Tools And Build Workflow

Tools And Build Workflow

For the release-readiness and integration risk audit that sits on top of this workflow, see Tooling release readiness audit.

Page ownership: this page owns the operational LoadoutManager rules, skip-list and generated-mission status table. Source fix propagation queue owns the current source/Vanilla propagation and smoke-gate ledger. Full drift evidence and file-count analysis live in Deep-review findings DR-4 and DR-32; keep only the actionable build/propagation rules here.

LoadoutManager

Tools/LoadoutManager is a .NET 8 executable. Program.cs calls SqfFileGenerator.GenerateCommonBalanceInitAndTheEasaFileForEachTerrain().

Responsibilities:

• generate common balance/EASA SQF files for terrains;
• copy source mission files from Chernarus to maintained vanilla target missions;
• adjust terrain-specific map parameters such as Takistan SET_MAP;
• optionally package missions with 7-Zip.

The generated aircraft loadout and balance pipeline is mapped in Gear, loadout and EASA atlas. In short: change aircraft loadouts in Tools/LoadoutManager/Data/Vehicles/Aircrafts/**, then inspect generated Client/Module/EASA/EASA_Init.sqf and Common/Functions/Common_BalanceInit.sqf.

Build configurations:

• DEBUG
• SERVER_DEBUG
• RELEASE
• AIRWAR_DEBUG
• AIRWAR_SERVER_DEBUG
• AIRWAR_RELEASE

Repo instruction: after mission edits, run from Tools/LoadoutManager with dotnet run, or from the repo root with dotnet run --project Tools\LoadoutManager\LoadoutManager.csproj. If .NET SDK is missing, stop and tell the user. For propagation-only runs, set A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 so generation/copy completes without requiring 7za or creating _MISSIONS.7z.

Upstream history warning: the second-wave Developer history and upstream lessons pass found concrete tooling hazards: current packaging is source Chernarus plus generated Vanilla/Takistan only, Modded_Missions packaging/generation is commented out, ZipManager depends on env var 7za, version.sqf load order was reverted once, Takistan DB map ID needed generator-side post-copy repair, and sound generation assumes ClassName-volume.ogg filenames. Treat LoadoutManager console output plus git diff --stat as the release check, not a blind "DONE" signal.

Local workspace note: FileManager.FindA2WaspWarfareDirectory now supports both an ancestor folder literally named a2waspwarfare and a normal repo root containing Missions, Missions_Vanilla and Tools/LoadoutManager/LoadoutManager.csproj. This lets Codex checkouts such as work\a run the tool without renaming the workspace.

Operator Checklist

Before running tooling or deployment-adjacent pieces, check these first:

