Mission Naming Standard

- Multiplayer Mission Naming Standard -

Based on this standard, which was started by Celery.

Celerys Mission Name Standard

This document is for everyone who is making multiplayer missions,

please 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 servers

in-game mission list and in the GameSpy browser. There are hundreds of missions out

there and many servers have a huge amount of them so keeping things tidy helps pick the

mission best suited to the current player numbers and desired mission type, or just finding

a particular mission.

- Breifing Names -

Below is the basic standard for naming missions, entering a briefing name is done by clicking

on the ‘Intel’ section (has weather settings, date and time) on the toolbar in the ArmA 2 Editor.

NOTE: This is the name that shows up in your in-game mission selection screen and the

GameSpy browser, not the mission 'File Name'.

[CO25] Enemy Of My Enemy

[AAS100] Cheeseburger Hill

The name specifies these parts:

- game type

- maximum number of players

- mission name

Below are mission names with more detail, showing more pieces of information.

Examples of clan's tags:

[CTF16] SBS Banana Polana v4.0

[AAS100] Airport -C5-

[CO06] FHQ General Mortars

Example of a particular game type:

[CTI32] crCTI Warfare v0.8

Examples of mixed game types:

[AAS-C&H100] North South -C5-

[CTF-TDM40] Animal Kingdom

The name specifies these parts:

- game type

- maximum number of players

- clan tag/genre specific

- mission name

- version

NOTE: Naming a mission is as follows... game type followed by maximum number

of players, after that feel free to arrange the following attributes however you see fit,

most important is the game type and maximum number of players at the start, this is what

makes the standard work.

- File Names -

Same rules applies to file names, use the examples below.

Keeping the file name lower case and continuous with underscores makes it Linux friendly.

Naming the file like this helps to match "that mission" to the actual file, helps server admins

update and easily sort mission folders and for people who like order amongst their collection

of missions.

Briefing Name: [CTI32] crCTI Warfare v0.8

File Name: cti32_crcti_warfare_v08

Briefing Name: [AAS100] Airport -C5-

File Name: aas100_airport_c5

Briefing Name: [CO10] Cipher v1.41

File Name: co10_cipher_v1_41

Briefing Name: [CTF20] TCB S-Curve v2.0

File Name: ctf20_tcb_s_curve_v2

NOTE: Use underscores ( _ ) for spaces and for full stops or in some cases leave no

space (v0.91 = v091) with File Names. Full stops, spaces, commas and other random

characters will be replaced with text like '%20%' when saving to file, so don't use them.

- Game Mode Abbreviations -

Traditional / more common game modes.

A&D - Attack and Defend

AAS - Advance and Secure

C&H - Capture and Hold

CTF - Capture the Flag

CTI - Conquer the Island (ie. Warfare)

CO - Cooperative (only AI opponents)

DM - Death Match

FF - Flag Fight

PvP - Player vs. Player (only Human opponents, title covering all PvP modes)

RPG - Role Playing Game

SC - Sector Control

TDM - Team Death Match

TvT - Team vs. Team (2 or more opposing teams in an objective based Co-op setting)

Exotic / less common game modes.

ATF - Advance the Flag (teams advancing and knocking back flags)

CTB - Capture the Base

DYN - Dynamic (fully configurable mode for both CO & PvP, ie. VTS, MSO, Zombie Sandbox)

E&E - Escape & Evasion

HUNT - Hunting (Player vs. Creature)

KOTH - King of the Hill

MISC - Miscellaneous (unique mode not fitting any category)

OBJ - Objective (Co-op style and/or objectives with PvP element, ie. Insurgency)

RC - Racing (with a start and finish line - land, sea or air)

RTS - Real Time Strategy

SV - Survival (ie. DayZ)

TFF - Team Flag Fight

TRNG - Training/Practice Mission

VIP - Protection/Assassination (Team vs. Team / Team vs. Player)

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx308/lockie76/briefing_names.jpg (163 kB)"]Briefing Names Image[/url]

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx308/lockie76/file_names.jpg (319 kB)"]File Name Image[/url]

- Original Thread -

In my view it needs review for a few aspects:

# CO is just way too generic. Evolution and Domination need a different/new category. Probably others two.

# VTS should be GM (GameMaster) or sth along the lines

# MSO should be something like (Dynamic) Operations

# A persistent tag should be introduced to tell players if one round is standalone or connected to the next play

# VDM / VTDM is missing (vehicle version)

# CO vs PvP should be a separate layer above the specific game mode

Having had this system for a while, I must admit I don't like it. When you have 50x CO6, 27x CO7, 30x CO8, 14x CO9 etc etc it become VERY difficult to find anything, as everything must be visually scanned AND you have to remember how many players it has. If we are going to have anything why not reverse it and have the type and number at the end of the name?

