Paratrooper Marker Revival

Paratrooper Marker Revival

This lane turns the abandoned-feature note for paratrooper drop markers into a minimal source patch plus a handoff. The paratrooper support itself was already live; the broken edge was the client PVF callback registration.

Status

Docs/source and maintained Vanilla are propagated. Current stable/B74.1 origin/master@f8a76de34 / origin/claude/b74.1-aicom@f8a76de34, current B74.2 origin/claude/b74.2-aicom@21b62b04, B69 origin/claude/b69@8d465fce and adjacent B74 origin/claude/b74-aicom-spend@b23f557f also register HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation in _clientCommandPV at Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf:38 in both maintained roots. Historical release-line commits a96fdda2 and 7ff18c49 carry the registration at :34, but current origin exposed no live release/* head on 2026-06-24. Current Miksuu keeps the sender/handler files without the checked maintained-root registration; origin/perf/quick-wins@0076040f registers Chernarus only.

Surface	Status	Evidence
Docs/source Chernarus and maintained Vanilla	Propagated / smoke pending	HEAD@7e88d609 has HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation at Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf:39 in both maintained roots; Support_Paratroopers.sqf:117 sends the handler and HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf:45 records the marker spawn audit event.
Current stable/B74.1/B74.2/B69/B74	Propagated / smoke pending	origin/master@f8a76de34, origin/claude/b74.2-aicom@21b62b04, origin/claude/b69@8d465fce and origin/claude/b74-aicom-spend@b23f557f register HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation at Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf:38 in both maintained roots. Checked diffs origin/master..origin/claude/b74.2-aicom, d472da6a..21b62b04 and origin/claude/b69..origin/claude/b74-aicom-spend are empty for the sender/handler/registration paths.
Historical release-line evidence	Historical / recheck if restored	Commits a96fdda2 and 7ff18c49 register HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation at Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf:34 in both maintained roots. Current origin exposed no live release/* head on 2026-06-24, so this is commit evidence rather than an active release-branch claim.
Current Miksuu / perf branch	Split	Current Miksuu b8389e748243 keeps the sender and handler files in both maintained roots but no checked maintained-root registration hit. origin/perf/quick-wins@0076040f registers Chernarus at Init_PublicVariables.sqf:40; maintained Vanilla omits it.
Modded mission folders	Still drifted / not patched	Napf, eden and lingor register HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation, but no Client/PVFunctions/HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf file exists in those folders. Per AGENTS.md, direct mission edits should only touch Chernarus; modded propagation needs an owner decision.
Runtime validation	Pending hosted/dedicated smoke	Source checks prove the handler now compiles/registers in Chernarus source and maintained Vanilla; Arma 2 OA gameplay smoke is still needed to prove marker visibility and side filtering in-engine.

What Was Read

• AGENTS.md:3-8
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf:25-46
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Server/Support/Support_Paratroopers.sqf:108-118
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Client/PVFunctions/HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf:1-47
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Common/Functions/Common_SendToClient.sqf:13-20
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Client/Functions/Client_HandlePVF.sqf:12-22
• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Common/Common_MarkerUpdate.sqf:21-55
• Tools/LoadoutManager/Data/Terrains/BaseTerrain.cs:70-88 and :246-256
• Tools/LoadoutManager/ZipManager.cs:7-10
• Abandoned feature revival
• Networking and public variables
• Public variable channel index

What The Code Does Now

The server-side paratrooper support flow creates transport aircraft, spawns paratrooper units into cargo, waits until the aircraft reaches the destination, ejects each cargo unit, and sends a targeted client PVF:

• Support_Paratroopers.sqf:117 calls [leader _playerTeam, "HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation", [_x, _sideID]] Call WFBE_CO_FNC_SendToClient.
• Common_SendToClient.sqf:13-20 rewrites the target player object to UID, rewrites the command name to CLTFNCHandleParatrooperMarkerCreation, and sends WFBE_PVF_HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation by publicVariableClient or local hosted-server spawn.
• Client_HandlePVF.sqf:12-22 lets only the matching UID client run the payload, then spawns the compiled CLTFNC... handler.
• HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf:13-18 waits for client init, gives east paratroopers NVGs when needed, and exits on the wrong side.
• HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf:29-40 creates a local marker name and spawns MarkerUpdate.
• Common_MarkerUpdate.sqf:21 has an additional same-side/alive/null guard before creating the local marker.

