Marker Subsystem Function Reference

Marker Subsystem Function Reference (primitives, helpers, signatures, callers)

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

This page is a per-function reference for the marker primitives and helpers: one section per function, each with its compiled handle, signature, return value, locality, behavior, and a caller census. The loop/tick internals (the consolidated client loop, registries, rebuild execution, ledger sweep) are deferred to Marker Loop Engine and Registries; per-family marker content (town/camp/base/team/patrol marker types and colors) is deferred to Map Marker Families Content Catalog.

A2 locality reminder. createMarker is global: it replicates the marker's existence and position to every machine. createMarkerLocal and every setMarker*Local verb are local: they apply only on the calling machine and do not replicate. The marker subsystem leans on this split deliberately — the only globally-replicating creator is WF_createMarker, and even it paints type/text/color with …Local verbs, then re-broadcasts the param array over a public variable so remote same-side clients can re-paint locally (see Networking And Public Variables).

Function Registry

Handle	Source	Compiled at	Kind
WF_createMarker	Common/Functions/Common_CreateMarker.sqf	Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:167	global creator + PV broadcaster (server or client)
UpdateMarker	Common/Functions/Common_UpdateMarker.sqf	Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:68	local follow-marker updater (client)
onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION	Client/Functions/Client_onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION.sqf	Client/FSM/updateclient.sqf:15, bound :16	PV event handler (every remote client)
WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker	Client/Functions/Client_Delete_Marker.sqf	Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:168	timed local deleter (client)
GetStructureMarkerLabel	Client/Functions/Client_GetStructureMarkerLabel.sqf	Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:78	pure label lookup (client)
MarkerAnim	Client/Functions/Client_MarkerAnim.sqf	Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:83	spawned local pulse animation (client)
(Client_GetMarkerColoration.sqf)	Client/Functions/Client_GetMarkerColoration.sqf	— never compiled	dead code (no registration, no caller)
(Init_Markers.sqf)	Client/Init/Init_Markers.sqf	run via Call Compile at Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:809	JIP town/camp marker bootstrap script (client)
(Common_MarkerRebuildRequest.sqf)	Common/Common_MarkerRebuildRequest.sqf	run via addAction at Common/Common_MarkerLoop.sqf:27	local rebuild-flag setter (client)

---

WF_createMarker — global side-restricted marker creator

• Handle / binding: WF_createMarker = compile preprocessFileLineNumbers "Common\Functions\Common_CreateMarker.sqf"; (Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:167). Compiled in the common init, so the handle exists on server and all clients.
• Signature: [_markerName, _position, _markerType, _markerText, _markerColor, _side_who_see_marker, _markerNameElipse(opt), _markerRadius(opt)] call WF_createMarker — six required params read at Common_CreateMarker.sqf:34-39; optional ellipse params 6 & 7 read at :46-47.
• Optional-ellipse gate: if (count _this > 7) — i.e. needs 8 elements to enable the ellipse; sets _hasElipse = true (Common_CreateMarker.sqf:44-48).
• Return value: none usable. The last statements are missionNamespace setVariable [...] then publicVariable "MARKER_CREATION" (Common_CreateMarker.sqf:82-83); callers call it for side effects only. (_markerName is locally reassigned to the createMarker result at :53, but that is not the function's return.)
• Locality: the marker object is created GLOBAL — createMarker [_markerName, _markerPosition] (Common_CreateMarker.sqf:53), and the optional ellipse is also global, createMarker [_markerNameElipse, _markerPosition] (:59). Header comment states the intent: "It must exist globally so that late-joining clients can receive and process it." (:52). Styling is LOCAL and side-gated.

