Mission name standard

[celery 8]

--- Mission name standard ---

This sticky is for everyone who is making multiplayer missions and I ask you to read and follow the standard for the convenience of the whole multiplayer community.

The mission name matters because missions are listed in alphabetical order on a server. There are hundreds of missions out there and many servers have a huge amount of them so keeping things tidy helps everyone pick the mission they want to play with less trouble. The mission name is written in the editor in the same window where you set the weather and time conditions.

Here is an example of your everyday mission name following the standard:

CO 06 Kill the AI

The name specifies these parts:

game type

maximum number of players

mission name

Below is a more complicated name, showing more pieces of information should the need arise:

FDF CTF@ 24 Flag Rambos v1 beta

The name specifies these parts:

mod tag

game type

addon tag

maximum number of players

mission name

version of the mission

PLEASE NOTE: Mission names are written exactly like in the examples, underscores for spaces and (only) lower case are not used. The mission name is only a piece of data inside the file and it doesn't give any trouble to upper case and space allergic systems that try to open them. Read about filenames near the end of this post.

--- Official expansions ---

Official expansions, Queen's Gambit to be precise, do not need a tag for missions using their content. Reason for this is the commonplace use of the expansion in the community and keeping mission names simple in the future.

-- Specific intructions for naming your mission begin here --

--- Mods, leagues and clans ---

If the mission requires a mod (not an addon pack), it should be stated at the start of the mission name to tell the players that the mod should be loaded on their game if they wish to play the mission. It should be written first to make it easier to either browse or skip the mod missions depending on if you can or want to play them or not.

Please note that a compilation of existing addons not specifically made for that compilation doesn't count as a mod, it's an addon pack unless it's large enough to be a total conversion such as FFUR in Flashpoint. Go to the addon tag part to read about missions with addons. If you need to specify which addons are needed, you can put an abbreviation of the addon's name before or after the mission name.

Leagues need a tag to tell their missions apart from public ones. It's up to the league if they want to show their name at the beginning or only after the game type. The advantage of the first option is that all missions of the league can be seen in one whole list, while the second one's advantage lies in ease of public play, so different missions are listed under their respective game types but the league missions are still listed in one bunch.

A mod tag should be included after the league tag if a mod is used. If the league uses its own custom addon pack or mod, only an addon tag should be used.

Two examples of league mission names:

ECL C&H 34 Metal Rain

CTF -Gc- 50 CAYO V1-06beta

Hypothetical league mission using an unchanged mod:

TNT FDF A&D 20 Sauna Wars

A clan tag can also be used. In that case the tag can be either after the game type or after the mission name. If you're only making a single mission and not a series of missions of the same game type, it's best to leave the tag after the mission name for easier alphabetical browsing. A tag after the game type serves to list all missions of the same series together.

Two examples of clan mission names:

CTF [MCY] 60 DOUBLE BLOW v03

DM 10 VODKA! [MCY] v1.10

--- Game types ---

The following abbreviations are used:

CO - Cooperative (only AI opponents)

DM - Deathmatch

TDM - Team Deathmatch

C&H - Capture and Hold

SC - Sector Control

CTF - Capture the Flag

RCTF - Reverse Capture the Flag

Combi - Combination of C&H and CTF

C&K - Capture and Kill

CTI - Conquer the Island

A&D - Attack & Defend

Obj - Objective (Co-op style mission with PvP element)

RC - Race

FF - Flag Fight

TFF - Team Flag Fight

E&E - Escape & Evasion

VIP - VIP Protection/Assassination

RTS - Real Time Strategy

RPG - Role Playing Game

LMS - Last Man Standing

LTS - Last Team Standing

Misc - Miscellaneous (unique concept not fitting in any category)

--- The addon (@) tag ---

The @ sign helps the server admin and joining players see that they must have the unofficial addons the mission requires to play (not included in the vanilla game, expansions or patches). If the mission is made for a mod, a mod tag will suffice to tell everyone that they must have the mod. However if the mission uses an addon that the mentioned mod doesn't include, the @ sign becomes necessary again. The tag is attached to the end of the game type with no spaces.

Mission using an unofficial addon:

A&D@ 16 Addon Wars v666

Mission using the FDF mod:

FDF CO 08 Russian Hell

Mission using the FDF mod and an addon not included in the mod:

FDF TDM@ 12 Wanzer Fight v2

--- Player amount ---

The two digits before the mission name give away the maximum amount of people who can play the mission. Spectator slots should be left out of the count so players won't be confused when they don't get to play in the actual game afterall. The number always has to be written with two digits unless the mission actually has 100 slots or more. If the amount is lower than 10, a zero is written as the first digit so that the alphanumeric order is not confused.

--- Version ---

A version number is completely optional but highly recommended to better recognize possible different versions of the mission at first glance. The format of version numbering is free as long as it's consistent with other versions of your missions to make it easy to see which one is a more recent version.

