Airfield Exclusive Roster And Special Unit Hints

Airfield-Exclusive Roster And Special-Unit Hints

Source-verified 2026-06-21 against master 0139a346. Paths relative to Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/ unless noted. Arma 2 OA 1.64.

When a side captures an airfield, the hangar buy menu stops showing that side's normal WFBE_<side>AIRPORTUNITS list and shows a cross-faction, airfield-exclusive aircraft roster instead. This page documents the small self-contained subsystem that drives that swap: three global lists published at boot by Init_Common.sqf (the tail of the post-load mutation layer, after the block that the Assets/Config atlas stops at), and the GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf "Airport" case that consumes them. It also covers the parallel data-driven special-unit info popup table (WFBE_SPECIAL_UNIT_HINTS) that fires a hintSilent when the player selects a flagged classname.

This is distinct from the standard faction hangar list (owned by Factory and purchase systems) and from how an airfield is captured / its hangar object spawned (owned by Towns, camps and capture). This page owns only the roster-swap and hint mechanism.

Boot-time globals (Init_Common.sqf)

These three globals are written near the very end of common initialization, just before commonInitComplete = true (Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:419). They are plain missionNamespace-scoped globals set on every machine (no setVariable [..., true] broadcast and no server round-trip), so the buy menu can read them locally at menu-fill time. The roster block is gated on WFBE_C_AIRFIELDS > 0 (Init_Common.sqf:386); the hint table is unconditional.

Global	Built at	Shape	Notes
WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS	Init_Common.sqf:387-401	[classname, ...]	Generic cross-faction list shared by ALL captured airfields on BOTH sides. Map-forked on IS_chernarus_map_dependent (Init_Common.sqf:387).
WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS_SPECIAL	Init_Common.sqf:403-405	[[townName, [classname, ...]], ...]	Per-airfield extras appended only at the named airfield. Resolved by town name at menu-fill time.
WFBE_SPECIAL_UNIT_HINTS	Init_Common.sqf:412-415	[[classname, stringtable-key], ...]	Drives a selection-time info popup in the buy menu. Independent of the roster swap (applies to any unit, not just airfield ones).

The header comment block (Init_Common.sqf:379-385) labels this "Task 12: Airfield-exclusive aircraft roster" and states the design intent: append a pair to WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS_SPECIAL to add a per-airfield special "no other file changes needed."

Generic roster, map fork

The Chernarus branch (Init_Common.sqf:387-396) publishes a five-entry list; the Takistan branch (Init_Common.sqf:397-400) publishes a two-entry list:

Map condition	WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS value	Source
IS_chernarus_map_dependent true	["An2_TK_EP1","Mi17_Ins","Mi171Sh_rockets_CZ_EP1","Su25_Ins","L159_ACR"]	Init_Common.sqf:394
otherwise (Takistan)	["An2_TK_EP1","Mi17_TK_EP1"]	Init_Common.sqf:397

In-source comments (Init_Common.sqf:388-395) record the content rulings: the L-39C was removed from the generic Chernarus list and moved to a Balota-only special; the rocket-armed Mi-171Sh was added for early-game support; and a 2026-06-12 amendment added two light jets, Su25_Ins (EAST) and L159_ACR (WEST), priced between the Mi-171Sh and the cheapest factory jet. The comments also flag that Su25_Ins and L159_ACR deliberately appear in both the airfield pool and a faction factory list — confirmed at Common/Config/Core_Units/Units_CO_US.sqf:284 and :297 for L159_ACR. The cross-faction listing (Takistani/Insurgent airframes available to any captor) is called out as intentional, citing "soft-faction-walls precedent."

Mi171Sh_rockets_CZ_EP1 was explicitly relocated out of the US factory roster into this list — see the leftover marker comment at Units_CO_US.sqf:279 ("moved to WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS ... buy it at any captured airfield"), which sits right after the still-listed Mi171Sh_CZ_EP1 at Units_CO_US.sqf:278.

Per-airfield specials

Only one special is defined in source (Init_Common.sqf:403-405):

Town key	Appended classes	Map	Source
Balota	["L39_TK_EP1"]	Chernarus only	Init_Common.sqf:404

Takistan defines no specials (empty array on that branch is implied — the whole WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS_SPECIAL assignment lives inside the WFBE_C_AIRFIELDS > 0 block but the literal at :403-405 is map-independent, so Takistan also gets the Balota entry; it simply never matches a Takistan town name). The comment at Init_Common.sqf:401-402 states Takistan has "no clean equivalent for L-39C."

Special-unit hint table

One entry is defined (Init_Common.sqf:412-415):

Classname	Stringtable key	Source
Mi17_medevac_CDF	STR_WF_HINT_SalvageHeli	Init_Common.sqf:414

The key resolves at stringtable.xml:9566. A comment at Init_Common.sqf:413 records that a WEST salvage heli (UH1H_EP1) entry was removed as an invalid class on the live box, to be re-added with a validated airframe (claude-inbox#2 item 1).