Step	Detail	path:line
Global create (main)	createMarker [_markerName, _markerPosition]	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:53
Global create (ellipse)	createMarker [_markerNameElipse, _markerPosition] (only if _hasElipse)	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:59
Side gate	if (playerSide == _side_who_see_marker)	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:62
Local style (main)	setMarkerTypeLocal, setMarkerTextLocal, setMarkerColorLocal	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:65-67
Local style (ellipse)	setMarkerShapeLocal "ELLIPSE", setMarkerSizeLocal [_markerRadius,_markerRadius], setMarkerColorLocal, setMarkerAlphaLocal 0.5, setMarkerBrushLocal "Solid"	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:72-76
Broadcast	missionNamespace setVariable ["MARKER_CREATION", _this] then publicVariable "MARKER_CREATION"	Common_CreateMarker.sqf:82-83

• Behavior: create the marker globally (so JIP clients receive its existence/position), paint side-restricted styling locally on the calling machine only, then stuff the entire input array into the single MARKER_CREATION slot and publicVariable it. The broadcast fires the PV event handler on every other machine, where matching-side clients re-paint the styling locally (see the companion handler below). This is the side-restricted-visibility mechanism: the marker exists globally but only the matching side gets type/text/color, so the other side sees nothing meaningful.
• Caller census:

Caller	Arity	Ellipse	Side arg	Runs on	path:line
Artillery fire-mission marker (Destroy, params built :22-29)	8	yes	playerSide	client	Client/Functions/Client_RequestFireMission.sqf:31 — auto-deleted after 80s via WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker :32-33
ICBM aim marker (mil_warning, params built :474-481)	8	yes	playerSide	client (tactical menu)	Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_Tactical.sqf:483 — deleted after countdown via WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker :504-505
Radiation zone — WEST	8	yes	west (literal)	server	Client/Module/Nuke/radzone.sqf:64-73
Radiation zone — EAST	8	yes	east (literal)	server	Client/Module/Nuke/radzone.sqf:76-85
HQ-killed wreck marker	6	no	_side	(server)	DEAD — commented out Server/Functions/Server_OnHQKilled.sqf:99

• Notes:
  • radzone.sqf runs server-side (header: "This script is run on server side", radzone.sqf:8), so its two calls global-create + broadcast to all clients; the dedicated server has no playerSide to match, so the producer styles nothing and every client paints via the PV handler. The two GUI/arty callers run client-side, so the calling client styles its own marker at create time and broadcasts to the others.
  • All four live callers pass the full 8-element form. The 6-param-only path is reachable only by the dead HQ-killed call (Server_OnHQKilled.sqf:99), now replaced by a PV-broadcast HQ-state pattern (:101 onward).
  • MARKER_CREATION is a single shared missionNamespace slot (:82), so the global var is last-writer-wins; in practice each publicVariable enqueues its own network event and the receiver reads the value from the event payload (_this select 1), not from the global, so rapid successive calls do not corrupt delivery.

---

UpdateMarker — local HQ-wreck follow-marker updater

• Handle / binding: UpdateMarker = Compile preprocessFile "Common\Functions\Common_UpdateMarker.sqf"; (Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:68). Compiled in client init only → client-side handle.
• Signature: [_markerObject, _markerName, _markerType, _markerText, _markerColor] call UpdateMarker — 5 params, all required, read at Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:19-23.
• Return value: none usable. The last statement is _markerName setMarkerPosLocal _markerPosition (Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:37).
• Locality: fully LOCAL / client-side by design ("intended for client-side team-only markers", Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:14). Never replicates.
• Behavior:

Step	Detail	path:line
Null guard	if (isNull _markerObject) exitWith {};	Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:25
Create-if-absent	if ((getMarkerType _markerName) == "") then { createMarkerLocal [_markerName, getPos _markerObject] };	Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:28-30
Local style	setMarkerTypeLocal, setMarkerTextLocal, setMarkerColorLocal	Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:32-34
Position track	_markerPosition = getPos _markerObject; _markerName setMarkerPosLocal _markerPosition;	Common_UpdateMarker.sqf:36-37

• Caller census (both in the client FSM, both gated by if (!isNull _hq)):

Caller	Context	Gates	path:line
WEST HQ-wreck tracker	When IS_WEST_HQ_ALIVE is false, reads HQ_WEST_MARKER_INFOS (index 6 = the tracked HQ object)	outer (count _MARKER_infos) >= 7 (:62), then if (!isNull _hq) (:72)	Client/FSM/updateclient.sqf:74
EAST HQ-wreck tracker	Mirror of above, reads HQ_EAST_MARKER_INFOS	outer (count _MARKER_infos) >= 7 (:92), then if (!isNull _hq) (:102)	Client/FSM/updateclient.sqf:104