# CO is just way too generic. Evolution and Domination need a different/new category. Probably others two.

But they are still co-op... they are only different because the objective locations are some what random... thats all.

# VTS should be GM (GameMaster) or sth along the lines

# MSO should be something like (Dynamic) Operations

They both don't fit under Dynamic!

# A persistent tag should be introduced to tell players if one round is standalone or connected to the next play

But then you need one for revive, perm death, dlcs/mods etc etc

# VDM / VTDM is missing (vehicle version)

Thats covered by DM & TDM.... not trying to be a smartass but then do we include BDM & BTDM for boats, ADM & ATDM for air unit DMs!?

# CO vs PvP should be a separate layer above the specific game mode

PvP does... it covers all pvp modes as stated in the thread, CO does cover all to but coop (AI only) is coop... there is a few missions I have tagged as CO-CTI etc

But even missions like Insurgency aren't co-op... soon as you add a pvp element to it, it becomes OBJ (Objective, Co-op style and/or objectives with PvP element)

Its an extremely difficult task trying to classify game modes, and should always be open for review.

Still find BI's new 'game mode' names rather odd... basically making up modes based on specific missions... PRAA in the game spy browser?? PR servers do not play the game mode PRAA!?!?

PRAA is a mod not a game mode... Project Reality plays games modes such as AAS and A&D...

Having had this system for a while, I must admit I don't like it. When you have 50x CO6, 27x CO7, 30x CO8, 14x CO9 etc etc it become VERY difficult to find anything, as everything must be visually scanned AND you have to remember how many players it has. If we are going to have anything why not reverse it and have the type and number at the end of the name?

There are two screenshots at the bottom of the first post.... its not perfect.

A naming standard has the key goal to provide both server admins and players a basic idea about the mission/game mode. Just CO does not.

Domination and Evolution are about leveling/ranking up, are respawn based. Overall they are very unlike to traditional COOP,

and provide a very different playing experience.

Yes revive and perm death should be part too - to integrate DLCs/mods serves no purpose.

A infantry DM is very different to a VDM. Do you disagree? A subset of vehicle will still be a a vehicle version.

Some missions can be played different ways and the naming should indicate that (mostly PvP and CO - like Warfare or Insurgency most prominently).

A naming standard has the key goal to provide both server admins and players a basic idea about the mission/game mode. Just CO does not.

Domination and Evolution are about leveling/ranking up, are respawn based. Overall they are very unlike to traditional COOP,

and provide a very different playing experience.

Yes revive and perm death should be part too - to integrate DLCs/mods serves no purpose.

A infantry DM is very different to a VDM. Do you disagree? A subset of vehicle will still be a a vehicle version.

Some missions can be played different ways and the naming should indicate that (mostly PvP and CO - like Warfare or Insurgency most prominently).

Warfare is CTI Kju... Insurgency is OBJ... read what the abbreviations mean/say mate..............

I do understand what you are saying but where does it stop.... we could add hundreds of game modes.

I would imagine the people selecting a mission to be played have some idea of its content and features, if they don't its imo a case of rtfm so to speak.

example of how ridiculous it could get.... '[DYN40-R-MSO-ACE-N] SBS Banana Polana v1.0' (game type, # of players, revive, more specific game type, ACE, Night time, clan tag, mission name, version.... that is ridiculous and it could be alot longer.

I present this list of game mode because they are universal and common and everyone knows what style they incorporate... how does someone new know what [DOM] or [PRAA] means???

Like I said.... where do you stop or do we create game types for nearly every mission... which there is over 2000 missions that use official content only... not to mention all the missions that require user addons/mods.

I'd really like to know where you would stop with creating game mode abbreviation for missions that are slightly different to an existing game mode abbreviation???

Remember the game mode is only a guide and does not need to specify everything 'different' said co-op does differently to another co-op... thats the point I think you miss.

I think a lot of the desired info can be given via the mission name. Current mission names are often like film titles. They sound "cool" without providing any information. Why not ask mission makers to describe the nature of the task in the mission name?

