the default profile locations under USER/Documents/Arma 3/. I am using other profile, no missions exist either.

 

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Hello Prof, welcome!

2 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

So, a workshop mission, as single standalone file in PBO format,
will be visible/available, ONLY if found inside the: "Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions" directory ?

No,

Singleplayer Workshop Scenarios will be found in the Steam folder:

                     C:\Users\your username\Documents\Arma 3\Saved\steam

 

Multiplayer Workshop Scenarios will be found in the SteamMPMissions folder:

                    C:\Users\your username\Documents\Arma 3\Saved\steamMPMission

 

The directory here Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions

is the main directory of the game, a pbo will only show up in that folder if two things happen:

1. If you move a pbo of a mp mission to that folder manually.

2. If you export a mission in the editor to multiplayer.

2 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

What if i just want to use the PBO as it is, without change it in any way ?

I've tried rename/copy a mission.pbo in: "Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions" but it wasn't visible.

Read step 3 under where it says

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/231279-tutorial-how-to-edit-a-steam-workshop-mission-scenario/

as im not going to explain everything again when i already have it setup.

I do explain in the video here at 10:18 what the problem is if you leave the mission.pbo as mission after extracting the pbo.

 

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

What if i just want to use the PBO as it is, without change it in any way ?

Another word on this, you can leave it as a pbo but it still wont load in the game because the map extension is missing on it.

    For example if the mp mission you subbed to is named assault altis and you have a mission.pbo for it after going to the workshop

folder here as you know

Quote

 

Multiplayer Workshop Scenarios will be found in the SteamMPMissions folder:

                    C:\Users\your username\Documents\Arma 3\Saved\steamMPMission

 

As an example the mission is on altis, if you normally were to load an mp mission through mp lan or on a server

it wont load because the game needs to know what map it is on, it cannot load a mission for Altis if the name of the map

is not defined in the name or title of the pbo.   So what you need to do is add the map extension to the pbo.

     So if you want to leave the pbo as mission.pbo thats fine however its still not going to load, again because your missing the map extension that

the mission is set on, so heres what you do if the mission is based on Altis then you name the mission pbo this ----> mission.altis.pbo

all you have to do is add the map extension after the mission name, the pbo itself will remain.

 

     So when and if you decide to extract that pbo then the folder that you get after the extraction will be mission.altis

as its no longer a pbo after you extracted it. The extracted mission will be seen in the editor if you put it there, if you put the pbo

with the map extension on it in the mp missions folder in the directory then the mission will show up on your server be it mp lan.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Only missions that their name was like MISSIONAME.pbo either as standalone PBO or in unpacked form, were visible and functional.

Correct because singleplayer missions will work, because they have a map extension, mpmissions wont.

 

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Test A:
I have the subscribed downloaded mission from workshop.
An exported PBO version of the mission (through EDEN)
was created in Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\MPMissions.
Will there be any conflict once the same mission exists in two different locations at the same time ?

No it wont conflict, even if their the same name, just it might confuse you if your eden mission and the subbed mission

have the same name and you cant decipher which is which in the mp lan missions list.

3 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

Result A:
I can see both of them in mission list, but with different color.
The original is orange and if i click it i can see the picture details owner etc,

while the exported is white and it doesn't show any picture plus that the information is different.

Once the exported version is different, it may be corrupted and broken.

Orange just means its an open mission from the editor.

White means its pbo'd mission and theres nothing wrong with it, just its compressed file, only way

to know if the mission works is to basically play it.

 

 

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

Hello Gunter.

 

MY FAULT!
You explain everything in your video & and in your forum thread tutorial.
I was wrong, you were right. Thank you very much for your patience by
repeating 3 times the solution, till me the old man finally understand it.
Too many teachers around, but just a few of them can teach. Thank you!

 

Solution: Mission_Name.map.pbo

 

Thank you very much.

 

PS:

Another question still remains:
I've use an old mission. At load time, Arma advise me to re-save mission
and i did. But once i choose to host the exported one, the load picture
was missing. I've check the PBOManager unpacked directory and there

was no picture file in there nor loadScreen declaration in description.ext.

I think EDEN is exporting exactly what has been imported so i am wondering:

1. Why PBO Manager didn't unpack the mission properly ?
2. Is the mission too old or incompatible for the present tools ?
3. Is there another tool that can unpack it properly ?

 

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Welcome, being wrong if you will is not a bad thing, failing, wrong is just a process of learning, you

wouldn't know what works, or is correct if what you tried didn't work.

 

You have to fail in order to succeed so dont feel bad or ashamed or what have you, if your not failing then your not succeeding!

Anyways to answer your other questions:

2 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

I've use an old mission. At load time, Arma advise me to re-save mission
and i did.

So it sounds like you are converting a mission built in the 2d editor which was created prior

to the Eden editor update to the game.

2 hours ago, PROF EAT A ROLL said:

But once i choose to host the exported one, the load picture
was missing.

Why dont you go into your mission folder

C:\Users\your username\Documents\Arma 3\missions

where your mission is and then just see whats there.

 

I dont think there is an issue with pbomanager as i been using it since Arma 1 days and never had an issue with it,

i never had a problem pbo'ing any mission, nor unpacking one, same with mods, i think the issue is the possibility that

the saved conversion of an old mission prior to Eden is the issue.

   So best check the mission folder itself to see if all files, including pics ect,. are all there and intact.

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

Hello Gunter.

 

Message delivered/received. Glad to make mistakes, i am still learning 🤓.

 

I've check the directory and there is no other file besides mission.pbo.
PBOM extract gives:

• description.ext
• init.sqf
• mission.sqm
• mission.sqm.oldBackup
• stringtable.xml

As seems that this mission created with the old 2D editor, you may know
if the old editor was using a different directory tree for mission assets.
Else the only i can assume is if the image is linked and shows up, online.

 

Thank you.

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Well if the code is still intact you can always update the mission and add a pic where you had one,

The mission.sqm.oldBackup probably wont be any good unless you plan to go back to the previous

editor as that backup is from that.

    Go to the actual mission folder where you have the mission in the editor, not the pbo and open it.

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

Hello Gunter.

 

Imported/Exported with no warnings. Tested works, no warnings.

Thank you very much.

[Snake Man 401]

You can learn about missions, campaigns and PBOs etc from PMC Editing Wiki.

[PROF EAT A ROLL 2]

3 hours ago, Snake Man said:

You can learn about missions, campaigns and PBOs etc from PMC Editing Wiki.

Hello Snake Man.

 

Thank you very much for the link.

Ah, the old good Operation Flashpoint! Many memories with Hidden and Dangerous and this one. 👍