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Chain of Commands Network Services 2 (CoC NS2) How the hell does it work? Why use it? Because: Automatically generates and updates a list of all the players in a MP mission It’s able to broadcast strings, sides, arrays and multi-dimensional arrays globally, and virtually any data type including those supported by publicVariable (number, boolean, object, group) Can send data to all, specific clients, all clients or just the server Allows you to execute calls or functions sent from the server to clients and viceversa It’s able to share global arrays among server and clients Reduces the amount of global variables needed for clients in MP Eliminates the need of looped scripts and other synchronization methods Getting it The last version can be found here: http://www.ofpec.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=h0tkc4h997vpefijgf0tc5el21&action=dlattach;topic=30650.0;attach=5472 If you get it from somewhere else make sure it's version 2.0, not 1.1. The latter should be avoided, as it's inferior in all aspects. Read the included Intro_to_CoC_NS_D2.pdf file, by the main coder of Sinews of War. It's short and simple, and good to have a general sense of this tool. Note that all his examples are focused on the exclusive use of fnRemoteCall, disregarding other methods. Setting it up For the addon version: NOT NEEDED IF YOUR MISSION USES COC UA: Place the CoC-SERVER logic in the editor (found in Game Logic -> CoC Utilities) For the script version: Copy the contents of CoCNS_2_0_ScriptTemplate.intro to your mission folder. It can be found inside the CoC NS 2 zip file. ONLY IF YOUR MISSION DOESN'T USE COC UA: Place a game logic in the editor and name it CoC_Server. Stuff you should know The official documentation can be found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20060112070534/http://www.thechainofcommand.com/docs/ Nodes: Nodes are connected sessions, listed in CoC_ClientList. That means that nodes actually refer to players, except for the case of the server when dedicated, which refers to a logic instead. Node index 0 is always the server (can be a player or a logic), node index 1 is the first player client, node 2 the second, etc. CoC_ClientsReady: Use this to check if CoC NS 2 is fully loaded before executing anything related to it. You'll probably just use it once, in an init script or somewhere along those lines. CoC_ClientList: 2D array listing all connected nodes. There's another equivalent global var, CoC_PeerList, so you can use whichever you like most. It has this format: [player object, player name, reserved var, connected]. The server is always at index 0. To retrieve the player object of the first client you would do something like this: (CoC_ClientList select 1) select 0. CoC_ClientChannel: It contains the index of the local node in CoC_ClientList. It’s stored locally, so its value will be different for each machine. fNSend: Use this to send stuff to specific nodes. Append "NO_NQ" if you want to send it ASAP, as it avoids the queue, and "NO_DISC" to ignore disconnected nodes. fNSendAll, fNSendClients and fNSendServer: Use them to send stuff to all nodes, just the clients or just the server, respectively. All of them share the same syntax and can use the "NO_NQ" and "NO_DISC" tags. fNSendGlobal: This seems to be the most optimized function to send data, so use it to send stuff to all or specific nodes when you aren't sending strings or sides, and if you don't need the "NO_DISC" and "NO_NQ" tags. Otherwise use either fNSend or fNSendAll. fNRemoteCall: Use this to execute calls on all or specific nodes. It only works with boolean, number, string, array and multi-dimensional array data types, though. CoC_isClient, CoC_isServer, CoC_isServerClient and CoC_isServerDedicated: Use them to know if the specific node is a client, a server (without specifics), a listen server or a dedicated server, respectively. Run the checks either locally or via fNRemoteCall. CoC_PublicArrays: Contains a list of all the arrays publicly shared. CoC_NSFunTable: Array containing all the custom functions you want to use in CoC NS2 There are way more interesting global vars and built-in functions, but those listed here are the ones I actually found more useful so far. So, how do I use all this? You have two main ways to share data. The one you'll probably use more often is by sending petitions to execute one of the custom functions referenced in CoC_NSFunTable, via fNSendAll, fNSendClients, etc. The other