Good examples:

"sp_steal_the_car"

"co20_night_assault_on_balota"

Bad example:

"co_20_operation_zebra"

Another thing:

I find the list of game modes too long. It would be good to write a very precise description of each and every game mode in the list. Some will be very easy to write because they are simply obvious. "SP" for single player, for example. But if the descriptions become complicated and the distinguishing factors are few, then it might be justifiable to group similar game modes together and keep the list shorter. Unless I am ignoring something terribly important, I think "PvP" and "TvT" could be summarized as "PvP" because in both cases human players play against other human players.

I love the idea of a mission name standard, however the past has shown that people will simply not follow it unfortunately. Some people don't even name their mission at all, so just the file name is shown.

I love the idea of a mission name standard, however the past has shown that people will simply not follow it unfortunately. Some people don't even name their mission at all, so just the file name is shown.

That's actually a good thing. In OFP the name of the mission was the name of the file, but now these are two seperate things. This makes it very hard to manage a server with hundreds of missions because every mission maker follows a different naming convention and a given server must follow a single convention.

What I do before I upload missions to the CiA coop server is remove the briefing name from mission.sqm and rename the file according to our naming format. This is the only way to keep the server tidy!

You can see the result here on our online mission list

I tend to go by Celery's method. Ditch the brackets (kind of an eyesore to read) and just go with CO 05 Mission Name .

Easiest way for some admins would be ditch the naming description altogether and just go by the old school flashpoint way with the file name is the mission name as Variable suggested.

This is the only way to keep the server tidy!

You can see the result here on our online mission list

Not entirely true... I've download every missions (that doesn't require user mods/addons) for the last +3yrs and renamed them all in briefing and file names (over 2000 missions in my pack atm)

ie.

Briefing Name: [CTI32] crCTI Warfare v0.8

File Name: cti32_crcti_warfare_v08

If foxhound didn't let his personal feelings interfere with ArmAholic you'd be able to dl it there, but try here

I love the idea of a mission name standard, however the past has shown that people will simply not follow it unfortunately. Some people don't even name their mission at all, so just the file name is shown.

Tell me about it.... I use to open those ones in the editor to work out what mode it was and how many players had been placed so I could rename it accordingly... then put the mission name in the mission.sqm... it does amaze me that some guys spent hours/days making a mission to then not take 30 seconds to name it... let alone name it properly.

I think a lot of the desired info can be given via the mission name. Current mission names are often like film titles. They sound "cool" without providing any information. Why not ask mission makers to describe the nature of the task in the mission name?

Good examples:

"sp_steal_the_car"

"co20_night_assault_on_balota"

Bad example:

"co_20_operation_zebra"

Oh there are far worse... I seen plenty of mission names like.... 'operation_zebra'... thats it... no idea what mode it is, how many players... I delete these missions now.

Another thing:

I find the list of game modes too long. It would be good to write a very precise description of each and every game mode in the list. Some will be very easy to write because they are simply obvious. "SP" for single player, for example. But if the descriptions become complicated and the distinguishing factors are few, then it might be justifiable to group similar game modes together and keep the list shorter. Unless I am ignoring something terribly important, I think "PvP" and "TvT" could be summarized as "PvP" because in both cases human players play against other human players.

You're right... the list could be shrunk... well it would not want to get any bigger... I do see now in the gamespy browser game modes such as DOM and PRAA... DOM is coop, PRAA is a mod not a game mode and uses mission 'modes' such as AAS and A&D... whoever is responsible for this mission specific naming of modes is an idiot.

PvP is PvP... its not a mode as such but more a category for all Player vs Player missions/modes...

Read the list thoroughly you'll see that every mode should be covered.

I tend to go by Celery's method. Ditch the brackets (kind of an eyesore to read) and just go with CO 05 Mission Name .

My old clan and I spent a week or so deciding on the best method to rename... this was it and I've just continued on.

Check these and see it its legible enough... I think its sexy, but I would say that :)

[/img]

[/img]

Brackets could go (but I'm not renaming all 2000 missions again) but no space between 'mode' and 'player numbers' that just spreads it out more and separates the two most important 'tags' of the mission name which is 'Game Mode' followed by 'Max Player Numbers'

Easiest way for some admins would be ditch the naming description altogether and just go by the old school flashpoint way with the file name is the mission name as Variable suggested.

