AI Assistant Developer Guide

AI Assistant Developer Guide

This page is written for Codex, Claude and future coding agents.

Always Start Here

1. Read AGENTS.md.
2. Check for CLAUDE.md and JOURNAL.md; none existed at the time this wiki was generated, but follow them if added later.
3. Check git status, current branch, recent commits and remote.
4. Treat Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus as the mission source for gameplay edits.
5. Use Bohemia Interactive Arma 2 OA scripting docs, not Arma 3 docs.

Safe Edit Rules

• Edit source mission files under Chernarus, then run Tools/LoadoutManager to propagate.
• Do not edit generated Takistan/modded mission folders as the primary source of truth.
• Do not change live-server modes, extension/database behavior, or anti-stack behavior without explicit confirmation.
• Keep diffs small in server init, PVF registration, economy and purchase/spawn paths.
• Preserve WF_Debug-gated logging style for debug detail and use small always-on INFORMATION/WARNING logs only for tester-visible state transitions.

Common Pitfalls

• Arma 2 OA SQF differs from Arma 3; avoid using newer commands unless verified for OA 1.64.
• Hosted server paths often need local handler calls as well as public-variable dispatch.
• Client-side UI/marker loops are performance-sensitive.
• publicVariable payloads can become a network performance issue.
• LoadoutManager has very deep paths; Windows clones may require Git core.longpaths=true.
• 7za missing does not block copy-only generation, but does block packaging.

Feature Work Checklist

• Locate the authoritative function registration in Init_Common.sqf, Init_Client.sqf, Init_Server.sqf or Init_PublicVariables.sqf.
• Identify whether state is client-owned, server-owned, common config or generated tool data.
• Add or reuse constants in Init_CommonConstants.sqf only when the value is truly shared.
• For networked features, prefer Common_SendToServer, Common_SendToClient or Common_SendToClients.
• Run/read targeted searches for duplicate hardcoded arrays before adding new ones.
• Verify with source mission first, then propagate generated mission folders.

High-Value Search Patterns

rg -n "WFBE_C_MY_FEATURE|MyFeature|publicVariable|addPublicVariableEventHandler" Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus
rg -n "Compile preprocessFile|execVM|execFSM" Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus
rg -n "TODO|FIXME|DoNotUse|GAME_CRASH|disabled|commented" Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus Tools

Recommended Verification

• For documentation-only changes: link check and diff review.
• For mission code changes: run dotnet run in Tools/LoadoutManager; tolerate missing 7za only for packaging.
• For performance changes: collect RPT with Performance Audit and run Tools/PerformanceAuditAnalyzer.
• For network changes: test dedicated-server and hosted/local branches if the code has isServer, isDedicated, isHostedServer or local player conditions.