Briefing Reference

Briefing Reference

Archived from PR #269 (Lane 28 follow-up: briefing HTML refresh). Closed 2026-07-06 as docs-only; content preserved here.

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Overview

The mission briefing (briefing.html) is the HTML-format briefing displayed in the Arma 2 OA mission-selection screen and in-game Notes diary. It is separate from briefing.sqf, which drives the in-game diary entries shown to players after they spawn.

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Build 87 Briefing Content

What the briefing HTML covers

• Mission title and build identification (Build 87 heading, replacing the stale "Release Candidate" wording from before PR #162)
• Player-facing feature summary matching the current in-game diary and mission metadata
• Highlight list reflecting the Build 87 player-facing feature set

Key facts from the PR #269 refresh

• Root cause of staleness: PR #162 merged the mission text refresh, but both briefing.html roots (Chernarus and Takistan) still showed the older release-candidate wording afterwards
• Fix scope: Text-only update to both briefing.html files; no mission.sqm, gameplay scripts, constants, UI layout, or packaging changes
• Mirroring: Chernarus is the source of truth; Takistan is mirrored via LoadoutManager (A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 to mirror without packaging). Both roots' SHA256 hashes matched after the mirror run
• How to verify: Open the mission briefing/Notes and confirm the title no longer says "Release Candidate", the heading says "Build 87", and the highlight list matches the current player-facing feature set

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Briefing system notes

• briefing.html is displayed at mission-selection time, before the player spawns
• briefing.sqf drives the in-game Notes/diary entries after spawn — these are updated separately
• Chernarus → Takistan mirroring is handled by LoadoutManager; edit the Chernarus source and re-run LoadoutManager rather than editing both files manually
• The briefing should be updated alongside each significant build increment to avoid "Release Candidate" or stale-build wording persisting to players

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Related pages

• In-Game Briefing And Diary Field Manual
• LoadoutManager reference