How about BI just enforce this...

class Header

{

gameType = Hold;

minPlayers = 2;

maxPlayers = 100;

};

and if its not completed properly the mission will fail on load.

Thanks for sharing your pack i76. Do you happen to host it somewhere that do not require login?

Not entirely true... I've download every missions (that doesn't require user mods/addons) for the last +3yrs and renamed them all in briefing and file names (over 2000 missions in my pack atm)

ie.

Briefing Name: [CTI32] crCTI Warfare v0.8

File Name: cti32_crcti_warfare_v08

hmmmm... I don't understand what is not entirely true, especially if you are also renaming the briefing name. If it was only the mission file name, you would only have to change it instead of digging in mission.sqm and rename it too. I don't see the benefit of having two names for each mission.

AusArmA PvP server has about 200 on it.... it can take up to 1 minute for mission selection to pop up with 2000 missions :)

We're having a massive physical server re-config so our PvP server along with 3 of our DayZ servers (I know... dayz:)) are down atm... shouldn't be too long

Thanks for sharing your pack i76. Do you happen to host it somewhere that do not require login?

hmmmm... I don't understand what is it that is not entirely true, especially if you are also renaming the briefing name. If it was only the mission file name, you would only have to change it instead of digging in mission.sqm and rename it too. I don't see the benefit of having two names for each mission.

What I mean is renaming the file name means nothing if there is some sort of name in the mission.sqm, which means since you still have to open the mission.sqm to remove mission name you might as well just rename it.

But I know what you mean... back to the old OFP way where the mission name came from the file name, that would make things easy... but this is BI we're talking about ;)

hehe...

My logic is as follows: if I'm already opening mission.sqm, why not remove the briefing name completely? When it is removed, the mission name will be the file name!

This is, in short our instructions for handling mission names before renaming the mission files and uploading them to the Comrades in Arms server.

In short:

To remove the briefing name follow these steps:

1.Unpack the mission PBO with Eliteness or CPBO.

2. Open mission.sqm in your favorite text editor (Notepad ++ recommended) and find line briefingName="Mission name blahblah";

3. Replace it with line briefingName="";

4. Repack the mission PBO with CPBO.

Get Lucas Rename 2000 or any other proper mass rename tool.

With any decent text editor with decent regex support (aka NOT notepad++),

you can mass remove or rename the briefingName statement for any number of sqm in one click.

Yeah, I use notepad++ for removing "briefingname" from all the mission.aqm of all missions at one go, and Bulkrename to rename multiple files - great utilitiy!

Another important tip for Windows 7 users: Microsoft decided to protect us from ourselves and disabled the option to open more than 15 files at one click of an enter. To change that check this thread. Check also this thread if you don't find MultipleInvokePromptMinimum on your registry.

hehe...

My logic is as follows: if I'm already opening mission.sqm, why not remove the briefing name completely? When it is removed, the mission name will be the file name!

This is, in short our instructions for handling mission names before renaming the mission files and uploading them to the Comrades in Arms server.

In short:

That is a good method, straight forward and easier... I guess I'm trying to keep 'file names' Linux friendly (lowercase with continuous_file_names) and this format ingame (mission selection/gamespy browser) would look untidy and a little cluttered imo... but I'm a clean freak and a perfectionist :)

Also do you know of any file sharing sites that don't require login/register to download?.... seems they have all gone this way with america and its attempts to control the internet.... er piracy.

They shutdown megaupload but leave Cnet/downloads.com (subs of CBS) to distribute limewire and promote illegal download and even have paid presenters informing on how to remove digital protection for the last 12 years.... its a joke and it takes Alki David (a private citizen) to pursue them.

/end rant

Get Lucas Rename 2000 or any other proper mass rename tool.

With any decent text editor with decent regex support (aka NOT notepad++),

you can mass remove or rename the briefingName statement for any number of sqm in one click.

huh, thats awesome :) I've played with notepad++ but not Lucas Rename 2000... I didn't realise it could do that... dl'ing now

ty :)

Also you didn't answer the question.... wheres the line in creating 'modes'?

I now see 'DOMTT in the gamespy browser.... BI, you have fucked up game modes big time... soon we'll see stupid shit like CLYDM... Celery Deathmatch and CRCTI and KBCTI and BECTI and CityLife and TakiLife and etc etc etc etc etc, cause everyone knows what they all mean :rolleyes:.... madness.