one is by using the public array system. You can also use fNRemoteCall, although it has more limitations than the both mentioned before. Custom functions Before getting into custom functions let me tell you that there's a few built-in ones present already, like: fNPing: Sends a ping request to the specified nodes fNPrint: Prints the specified data in the specified nodes. For debugging, mainly All the ones included are: "fNPing","fNPingr","fNCS","fNUP","fNPrint","fNBlank","fNClearQ","fNCall". Don't create new functions with any of those names, or you'll overwrite them and break all this. For other specific tasks you'll need to create and load the functions yourself and add them to the CoC_NSFunTable array. Before anything, you'll need to init the CoC_NSFunTable array if you are using the script version. It's initialized automatically in the addon one or if you use CoC UA in your mission. Anyway, I think it's good practice to check if this array exists before touching it: _null=format["%1",_nullstring]; ? (format["%1",CoC_NSFunTable]==_null) : CoC_NSFunTable=[] Then you load and add the functions to be used by CoC NS2, like this: ? (format["%1",fPlayAnim]==_null) : fPlayAnim = preprocessFile "fu\fPlayAnim.sqf", CoC_NSFunTable set [count CoC_NSFunTable,"fPlayAnim"] ? (format["%1",fSay]==_null) : fSay = preprocessFile "fu\fSay.sqf", CoC_NSFunTable = CoC_NSFunTable set [count CoC_NSFunTable,"fSay"] ? (format["%1",fClientChat]==_null) : fClientChat = preprocessFile "fu\fClientChat.sqf", CoC_NSFunTable = CoC_NSFunTable set [count CoC_NSFunTable,"fClientChat"] Those are just examples. You can add any function you want. Also, note that I make sure those functions aren't defined already. That's to avoid problems when two script packs which both use CoC NS2 are running together. Otherwise it'd add unneeded entries of functions to the CoC_NSFunTable array. Alternatively you could have done this: fPlayAnim = preprocessFile "fu\fPlayAnim.sqf" fSay = preprocessFile "fu\fSay.sqf" fClientChat = preprocessFile "fu\fClientChat.sqf" CoC_NSFunTable = ["fPlayAnim", "fSay", "fClientChat"] It actually doesn't matter, one way or the other. But if you want to avoid double entries the former method is preferred. What it does matter is to init all that in all clients and that the functions listed in CoC_NSFunTable are in the same order everywhere, so a good place for that would be in the init.sqs of your mission. Public Arrays You can share arrays publicly, so they can be automatically updated in all nodes and can also be edited by any of them. The public arrays are stored in the CoC_PublicArrays global var. It must be initialized manually in all nodes and all of them must be identical, so a good candidate is the init.sqs. To init CoC_PublicArrays you’d do something like this: globalArray1 = [] globalArray2 = [<stuff>] CoC_PublicArrays = ["globalArray1","globalArray2"] As you can see, CoC_PublicArrays is actually a reference to the arrays you want to be global. The arrays themselves can be either empty or not. You can always change their contents later and broadcast them via fPublicArray. To add a new array to CoC_PublicArrays after it's been initialized you'd need to do something like this: [[],{myNewGlobalArray = []; CoC_PublicArrays set [count CoC_PublicArrays, "myNewGlobalArray"]}] call fNRemoteCall And to remove one: [[],{NameOfTheArrayToDelete = nil; CoC_PublicArrays = CoC_PublicArrays - ["NameOfTheArrayToDelete"]}] call fNRemoteCall To modify a global array you'd use the built-in fPublicArray function, like this: oneOfTheGlobalArrays = oneOfTheGlobalArrays - [unusedObject] "oneOfTheGlobalArrays" call fPublicArray This way all the nodes will receive the request to update their respective versions of the oneOfTheGlobalArrays array with the content of the one of the node that is sending the request. Examples Killed EH The killed eventhandler is local to the computer the unit belongs to. That means that the server won't be aware of when a player is killed unless some looped scripts and global vars are used (which can be dozens depending on the amount of players). CoC NS2 allows to simplify all this by sending the message from the client to the server when the player is killed, so the server can act accordingly. This is a way of doing so: Initialize the CoC_NSFunTable global var: _null=format["%1",_nullstring]; ? (format["%1",CoC_NSFunTable]==_null) : CoC_NSFunTable=[] Create a custom function that will serve as a parser for the sent killed EH. For this example we'll name it fKilled.sqf