Item	Why it matters
Checkout path resolves to the repo root.	LoadoutManager accepts either an ancestor named a2waspwarfare or root markers: Missions, Missions_Vanilla and Tools/LoadoutManager/LoadoutManager.csproj.
A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 is set for propagation-only runs.	Skips _MISSIONS.7z packaging and avoids a packaging-only 7za dependency during docs/code propagation work.
7za is configured and available if packaging is required.	Required only when producing _MISSIONS.7z release archives.
Existing _MISSIONS.7z is disposable or backed up before packaging.	ZipManager.cs:26-33 deletes the existing archive before proving a new archive was created, while ZipManager.cs:77-91 prints 7za output without an exit-code gate. Keep a rollback copy before release packing.
version.sqf exists for every claimed target root.	It is generated and git-ignored, but included by description.ext and initJIPCompatible.sqf; Rsc/Header.hpp consumes its WF_RESPAWNDELAY, WF_MISSIONNAME and WF_MAXPLAYERS defines. Missing version.sqf blocks pack/test/release claims for that root.
Generated aircraft damage insertion markers still exist.	BaseTerrain.cs:84-86 writes Common_ModifyAirVehicle.sqf through marker replacement, and FileManager.cs:224-247 only logs missing marker content. A marker drift can produce a soft generator warning instead of a clear release failure.
Missions_Vanilla is not confused with the VANILLA macro.	The folder name is a generated target label; the #ifndef VANILLA preprocessor gate in description.ext / Rsc/Header.hpp controls OA/CO config behavior inside mission headers.
stringtable.xml and loadScreen.jpg exist for the mission being packed/tested.	They are ordinary runtime assets for playable mission roots; modded forks may lack them even when their description.ext includes generated/sound/music dependencies.
Generated version.sqf has the intended release flags.	Current local generated files can contain debug/log-enabled values; inspect WF_DEBUG and WF_LOG_CONTENT before packaging a public release.
DiscordBot has real preferences.json and token.txt outside git.	Missing token/config is expected in repo and is not a mission-code failure. Current bot startup touches preferences.json through GameData.LoadFromFile() before the clean missing-token exit, so provide preferences before debugging token-only failures.
AntiStack has the separate A2WaspDatabase DLL if enabled.	The in-repo Extension project is a2waspwarfare_Extension / GLOBALGAMESTATS, not the AntiStack database extension.
Deployment inventory records actual server artifacts and config paths.	Track a2waspwarfare_Extension, separate A2WaspDatabase, token.txt, preferences.json, production BEpath, and any external server.cfg/basic.cfg before calling a host reproducible.
The in-repo Extension is built with legacy MSBuild tooling.	It targets .NET Framework 4.8 x86 with RGiesecke.DllExport/UnmanagedExports packages under ../packages; do not treat it as a normal SDK-style dotnet build project.
Do not expect server/deploy wrapper scripts in the scoped release folders.	A scoped scout found no .cmd, .ps1, .bat or .sh files under Tools/LoadoutManager, DiscordBot, Extension or BattlEyeFilter; use the documented dotnet/MSBuild/manual deployment flow unless new scripts are added later. Tools/PerformanceAuditAnalyzer is the exception: it has local analyzer launchers, not server deployment wrappers.

Propagation rules & the skip-list trap (verified)

"Edit Chernarus, then run dotnet run" is correct for most files but silently incomplete for a fixed skip-list. LoadoutManager copies Chernarus → Takistan via FileManagement/FileManager.cs, which never overwrites certain files and never copies certain directories. A change made in Chernarus to any of these does not reach Takistan and must be hand-mirrored in both missions:

Not propagated (Chernarus → Takistan)	Mechanism	Why
mission.sqm	ShouldSkipFile	Map-specific editor data.
version.sqf	ShouldSkipFile + git-ignored	Generated per-terrain.
Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_Help.sqf	skip + post-copy name patch	Mission name differs per terrain.
WASP/unsort/StartVeh.sqf	ShouldSkipFile	Per-map starting vehicles.
texHeaders.bin, loadScreen.jpg	ShouldSkipFile	Binary/terrain assets.
Common/Config/Core_Artillery/*	directory blacklist (co.takistan)	Takistan keeps its own artillery configs.
Server/Config/*	directory blacklist	Map-specific server config.
Textures/*	directory blacklist	Per-terrain textures.
Server/Init/Init_Server.sqf	copied then patched	SET_MAP 1 → 2 rewrite post-copy.

A recursive diff in Deep-review findings DR-4 confirmed vanilla Takistan has no accidental drift outside this skip-list/blacklist and the SET_MAP rewrite. If you edit a skip-listed gameplay file, especially mission.sqm or WASP/unsort/StartVeh.sqf, hand-mirror it instead of assuming dotnet run will propagate it.

Takistan blacklist caveat: FileManager.cs:22-37 applies the directory blacklist when the destination path contains co.takistan. If future generated target names change away from that substring, re-test the blacklist before trusting artillery/config/texture propagation behavior.

Sync blast radius: LoadoutManager also deletes destination files and directories that do not exist in the source copy (FileManager.cs:116-119,123-136). Treat generated mission trees as disposable outputs. Manual edits or extra assets placed only in Missions_Vanilla/* can be removed by a later propagation run unless the generator/source tree owns them.

Soft-copy failure caveat: FileManager.cs:72-83 catches IOException during individual file copies, prints Error copying file: ..., and then continues the run. A LoadoutManager run can therefore finish with partial copy failures in console output. For release or propagation claims, inspect the console log and git diff --stat; do not rely only on process completion.