---

onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION — remote-replication half of WF_createMarker

• Handle / binding: compiled inline in the client FSM — onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION = compile preprocessFileLineNumbers "Client\Functions\Client_onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION.sqf"; (Client/FSM/updateclient.sqf:15), then bound as the PV event handler "MARKER_CREATION" addPublicVariableEventHandler {_this call onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION}; (updateclient.sqf:16).
• Signature: invoked by the PV-EH, so _this = [pvName, value]. It reads _MARKER_infos = _this select 1 ("select 1 not 0 to get the value", Client_onEventHandler_MARKER_CREATION.sqf:15), then unpacks the same 6/8-element param array as WF_createMarker (:18-23, optional ellipse :28-29).
• Return value: none.
• Locality: runs on every client that receives the broadcast (publicVariable does not fire on the sender). It applies styling only for the matching side, if (playerSide == _side_who_see_marker) (:32), via the same setMarker*Local verbs (:36-48).
• Behavior — does NOT create the marker: the createMarkerLocal (:35) and createMarker (:43) lines are commented out. The handler relies on the global marker already existing from WF_createMarker's createMarker (Common_CreateMarker.sqf:53); it only paints local style on the matching side. This is the architectural crux of the channel, not a bug.
• Quirks:
  • Optional-param gate mismatch (latent off-by-one). The handler enables the ellipse on count _MARKER_infos > 6 (:26), looser than the producer's count _this > 7 (Common_CreateMarker.sqf:44). On an exactly-7-element array the handler would read _MARKER_infos select 7 (:29) and miss. Harmless in practice — every live producer call passes either 6 or 8 elements — but worth flagging.
  • Casing slip. The private list declares _marker_name (:13), but the assignments use _markerName (:18). Benign; _markerName ends up function-local either way.
  • The ellipse branch guards on if (!isNil {_markerNameElipse}) (:41) rather than re-checking count.

---

WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker — timed local marker deletion

• Handle / binding: WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker = compile preprocessFileLineNumbers "Client\Functions\Client_Delete_Marker.sqf"; (Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:168).
• Signature: [_marker_name, _deleteTime] call WFBE_CL_FNC_Delete_Marker — _marker_name = _this select 0, _deleteTime = _this select 1 (seconds) (Client_Delete_Marker.sqf:14-15).
• Return value: none — the spawned thread handle is not captured.
• Locality: client-local (deleteMarkerLocal, :24), runs on whichever machine calls it.
• Behavior: [_marker_name,_deleteTime] spawn { ... sleep _deleteTime; deleteMarkerLocal _marker_name; } (Client_Delete_Marker.sqf:17-25). Using spawn keeps the caller non-blocking (header note :8).
• Caller census:

Caller	Delay	path:line
Arty marker + ellipse	80s	Client/Functions/Client_RequestFireMission.sqf:32-33
ICBM marker + ellipse	countdown (WFBE_ICBM_TIME_TO_IMPACT min → s)	Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_Tactical.sqf:504-505

• Quirks:
  • Header Name: field is stale — it reads Client_Delete_LocalMarker.sqf (:3) but the file is Client_Delete_Marker.sqf.
  • The map note flags a server-side caller (Server_MHQRepair.sqf); the two confirmed live callers above are both client-side. If invoked from server code, deleteMarkerLocal would affect only the host's local marker, not remote clients — a locality consideration for any future server caller.