and will place it in a directory named fu. The code of the function would look like this: private ["_unit","_killer"]; _unit = _this select 0; _killer = _this select 1; [_unit,_killer] exec "eh\killed_server.sqs"; Note that we'll be sending the unit and killer vars to a script named killed_server.sqs in the eh directory, but we could as well run our killed EH code here. Now we load the function this way: ? (format["%1",fKilled]==_null) : fKilled = preprocessFile "fu\fKilled.sqf", CoC_NSFunTable set [count CoC_PublicArrays, "fKilled"] The killed EH should have been added to the player's unit somewhere, like this: this addeventhandler ["killed", {_this exec "eh\killed.sqs"}] And in killed.sqs we put this: _unit = _this select 0; _killer = _this select 1; [[_unit,_killer],"fKilled"] call fNSendServer So, when a player client is killed this would happen: The player's killed EH script would run on his computer, and send a petition to the server to execute the fKilled function with the _unit and _killer vars passed. The server would receive the notification and execute the fKilled function, which in turn would execute the killed_server.sqs script locally This same system can be used to handle the hit EH, which is also local. Strings in global variables Strings are one of the data types not supported by publicVariable. With CoC NS2 we can update and synchronize its value to all nodes with something like this: [[],{myStringGlobalVar = "Some text here"}] call fNRemoteCall By using fNRemoteCall we'll execute the content in brackets in all nodes, including the server. We could have sent this to specific nodes by specifying the nodes, like: [[1,4],{myStringGlobalVar =... While we used a string in this example, this same system would work with global vars that contain any of the other data types supported by fNRemoteCall (booleans, numbers, arrays and multi-dimensional arrays). Notes Be aware that you won't be able to send objects as parameters with a fNRemoteCall. The call executed needs the object to be either local to the receiver or known globally. Something like this, where _unit is defined locally on the server, won't work: [[],"format [{%1 say %2},_unit,_what]"] call fNRemoteCall. By formatting _unit you will actually send the reference of the unit, not the unit object (the client will try to execute something like WEST 1-1-A:1 say phraseWhatever, which obviously won't work). So, if you want to execute something on a unit use a custom function instead, like this: [[_unit,_what],"fSay"] call fNSendAll. The fSay function must have been previously added to the CoC_NSFunTable array, and it would contain something like: _unit say _what; Alternatively, you could make use of the CoC_ClientChannel and CoC_ClientList vars, as shown in the examples in the Intro_to_CoC_NS_D2.pdf file. Drawbacks CoC NS2 can take a long time to load, particularly for the script version. Conflicts with CoC UA in the scripted version if a CoC_Server logic is manually placed in the editor -- Online PDF version of this guide: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By2CaodBQ84GUTJfSVFyYW54alE/edit?usp=sharing -- Feel free to contribute to this guide and point out any wrong information or coding that could be improved. This guide will be updated in that respect as seen appropriate.

I've been collecting, expanding and creating documentation for various addons and mods. Initially this was done for myself, as I found very convenient being able to access all of them on a single place via browser, but I think this might be useful for someone else. The current compiled documentation consists of: WW4 - Units: name, class, 3d model, weapons, magazines... - Weapons: real name of the weapon, class, muzzles, magazines... WGL Everything in the docs directory of this mod, with some added info. - WGL5 manual (draft) - WGL4 tech and field manuals - Ammo values - Damage values - Groups - Infantry units - Laser designator values - Crew, magazines, weapons, etc of weapons and vehicles - Rucksack magazines - Vehicles - Weapons (with muzzle names added) - WGL ZM classes, global vars, etc CoC - CoC NS2 guide (the one already posted) Markers Names and classes of markers from several addons - Default BIS markers - USMC markers - WGL markers You can browse and view the documents here: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0By2CaodBQ84GN1RDM0ctazhyNlk/edit?usp=sharing The documentation provided here might be expanded in the future. If so I'll notify about here to let anyone interested know.