--- Filenames ---

Although the mission name is the most visible part in Armed Assault, you should not forget about the significance of the filename. When managing missions on a server, the missions show with only their filenames in the ftp program and that's why it's smart to extend the naming format there. There are some differences, though.

1. Use small case letters only

The upcoming Linux server release may bring out a problem with upper case letters. If it's anything like in Flashpoint, an upper case letter in a filename prevents the mission from loading correctly on a Linux server. Although Linux admins can rename the mission themselves, you can save a lot of trouble this way. Remember to convert the .Sara or .Intro extension to lower case, too!

2. Use underscores in place of spaces

Linux servers may have some problems with the space bar. Underscores (_) should be used instead.

3. Leave dots to the extentions

If you have a dot (.) in the name of your mission, leave it out. If the version number uses a dot, replace it with a hyphen (-) in the filename.

Examples of filenames:

ctf_gc_50_everon_v1-06beta2.sara.pbo

dm_16_vanilla_v1-03b.sara.pbo

--- Ending words ---

This standard's purpose is to make everyone's browsing easier and faster both as server admins and as players joining a game. Selfish naming policies such as adding special characters or brackets at the beginning of the name to make your mission show at the beginning of the list only disrupts the system so I ask you to have the willpower and discipline to follow the standard, no matter how special you think your mission is. The standard is open for changes as long as it contributes to its purpose or if there is a mistake somewhere in the current edition of this post.

Edited April 13, 2009 by W0lle
Import fixed

[celery 8]

Reserved for further info.

[jerryhopper 286]

i'd say WOOT.

ok - im building in a 'filter' that filters out all missions that use this convention. these missions will be shown in my ArmA:Monitor website.

i hope that together we can make a 'front' and sorta Force this standart for once and for all

// more info follows on my developments.....

[celery 8]

ok - im building in a 'filter' that filters out all missions that use this convention. these missions will be shown in my ArmA:Monitor website.

I was planning to make a similar list of mission makers who use the standard in the second post of this thread, like a hall of fame. I hope that most mission makers will use it in the future.

There may be demand and much honor for a person who hauls missions with non-standard names and converts both the mission and filenames and re-releases them in packs. It would seriously help make mission lists cleaner.

[5133p39 14]

good job, nice to see this. If i ever finish any mission i am working on, i will certainly use these rules.

[jerryhopper 286]

Standards will lead to conveniance in usage.

like the Addon Tags system.

i have to say: the post from celery, he doesnt discuss but SETS the standard.

And that is what i like from this, and therefore i support this.

Endless discussions on how things should be, are useless.

i'll make changes in my system ASAP so only those custom  missions using this tag convention will be shown.

Im sure it will be a long and hard way of 'pushing' and polishing this standard.

in short,  im supporting this wherever i can, starting with the ArmA:Tracker file-hosting and ArmA:Monitor.

[cervomix 0]

Excellent Idea Celery! If you agree we will post your article on our site!

[celery 8]

Excellent Idea Celery! If you agree we will post your article on our site!

Only on the condition that you do it ASAP.

[jerryhopper 286]

dang! im getting stuck on the OFPEC tags system.

i'll put that issue a few priorities up... as its a essential thing.

OFPEC WAKE UP!

[rundll.exe 12]

Hmm this doesnt really go with the (cr)CTI mission naming standard we thought of ourself...

crCTI 1.0 @DVD 1.1 Central Everon

would become:

CTI@ 28 crCTI 1.0 DVD 1.1 Central Everon

or more strict

DVD CTI@ 28 crCTI Central Everon 1.0 1.1

wich is quite unreadable. and has 2 times CTI in it.

so while this is a good idea for most missions, it isnt really good for readability for complex missions with sub-mods of it.

and second, I like to sort the list by mission name so I have a list of all CTI missions that are playing. but now I get a list ordered by mod OR mission type...

[NoRailgunner 0]

don't forget to write the "readme" file

Edited April 13, 2009 by W0lle

[celoush 45]

And now for ADDONS.

[celery 8]

Hmm this doesnt really go with the (cr)CTI mission naming standard we thought of ourself...

crCTI 1.0 @DVD 1.1 Central Everon

would become:

CTI@ 28 crCTI 1.0 DVD 1.1 Central Everon

or more strict

DVD CTI@ 28 crCTI Central Everon 1.0 1.1

wich is quite unreadable. and has 2 times CTI in it.

so while this is a good idea for most missions, it isnt really good for readability for complex missions with sub-mods of it.

and second, I like to sort the list by mission name so I have a list of all CTI missions that are playing. but now I get a list ordered by mod OR mission type...

I guess crCTI can pass as its own game type and since DVD's addon pack is a specific "submod" for the map, the name doesn't need to change much to fit the standard neatly.

These are my suggestions:

crCTI 1.0@ 28 DVD 1.1 Central Everon

crCTI@ 28 DVD 1.1 Central Everon 1.0

In practise only the @ sign needs to move and a player amount should be introduced for the map names to follow the standard. In principle DVD 1.1 would be part of the mission name to signify what kind of "edition" it is.