---

GetStructureMarkerLabel — structure class → single-letter map label

• Handle / binding: GetStructureMarkerLabel = Compile preprocessFile "Client\Functions\Client_GetStructureMarkerLabel.sqf"; (Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:78).
• Signature: [_structure, _side] Call GetStructureMarkerLabel — _structure = _this select 0, _side = _this select 1 (a side name string) (Client_GetStructureMarkerLabel.sqf:3-4).
• Return value: the label string _label (Client_GetStructureMarkerLabel.sqf:27).
• Locality: pure/local helper — reads missionNamespace only (WFBE_%1STRUCTURES / WFBE_%1STRUCTURENAMES, :8-9); no marker writes.
• Behavior: _class = typeOf _structure (:6); resolve the structure's "real type" via _structures select (_structuresNames find _class) (:11); a switch maps real-type → label (:13-25):

Real type	Label	Real type	Label
Barracks	B	ServicePoint	S
Light	L	Bank	R (Federal Reserve / economy bank, :20)
CommandCenter	C	AARadar	AAR
Heavy	H	ArtilleryRadar	AR
Aircraft	A	Reserve	RES
		default	"" (:24)

• Caller census (single): Client/Init/Init_BaseStructure.sqf:40 — if (!_hq) then {_text = [_structure, _side] Call GetStructureMarkerLabel; _marker setMarkerSizeLocal [0.5,0.5]}. The caller passes _side already converted to a side name via WFBE_CO_FNC_GetSideFromID (Init_BaseStructure.sqf:14), null-guards the result with if (isNil "_text") (:41), and special-cases "S" → ServicePoint mil_objective / "SP" marker (:46-50).
• Quirk: if _class is absent from _structuresNames, find returns -1 and _structures select -1 errors in A2 — the helper relies on every base structure class being present in the side table; default {""} only covers the known-type-but-unlabeled case, not the not-found case.

---

MarkerAnim — spawned local pulse/rotate order-preview marker

• Handle / binding: MarkerAnim = Compile preprocessFile "Client\Functions\Client_MarkerAnim.sqf"; (Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:83). Invoked with Spawn (own scope).
• Signature: [_markerName, _markerPosition, _markerType, _markerSize, _markerColor, _markerMin, _markerMax, _additionalErase(opt)] Spawn MarkerAnim — params 0–6 at Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:2-8; _additionalErase = "" default (:9), overridden from index 7 only if (count _this > 7) (:10).
• Return value: none (spawned thread).
• Locality: client-local marker effects throughout (deleteMarkerLocal / CreateMarkerLocal / setMarker*Local). The loop flag activeAnimMarker is a client global used to stop the loop from elsewhere.
• Behavior:

Step	Detail	path:line
Recreate marker locally	deleteMarkerLocal _markerName; CreateMarkerLocal [...]; set type/color/size	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:12-16
Pulse step	_difference = (_markerMax - _markerMin)/10	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:18
Set loop flag	activeAnimMarker = true	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:21
Optional area circle	if _additionalErase != "", read WFBE_C_AI_PATROL_RANGE and make an Ellipse marker sized to range	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:23-30
Animation loop	while {activeAnimMarker} do { sleep 0.03; _direction = (_direction + 1) % 360; setMarkerDirLocal; bounce size between min/max }	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:32-42
Teardown	deleteMarkerLocal _markerName + delete area circle if present	Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:44-45

• Caller census (all in Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_Command.sqf): preview of the current order — :194 move (ColorOrange), :195 patrol (ColorYellow + "areaPatrol" circle), :196 defense (ColorRed), :200 towns (ColorBlue); all use marker name "TempAnim", type "selector_selectedMission", size 1, min 1 / max 1.2. The click-to-order path spawns a prebuilt array at :313 (_array Spawn MarkerAnim).
• Loop-stop sites (set activeAnimMarker = false): GUI_Menu_Command.sqf:109, 110, 186, 260, 311, 540 (line 540 is the dialog-teardown cleanup). One writer-true (Client_MarkerAnim.sqf:21), one reader (:32); only one "TempAnim" animation is meant to run at a time, and a new Spawn MarkerAnim implicitly replaces the previous one because they share the global flag and marker name.
• Quirk: _difference (:18) is used but is missing from the Private[...] declaration at :1. Because MarkerAnim is Spawned into its own scope, _difference is effectively script-local to the thread anyway — harmless, an undeclared-private inconsistency, not an error.