Edit (09-22-2007): Added 0.86 Mirrors Edit (09-20-2007): New Version 0.86 Edit (09-01-2007): Added Mirrors Command Engine X for ArmA (CEX) Public Beta ------------------------------------------------------- The Chain of Command is proud to present the public beta release of the Command Engine for ArmA. WHAT IS IT FOR? --------------------- Like its predecessors in OFP, CEX is a script addon that enables players to control multiple groups. Units are organized in hierarchical command chains allowing the representation of real life military units such as platoons, companies or battalions. CEX functionality can be incorporated into any mission. Mission designers have full control over the command structures and can freely assign command capabilities to the players. CEX is designed to be fully multiplayer compatible. Players can take any position within the command structure on any side, be it commander-in-chief, squad leader or private. CEX commanders control their subordinate units via an intuitive graphical user interface which borrows elements found in real-time strategy games. Despite the intention to grant easy access, the underlying system is intended as a realistic simulation of higher-level combat in ArmA. The addon contains several fully playable missions as well as templates for mission designers to base their own missions on. IMPORTANT NOTES ----------------------- 1) Please remember that this a beta release. CEX has grown into a sizeable system, so please expect some bugs and glitches. This is especially true in multiplayer, where CEX has not received full testing yet. Currently, only the test mission is MP-enabled out of the box. 2) We will do our best to make future CEX version back-compatible. We can not guarantee, though, that missions created for the present version will work without problems with the gold release version. While you are of course free to create missions now, please be aware of this possible caveat. CREDITS ----------- - Missions by Snake Man - Template Missions by jens198 - This package contains - CoC Extended Marker Addon 1.2 by Leonardus - Network Services Addon 3.0 by Pennywise SPECIAL THANKS --------------------- Dslyecxi, Idontno, lwlooz, Pennywise, Walker, and all testers during the private beta phase. CHANGE LOG -------------- - BETA 2 (0.86): Change: CEX addon coc_cex.pbo Change: CEX_Test_Mission.Sara, old versions of this mission may not be compatible with 0.86 New: Start Menu Option CEX/Admin Tools/Restart Client ... use in MP in case a command transition was no properly recognized Fixed: Completed WPs were not deleted at commander machine (MP) New: Config Setting 'UnitServerUpdateInterval' ... refresh interval in secs of CEX server; determines unit responsiveness and server load New: Config Setting 'InterfaceUpdateInterval' ... refresh interval in secs of CEX UI New: Config Setting 'PlayerChatMessagesEnabled' ... if false, CEX will not ouptut order confirmation and status report chat messages originating from a player-controlled unit New: 4th command layer ... it is now possible to represent Battalion/Companies/Platoons/Squads in CEX New: Config Setting 'UseArmAMap' ... if true, CEX icons will also be displayed on standard ArmA map (non-interactively) Improved: Order reaction speed Fixed: Infantry sometimes disembarked from an external transport unit when changing behaviour New: Keyboard shortcuts F1-F8 -> Toggle select immediate subordinate ~ -> Toggle select all immediate subordinates Backspace -> Open/close command menu Page Up/Down -> Navigate command tree vertically Del/End -> Navigate command tree horizontally Shift+RMB -> Add WP Ctrl+RMB -> Move Ctrl+B -> Behaviour Ctrl+H -> Halt CTRL+P -> Proceed New: GUI message when switching to another unit Fixed: It was possible to switch to an already dead leader Fixed: Missing Command Engine option after dying and switching to another leader New: Config Setting 'ViewFriendlies' ... allows tracking of friendly but non-subordinate units New: Option 'Remove WPs' in unit context menu Fixed: Error when reaching 'Converge' waypoint Improved: Update interval now independent of total number of CEX units Fixed: CEX callsign was not assigned to group at mission start New: Config Setting 'Transport' ... mission editor can pre-assign a transport unit New: Config Setting 'Behaviour' ... mission editor can define initial behaviour state of unit Change: More frequent casualty reports and feedback messages Fixed: Non-CEX units could access the CEX interface Change: Many behaviour modes now use speed mode "FAST" Fixed: Landing helicopters now stay on ground New: UI Settings can now be applied on a per-unit basis in the description.ext Improved: Waypoint transition speed Fixed: Waypoint lines created by other players were visible in MP Fixed: Names of leaders commanding a vehicle were not properly handled in description.ext Fixed: Error when using CTRL+Click to move a unit - BETA 1 (0.85): First Public Release DOWNLOAD -------------- CoC CEX v0.86 @ thechainofcommand .net CoC CEX v0.86 @ Gotf.net (mirror provided by Rhodite, thanks) CoC CEX v0.86 @ Combat-Prison.net (mirror provided by Stavanger, danke) CoC CEX v0.86 @ Armaholic.com (mirror provided by Big, thanks) Old versions: CoC CEX v0.85 @ thechainofcommand .net Have Fun! Spinor CoC CEX Developer

