Arma 2 OA Command Version Reference

Arma 2 OA — SQF command version reference (A3 contrast)

Independent BIKI-verified version-evidence companion to the canonical External Arma 2 OA reference guide. That page maps concepts → references and how-to-use; this page is the dated provenance log: the first game / version of each command this fork touches, so an agent can decide at a glance whether a command is safe for the Arma 2 OA 1.63 / 1.64 target. Verified read-only against the Bohemia Community Wiki (community.bistudio.com) on 2026-06-02 — reading a command's version badge needs no account.

Why this matters

The fastest way to break OA mission SQF is to "fix" it with Arma 3 reflexes: many everyday A3 commands simply did not exist in 2010–2013 and throw undefined command errors on OA. This page is the quick yes/no, with the OA-safe replacement.

Arma 3-only — do NOT use in OA mission SQF

Command / form	First game · version	Arma 2 OA replacement
params ["_a","_b"]	Arma 3 · 1.48	private ["_a","_b"]; _a = _this select 0; _b = _this select 1;
setGroupOwner / groupOwner	Arma 3 · 1.40	No equivalent — OA cannot transfer group locality; it follows the group leader's owner. (Impacts DR-21 HC re-delegation: you can redirect future spawns to a surviving HC, but cannot transfer live AI.)
array select [start, count]	Arma 3 · 1.32	single-index select N, or build with for/forEach.
string select [start, length] (substring)	Arma 3 · 1.28	toArray / toString (no native substring in OA).
array select {expression} (filter)	Arma 3 · 1.56	{ if (cond) then { … } } forEach _arr.
isEqualType	Arma 3 · 1.54	typeName _x == "ARRAY" (etc.).
remoteExec / remoteExecCall	Arma 3 · 1.50	publicVariable + addPublicVariableEventHandler (this mission's PVF wrappers).
parseSimpleArray	Arma 3 · 1.68	call compile — trusted input only (see DR-1 / DR-7 / DR-46).
ext callExtension [fn, args] (array form)	Arma 3 · 1.68	string form: ext callExtension "code,args".
private _x = value (inline-assign)	Arma 3 style	private "_x"; _x = value;

Confirmed available in Arma 2 OA

Command / form	First · version	Note
obj getVariable ["name", default]	ArmA 1.00 (obj/group); OA 1.60 (namespace)	Default-value form is OA-safe on missionNamespace. CAVEAT: on objNull, A2 returns undefined, not the default (A3 fixed this).
obj setVariable ["name", val, true]	ArmA 1.00	Public-broadcast 3rd arg is OA-safe.
publicVariableServer / publicVariableClient	OA 1.62	client→server / server→one-client targeting.
callExtension (string form)	OA 1.60	Blocking — keep out of hot loops.
allGroups, call, compile, preprocessFileLineNumbers, typeName, isNil, format, localize, hintSilent, diag_log, diag_fps, publicVariable, addPublicVariableEventHandler, toArray, toString	OFP / ArmA / A2	All OA-safe.

Gaps to fold into the canonical index

The External Arma 2 OA reference guide avoid-list currently names params, remoteExec, parseSimpleArray, isEqualTo, private _var = value. It should also name setGroupOwner / groupOwner (A3 1.40, no OA equivalent) and the select [start,count] / substring / filter forms (A3 1.28–1.56) — both are easy to import by reflex and both appeared in draft fix-snippets for this fork.

Continue Reading

Canonical usage map: External Arma 2 OA reference guide · Compatibility audit: Arma 2 OA compatibility audit · Networking: Networking and public variables · Findings: Deep-review findings · Code map: SQF code atlas

Method: BIKI command pages carry a per-command version badge; that badge — not the usage examples, which often include later Arma 3 notes — is the authority for OA availability. Forum threads are corroboration only, never the version source of truth. Verified 2026-06-02, lane external-a2-docs-editorial-compression.