Takistan Airfield FPV Drone Design

Takistan Airfield FPV Drone Design

July update planning note for Steff's Takistan captured-airfield FPV drone concept. This page records owner answers from the 2026-06-05 questionnaire and keeps the implementation scope separate from shipped source until an implementation branch is created, implemented and smoked.

Status

Field	Value
Planning lane	july-takistan-airfield-fpv-drone
Current planning branch	origin/dev/july-2026-update@e3f530ed via closed draft PR #21
Stale branch caveat	No current origin/dev/july-takistan-airfield-fpv-drone remote head was found on 2026-06-22
Release target	July update candidate; planning/no-gameplay-code status until a future implementation branch proves otherwise
Terrain scope	Takistan first
Gameplay source changed by this note	No
Required authority posture	Server-authoritative spawn, purchase, caps, ownership and range validation

Source Anchors

• Maintained Takistan has two LocationLogicAirport objects in Missions_Vanilla/[61-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.takistan/mission.sqm: one around 8191,1803, one around 5689,11181.
• Common/Init/Init_Airports.sqf currently creates the hangar model and local yellow airport marker for each airport logic. It does not create side ownership or capture state.
• Existing UAV support is not a sufficient authority model for this feature: current stable UAV spawn and spend are mostly client-owned, while the wiki's drone branch lessons call out server-side validation as the safer path.
• EASA is useful as a progression/loadout inspiration, but the actual drone buy path should use a separate Drone Bay menu unless a future owner deliberately extends generated EASA data.
• Branch route rechecked 2026-06-22: origin/dev/july-2026-update@e3f530ed carries docs/july-2026-update.md as a July roadmap scaffold that names this feature as the flagship and says no gameplay code exists yet; PR #21 is closed, draft and unmerged.

Decided Design

Capture And Ownership

• Both Takistan airfields start neutral.
• The runway should not be blocked by the capture object. Replace the first-pass "middle of runway" idea with an owner-placed capture building or marker near the runway start/edge, so drones and aircraft can still use the runway.
• A nearby bunker/camp is required before drone buying unlocks.
• Captured airfields do not affect victory conditions.
• Normal aircraft hangar buying should not require airfield ownership in this first version.
• Captured airfields should provide extra team income: $50 per player, every economy cycle. The exact target account still needs an implementation decision: side funds, team funds or distributed player funds.

Drone Access

• Any player on the owning side can buy a drone.
• No commander approval is required.
• Purchases use player funds.
• One active drone per player.
• Add a side-wide active drone cap.
• Losing the airfield disables new purchases only; already-active drones continue until destroyed, range-killed or expended.
• One underused class should get a drone discount, likely recon/scout. The exact class name, discount and UI hint are still owner decisions.

Range And Counterplay

• Drones have a hard center-map boundary.
• Drones are destroyed or forced down when they exceed the allowed area.
• Drones cannot damage HQ/base structures or main-base assets.
• Small arms should not be the reliable counter.
• AA/static AA/radar should reveal, warn about or counter drones.
• Enemy launch warning is not required.

Tiers And Unlocks

Tier	Owner intent	Notes
Tier 1	Recon drone	Cheap camera/scout drone, no warhead.
Tier 2	Light HE drone	Anti-infantry/light-vehicle role.
Tier 3	AT drone	Expensive, capped armor threat.
Anti-air	Excluded	FPV drones should not directly counter aircraft or helicopters.

Unlock policy:

• UAV research is required before any airfield drone can be bought.
• EASA level gates drone payload/tier options.
• Use a dedicated Drone Bay menu instead of normal EASA UI.

Implementation Shape

Recommended architecture:

1. Add Takistan airfield objective metadata for the two existing airport logics.
2. Add a server-owned airfield ownership state, separate from normal town victory state.
3. Add runway-edge capture object placement and one capture bunker/camp per airfield.
4. Add a Drone Bay client menu that only sends a request, not trusted final state.
5. Add server request handling that re-derives player, side, funds, upgrades, airfield ownership, active caps and requested drone tier.
6. Spawn the drone server-side, track owner/player/side/airfield/tier, and publish only the state needed for clients.
7. Enforce range and base-protection rules server-side.
8. Add AA/radar counter behavior after the basic spawn/range lifecycle works.

Do not simply graft this onto the current client-owned UAV spawn path. A prototype may reuse presentation pieces, but the final July candidate should validate effect and spend server-side.

LOC Estimate

Scope	Estimate	Risk
Rough prototype	~350-700 LOC	Fast, but easy to inherit client-authority and balance problems.
July-quality Takistan-only version	~1000-1800 LOC plus mission.sqm object edits	Better fit for public-server balance; requires dedicated/JIP smoke.
Shared Takistan/Chernarus airfield-objective module	~1400-2400 LOC plus map-specific object edits	Better long-term, but larger July scope.

Open Owner Decisions

• Exact runway-edge capture placement for both Takistan airfields.
• Exact bunker/camp object class and position near hangars.
• Whether $50 per player every cycle means side funds, team funds or per-player payout.
• Side-wide active cap number.
• Recon/scout class identifier and discount amount.
• Drone classnames and weapon/magazine classnames for each tier.
• Boundary geometry: strict center line, polygon per airfield, or radius clipped to center.
• AA/radar counter implementation: reveal marker, warning tone, automatic damage, lock-on behavior or forced signal loss.

Validation Gate

• Takistan boot smoke with both airfields neutral at start.
• Capture smoke for runway-edge point and bunker/camp.
• JIP smoke: late joiner sees correct ownership, markers, bunker state and Drone Bay availability.
• Economy smoke: captured airfield grants the intended $50 per player per cycle and stops on loss.
• Upgrade smoke: UAV gate blocks all drones; EASA gates payload tiers.
• Purchase smoke: funds debit once, one-drone-per-player and side cap hold under repeated requests.
• Authority smoke: invalid side, invalid airfield, insufficient funds, invalid tier and out-of-range requests fail server-side.
• Range smoke: crossing the center boundary destroys or forces down the drone.
• Protection smoke: HQ/base structures cannot be damaged by drone effects.
• Counterplay smoke: AA/radar counter works without global enemy launch warning.

Continue Reading

• Support specials and tactical modules
• Gear/loadout/EASA atlas
• Towns, camps and capture atlas
• Server authority migration map
• Content structure and maps