---

Client_GetMarkerColoration.sqf — DEAD CODE

• Status: not registered, not called. grep -rn "GetMarkerColoration" across the whole mission returns only the file itself — no Init_* compile, no caller.
• As written (single minified line): _colorFor = _this (a string); switch (_colorFor): "Friendly"→"ColorGreen", "Enemy"→"ColorRed", "Resistance"→"ColorGreen"; returns _color (default ""). The WFBE_MAPCOLORATION / GetNamespace logic is commented out inline (Client_GetMarkerColoration.sqf:1); _colorationMode is declared but unused.
• What actually does side→color: the live mapping uses WFBE_C_%1_COLOR missionNamespace vars with a WFBE_C_UNKNOWN_COLOR fallback (see Init_Markers.sqf below and Map Marker Families Content Catalog), not this helper. Flag as vestigial.

---

Init_Markers.sqf — JIP town/camp marker bootstrap

• Kind / invocation: a script (not a registered function); scriptName set at Client/Init/Init_Markers.sqf:5. Run once per client at boot/JIP via Call Compile preprocessFileLineNumbers "Client\Init\Init_Markers.sqf"; (Client/Init/Init_Client.sqf:809), inside a [] Spawn { sleep 2; ... } JIP block (Init_Client.sqf:806-810, log line "Updating JIP Markers." :808).
• Locality: client-local marker creation (createMarkerLocal), colored per-client against WFBE_Client_SideID (captured at Init_Client.sqf:311).
• Behavior (forEach towns, :7-50):

Step	Detail	path:line
Wait for sideID	waitUntil {!isNil {_x getVariable "sideID"}}; read _townSide	Init_Markers.sqf:11-12
Color (fog-of-war)	default WFBE_C_UNKNOWN_COLOR; only if _townSide == WFBE_Client_SideID resolve real owner color WFBE_C_%1_COLOR (%1 = _townSide Call WFBE_CO_FNC_GetSideFromID)	Init_Markers.sqf:15-18
Town marker	name Format ["WFBE_%1_CityMarker", str _x], createMarkerLocal at getPos _x, type "Depot", color	Init_Markers.sqf:21-24
Camps sub-loop	after waitUntil camps init; per camp same side/color logic; marker name from the camp's wfbe_camp_marker var, createMarkerLocal, type "Strongpoint", color, size [0.5,0.5]	Init_Markers.sqf:27-49

• Marker-name contract: the WFBE_%1_CityMarker and wfbe_camp_marker markers this script creates are the markers the town/camp capture PV handlers later re-color (deferred — see Marker Loop Engine and Registries and Map Marker Families Content Catalog). Enemy/neutral towns show the "unknown" color to this client — fog-of-war via color.

---

Common_MarkerRebuildRequest.sqf — local marker-rebuild trigger

• Kind / invocation: a tiny script run by an addAction ("Rebuild Map Markers"), attached at Common/Common_MarkerLoop.sqf:27 (and re-attached after respawn at :66, because the player-object change drops the action).
• Body (entire file): WFBE_CL_MarkerRebuildRequested = true; then hint "Rebuilding local map markers..."; (Common_MarkerRebuildRequest.sqf:2-3). Header cross-references the loop (:1).
• Return value: none.
• Locality: local to the requesting client. It sets a flag only.
• Behavior: purely sets WFBE_CL_MarkerRebuildRequested (initialized false at Common_MarkerLoop.sqf:25). The actual delete-and-recreate rebuild work runs inside the consolidated loop when it sees the flag (Common_MarkerLoop.sqf:82-83) — that execution, the auto-trigger (sub-WFBE_C_MARKER_REBUILD_FPS for 60s, default 15, :30), the cooldown, and the registries are deferred to Marker Loop Engine and Registries. This script is the manual entry point only; it sends nothing over the network.

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Continue Reading

• Marker Loop Engine and Registries — the consolidated client loop, registrars, rebuild execution, and ledger sweep this page defers.
• Map Marker Families Content Catalog — per-family marker types, colors, and side→color mapping.
• Client Marker FSM Updater Map — the FSM scripts that wire the PV handler and drive HQ-wreck / team / patrol marker updates.
• Marker Cleanup Restoration Systems Atlas — timed deletion, orphan GC, and state restoration across the marker subsystem.
• Networking And Public Variables — the MARKER_CREATION public-variable channel and the broader PV/event model.