Buy-menu consumer (GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf)

Roster swap — Airport case

The swap lives in the case 'Airport' branch of the menu's update-list switch (Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:329-360). The normal path computes the nearest hangar via WFBE_CL_FNC_GetClosestAirport; the override triggers only when that hangar is a captured-airfield hangar.

Step	Behaviour	Source
Detect	Trigger only if WFBE_C_AIRFIELDS > 0, the closest airport is non-null, and its wfbe_hangar object has wfbe_is_airfield_hangar == true.	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:334
Base list	_listUnits becomes WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS, OR WFBE_GUERAIRPORTUNITS when sideJoined == resistance.	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:335
Resolve town	_airfTownObj = [_closest, towns] Call WFBE_CO_FNC_GetClosestEntity, then read its name variable (empty string if null).	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:340-341
Append special	Linear-scan WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS_SPECIAL for a (_x select 0) == _airfTownName match; if found, _listUnits = _listUnits + (entry select 1).	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:342-352
Filter override 1	Reset the saved faction filter to index 0 ("All") via setVariable [Format["WFBE_%1%2CURRENTFACTIONSELECTED",sideJoinedText,_type], 0] — otherwise the cross-faction rows are all dropped.	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:353,358
Filter override 2	Call UIFillListBuyUnits with upgrade-gate sentinel 999 instead of the real upgrade index — the capture itself is the unlock, and out-of-range is treated as "no gate."	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:354-357,359

The wfbe_is_airfield_hangar flag the detection reads is set server-side at capture time: server_town.sqf:571 tags the new hangar ["wfbe_is_airfield_hangar", true, true] (broadcast); line 572 records it as wfbe_hangar and sets wfbe_airfield_side. WFBE_C_AIRFIELDS itself defaults to 1 (Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:598). WFBE_CO_FNC_GetClosestEntity is compiled at Init_Common.sqf:126 from Common/Functions/Common_GetClosestEntity.sqf.

The sentinel-999 pattern mirrors the unconditional GUER tab path elsewhere in the same file: the generic tab-update call at GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:308 already passes 999 when sideJoined == resistance to bypass the upgrade gate (GUER has no upgrades, only funds + time-tier gating).

GUER roster has no setter (source finding)

WFBE_GUERAIRPORTUNITS is read at GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:335 with a default of [], but a repo-wide grep finds no setVariable/assignment for it anywhere in the source mission. Practical consequence: a resistance-side captor of an airfield gets an empty exclusive roster (plus any town special, which is also keyed off the same _listUnits and so would still append). The GUER airfield roster is therefore effectively non-functional unless populated by a generated or branch file outside this checkout. This is a real gap worth flagging before assuming GUER players can buy airfield aircraft.

GUER airfield ownership is otherwise wired: server_town.sqf:497 tags the logic with wfbe_airfield_side, and Client/Functions/Client_GetClosestAirport.sqf:14 filters so a resistance player only sees a hangar whose wfbe_airfield_side == resistance ("C-1: GUER airfield ownership gate").

Special-unit hint consumer

On unit selection the menu runs a chain of hintSilent parseText info popups (VBIED, lift-helicopter, etc.); the data-driven special-hint lookup is the last general one (GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:623-635):

Step	Behaviour	Source
Read table	_wfbeSpecialHints = missionNamespace getVariable ["WFBE_SPECIAL_UNIT_HINTS", []].	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:626
Match	Linear-scan for (_x select 0) == _unit (the selected classname).	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:628-631
Show	On match, hintSilent parseText (localize (entry select 1)).	GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:632-635

So selecting Mi17_medevac_CDF anywhere in the buy menu (not only at an airfield) shows the STR_WF_HINT_SalvageHeli popup. The hint table and the roster swap are independent subsystems that happen to be initialized adjacently.

Extending the subsystem

To add	Edit	Effect
A new aircraft to all captured airfields	Append a classname to the relevant map branch of WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS (Init_Common.sqf:394/:397).	Available at every captured airfield on that map for both sides.
A new per-airfield exclusive	Append [townName, [classes]] to WFBE_AIRFIELD_UNITS_SPECIAL (Init_Common.sqf:403-405).	Town name must match the airfield's nearest-town name.
A new selection popup	Append [classname, "STR_WF_HINT_..."] to WFBE_SPECIAL_UNIT_HINTS (Init_Common.sqf:412-415) and add the stringtable key.	Fires the hint whenever that class is selected in the buy menu.

No FSM, server router, or description.ext change is needed for any of the above — the design is deliberately one-array-edit per addition.

Continue Reading

• Factory And Purchase Systems Atlas — the standard faction WFBE_<side>AIRPORTUNITS hangar list this roster replaces, plus UIFillListBuyUnits and hangar purchase range.
• Towns Camps And Capture Atlas — how an airfield is captured and its wfbe_is_airfield_hangar hangar object is spawned (server_town.sqf).
• Assets Config Localization And Parameters Atlas — the earlier Init_Common.sqf post-load mutation layer (pricing, currency, repair-truck aggregation) that precedes this block.
• Auxiliary And Special Forces Unit Catalog — the individual airframes that populate the roster (e.g. the airfield-exclusive gunship).
• Server Init Deadspawn And Airfield Probe — airfield-logic setup at server init.