On docs/source, current stable, B69 and B74, both maintained roots carry all three elements: sender (Support_Paratroopers.sqf), handler file (Client/PVFunctions/HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation.sqf) and registration (Init_PublicVariables.sqf). The forEach loop therefore compiles CLTFNCHandleParatrooperMarkerCreation and attaches the PVEH for WFBE_PVF_HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation on those targets. Docs/source uses line :39; current stable/B69/B74 use line :38. Vanilla Takistan was aligned with the docs-branch source via a separate propagation run.

Why It Matters

This is a small revive rather than a redesign:

• It restores a live support-system feedback edge without changing paratrooper authority, costs, upgrade gates or transport behavior.
• It exercises the client-bound PVF path, making it a useful smoke target after the broader PVF dispatcher hardening work.
• It avoids reviving MASH marker networking, which needs server-held/JIP-safe state and is not comparable in size.

This patch does not harden RequestSpecial or make paratrooper support server-authoritative. The Tactical menu and RequestSpecial trust boundary remains part of the broader server-authority backlog.

Patch Shape

Applied branch-local source change:

_l = _l + ["RequestBaseArea"];
_l = _l + ["HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation"];
_l = _l + ["NukeIncoming"];

Files changed:

• Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/Common/Init/Init_PublicVariables.sqf

The maintained Vanilla Takistan mission has been regenerated/propagated and now carries the same registration. The modded folders still show inverse drift: the PVF registration exists, but the handler file is absent.

Validation

Static source/branch checks completed:

• Chernarus source mission now has sender + registered client PVF + handler file.
• Vanilla Takistan now has sender + handler file + registration after the propagation run.
• Current stable/B74.1 origin/master@f8a76de34, current B74.2 21b62b04, B69 8d465fce and adjacent B74 b23f557f carry the registration at Init_PublicVariables.sqf:38 in both maintained roots; runtime smoke in Arma 2 OA remains the outstanding gate before declaring the feature fully validated.
• Historical commits a96fdda2 and 7ff18c49 have the registration in both maintained release roots at Init_PublicVariables.sqf:34; current origin exposed no live release/* head on 2026-06-24.
• Current Miksuu b8389e748243 has sender/handler files but no checked maintained-root registration hit; origin/perf/quick-wins@0076040f has the Chernarus registration only.
• Diff is scoped to one source Init_PublicVariables.sqf insertion plus docs/machine-readable handoff updates.
• Earlier propagation was blocked by the checkout path, but Tools/LoadoutManager root discovery and A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 support were later patched; generation/copy completed for maintained Vanilla Takistan.

Required Arma 2 OA smoke:

1. Dedicated or hosted mission with commander/team able to request paratroopers.
2. Call paratroopers from Tactical menu.
3. Confirm aircraft arrives and units eject.
4. Confirm the requesting/same-side client receives moving drop markers.
5. Confirm opposite side does not see those local markers.
6. Confirm RPT has no missing WFBE_PVF_HandleParatrooperMarkerCreation / undefined CLTFNCHandleParatrooperMarkerCreation errors.

JIP note: these are transient unit markers, not historical drop records. No explicit JIP replay is needed unless an owner wants late joiners to see already-dropped paratroopers.

Handoff

Future code owner:

• Smoke the source/Vanilla patch in Arma 2 OA.
• Do not present this as a RequestSpecial authority fix.
• If modded missions are revived, propagate both the registration and handler file through the LoadoutManager/modded-terrain maintenance model rather than patching the stale folders by hand.

Claude:

• Contradiction-check whether any other source client-bound PVF sender has an existing handler file but is missing from _clientCommandPV.

Codex:

• Keep Abandoned feature revival, Feature status, Networking/PV and Public variable channel index aligned with this lane.

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