Network Services 3.0 Public Beta -------------------------------------------------------- The Chain of Command is proud to present our first public beta release, Network Services 3.0 for ArmA. What is it For? -------------------------------------------------------- Many of you may already be aware of NS from our previous ancestor, OFP. Â We took this addon and made significant updates, optimizations, and enhancements to support ArmA. Â For our old-school players, there should be little explaining to do, and you can look foward to porting your NS supported addons over to ArmA. Â Otherwise, you may find NS 3.0 helpful for creating in depth missions like Capture The Island (CTI), Real Time Strategy (RTS), possibly CE3 for command control , and many other missions/addons that require an advance networking solution. Â NS 3.0 can also aid in minimizing network traffic and synchronizing JIP Clients. Resources -------------------------------------------------------- NS 3.0 provides many resources you can depend on like CoC_isServer, CoC_isClient, CoC_isServerClient, CoC_isServerDedicated. Â In addition, the arrays CoC_ClientList and CoC_PeerList which contain a list of all the conencted users, their objects, names and prefixes. NS 3.0 can also provide many a working solution for synchronizing JIP Clients. Â A new flag has also been added to represent JIP Clients, CoC_isJIPClient. Â All lists and flags are updated upon respawn and JIP. Â Index 0 represents the server and is always guaranteed. Supported send data types are: * Boolean * Null Group * Null Object * Side * String(strings must be 4000 chars or less) * Number * Object * Group * Array (filled with nothing or any of the above in any combination) * Multi-Dimensional Array (filled with nothing or any of the above in any combination) Special Notes -------------------------------------------------------- Please understand there is currently a handshaking process completed on each machine at the beginning of every mission. Â The is currently at most a 25 sec delay upon mission start, before NS 3.0 completely intializes. Â We are working to minimize and prevent this wait in our final release. Â This wait can significantly be reduced by adding the following at the top of your init.sqf: CoC_ConnectTimeout = 10; CoC_MaxRetry = 2; Special Thanks -------------------------------------------------------- First of all, I'd like to thank bn880 for the awesome addon! Â I'd also like to thank Spinor for helping test, listen to my sacrastic remarks, being the nice guy that he is, and providing input when I'm completely lost or wacked out of my gord. Â HudsonTPF for orignally getting me interested with making addons for OFP and shooting me down in them. Â Scatter and Leopard2 for helping me test. The 506th for the good games, http://www.506th-pir.org. I'd also like to thank Zeus Community, Killswitch, ViperMaul, and lwlooz for assisting with testing and bug fixes! DOWNLOAD -------------------------------------------------------- CoC Download http://ofp.dyndns.org/CoC_Pack.rar Previous release -------------------------------------------------------- http://www.thechainofcommand.net/downloads/zips/CoC_NSA_Pack.zip Armaholic Enjoy! Pennywise CWR Developer CoC Network & CEX Developer RAD F18 Developer RAD Su34 Developer

I have opened O2 PE, and then i open the viewer, everything is fine. If i restart the O2 PE once, it works. If i restart it again, it says "Cannot load worlds" and crashes. I tried restarting the system, but then it said "Unable to load viewer" Help me please

Hello! I have a couple of questions about night missions that i'm making. The main problem is light. I've added NV to the weapon crates in the spawn zone of the missions, but when the players respawn, they respawn without NV so they're bacisally too blind to find the crates. How do i make it so that dead players respawn with NV? Another question i have is how i make a searchlight turned on from the mission start. I don't want a soldier controlling them, i just want them to be turned on. I'm guessing there's a simple init command for it, i just haven't been able to find it. If anyone can help out with this, i sure would appreciate it! /J