The location of version number depends on if the game mode's version or the map's version is in question. I'm not an expert in crCTI so I guess you know it better. I do know that Frantic.bay gives version names for his CTF maps according to the version of the whole script system, and the number is in the end of the name. It does look neater that way in my opinion.

[MEDICUS 0]

Nice concept, but wouldn't it be better to use "_" instead of space?

Like this:

crCTI_1.0@_28_DVD_1.1_Central_Everon

I know, that Windows handels maps with a space in their name very good, but afaik Linux had some troulbles to handel maps like this.

Would be good to add this from the beginning ... Linux-Servers will hopefully appear soon

MfG Medicus

[celery 8]

Nice concept, but wouldn't it be better to use "_" instead of space?

Like this:

crCTI_1.0@_28_DVD_1.1_Central_Everon

I know, that Windows handels maps with a space in their name very good, but afaik Linux had some troulbles to handel maps like this.

Would be good to add this from the beginning ... Linux-Servers will hopefully appear soon

MfG Medicus

That's what we're doing with the filenames. The actual mission names require no underscores because they are inside mission.sqm.

[MEDICUS 0]

That's what we're doing with the filenames. The actual mission names require no underscores because they are inside mission.sqm.

Ah ok, I see.

MfG Medicus

[hardrock 1]

Very nice thread, but I would suggest putting the example mission names in lowercase (and maybe underscores) too so this aspect is clearer. We on the CiA server spent a lot of times renaming MP missions cause they either contained uppercase letters or spaces. And your note below might get lost.

Great initiative!

[celery 8]

I would suggest putting the example mission names in lowercase (and maybe underscores) too so this aspect is clearer.

Do you mean the filenames? I guess I can bolden up the gray header to a darker color. If you mean the mission names that show in the mission list, they don't need to be lower case with underscores.

[hardrock 1]

Do you mean the filenames? I guess I can bolden up the gray header to a darker color. If you mean the mission names that show in the mission list, they don't need to be lower case with underscores.

Ah, sorry, I mixed up mission and filenames there

[wex-q 0]

How about RPG for mission standard acronym (meaning RolePlayingGame)?

[celery 8]

How about RPG for mission standard acronym (meaning RolePlayingGame)?

Why not, I added it to the list. If there are other game types that should be in the list, I'll happily receive a PM about it!

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

I'd like to discuss these thoughts:

1. A similar standard could also be used for SP-missions. The first abbreviation might be SP for Single Player and than mission types could be described, such as TL for Team Leader,

TM for Team Member TS for Teamswitch, SO for Solo, D for Day mission, N for night mission, etc.

2. It should be a rule that readme files should bear the same as the mission plus the word "readme".

"sp_tl_ts_d_missionname_v1-03b.sara.readme" would be the readme file for a Sp-mission, You play as team leader. Teamswitch is enabled. It is daytime. This is follwed by the mission name and version number.

Would this be useful?

[baddo 0]

Hi

It is great some standards are formed.

Remember though, the simpler you can keep it, the better.

BR,

Baddo.

[celery 8]

I'd like to discuss these thoughts:

1. A similar standard could also be used for SP-missions. The first abbreviation might be SP for Single Player and than mission types could be described, such as TL for Team Leader,

TM for Team Member TS for Teamswitch, SO for Solo, D for Day mission, N for night mission, etc.

2. It should be a rule that readme files should bear the same as the mission plus the word "readme".

"sp_tl_ts_d_missionname_v1-03b.sara.readme" would be the readme file for a Sp-mission, You play as team leader. Teamswitch is enabled. It is daytime. This is follwed by the mission name and version number.

Would this be useful?

I'm not so sure about sp missions. The filenames themselves would do no good unless the mission name is similar. Putting abbreviations in front of the mission name would make the mission list a little dry. I don't know, you can create a topic for larger discussion, personally I'd prefer that the mission description in the list would contain enough information to see what kind of mission it is.

Hi

It is great some standards are formed.

Remember though, the simpler you can keep it, the better.

BR,

Baddo.

I agree. The standard isn't going to get any more complicated since ease of browsing and use is our main goal.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

I do agree with Celery: Abbreviations in front of the mission names would be a little dry and if mission names contain enough information the abbreviations would be unnecessary in the first place.

But the abbreviations would make missions which are similar in terms of gameplay appear next to each other in the list regardless of the mission name. I believe this would make sense and I could tolerate a somewhat dry mission list. And I personally don't think that mission names like "Operation Horseshoe" contain sufficient information.

But I do see a practical problem: The mission makers may not want to rename their missions. And if they did, many players would have the same mission appear twice in their mission folder. This confusion would certainly be counterproductive.

A possible solution may be a simple Excel sheet which contains the mission name and the abbreviations in different columns. Sorting the Excel sheet by column would help locating a specific mission type and mission makers would not have to worry about regulations for mission names.

Does this sound like a good idea?