Generated root gate: for any release, smoke or pack claim, verify the root-specific version.sqf file exists and matches the target terrain before moving on. At minimum, source Chernarus should carry WF_MAXPLAYERS 55, WF_MISSIONNAME "[55] Warfare V48 Chernarus" and its intended Chernarus/naval flags; maintained Vanilla Takistan should carry WF_MAXPLAYERS 61, WF_MISSIONNAME "[61] Warfare V48 Takistan" and the intended non-Chernarus/non-naval flag shape. git status --ignored --short -- "Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/version.sqf" "Missions_Vanilla/[61-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.takistan/version.sqf" should show ignored-present files in a prepared local checkout; a clean checkout needs LoadoutManager generation first. The machine-readable gate is agent-release-readiness.json versionSqfGeneratedInput.

Modded missions are not maintained by the current dotnet run path. The modded-terrain propagation call is commented out at SqfFileGenerators/SqfFileGenerator.cs:132, and ZipManager.cs:16 packages only Missions plus Missions_Vanilla. Treat Modded_Missions/* as non-authoritative until the owner chooses regenerate-from-source or maintained-fork policy; see DR-32 for the full tier analysis.

Generated Mission Status Table

This is the operational summary of DR-32's three maintenance tiers. Use it before assuming a fix in Chernarus reaches every mission folder.

Target	Current status	Development consequence
Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus	Source of truth.	Apply gameplay and documentation evidence here first.
Missions_Vanilla/[61-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.takistan	Faithful generated/copy target. Current drift is map-config and terrain assets only; logic files are byte-identical to Chernarus outside the documented skip-list and SET_MAP patch.	Source fixes should propagate through LoadoutManager, except skip-listed files that need hand-mirroring. All DR findings in Chernarus apply to vanilla Takistan unless the changed file is map-specific.
Modded_Missions/napf, Modded_Missions/eden, Modded_Missions/lingor	Divergent hand-edited partial forks with 100+ logic-file differences, including security-sensitive runtime/PVF/victory/upgrade/HQ paths. Wave S confirmed they are not drop-in runnable from the checkout, and the 2026-06-04 modded scout tightened this to boot-incomplete: eden lacks tracked version.sqf, stringtable.xml, loadScreen.jpg, sound and music descriptions; Napf lacks tracked mission.sqm, version.sqf, stringtable.xml, loadScreen.jpg, sound and music descriptions; lingor lacks tracked mission.sqm, description.ext, initJIPCompatible.sqf, version.sqf, stringtable.xml, loadScreen.jpg, sound/music descriptions and textures. All three still compile missing Common/Functions/Common_GetTotalCamps.sqf from Common/Init/Init_Common.sqf:52-53,127-128. A 2026-06-03 marker scan also found unresolved merge-conflict markers in 18 files across these forks.	Source fixes do not automatically reach these missions. Pick a maintenance model before shipping them: regenerate from hardened source or maintain as explicit forks with separate audits, generated/runtime inputs and conflict-marker cleanup.
Modded_Missions/sahrani, Modded_Missions/dingor, Modded_Missions/tavi, Modded_Missions/isladuala	Abandoned/non-runnable stubs with only a small fraction of the real mission tree; dingor also has a description.ext that includes missing version.sqf.	Complete or delete before presenting them as supported missions.

Tooling Project Inventory

Project	Runtime	Entry point	Inputs	Outputs / side effects	Notes
Tools/LoadoutManager	.NET 8 executable	Program.cs -> SqfFileGenerator.GenerateCommonBalanceInitAndTheEasaFileForEachTerrain()	Terrain/loadout data classes, source Chernarus mission, terrain skip lists.	Generated EASA_Init.sqf, Common_BalanceInit.sqf, aircraft-name helper, per-terrain version.sqf, copied Takistan mission and optional _MISSIONS.7z.	Accepts named-root or repo-marker root discovery; set A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 to skip packaging.
Tools/PerformanceAuditAnalyzer	PowerShell	Analyze-PerformanceAudit.ps1, GUI launcher	Existing Arma RPT/log files containing [Performance Audit].	CSV, Markdown, HTML and Word-friendly performance reports.	Safe read-only analyzer for logs; no shipped live tailer service was found in the tree. See PerformanceAuditAnalyzer.
DiscordBot	.NET 9 executable	DiscordBot/src/ProgramRuntime.cs	preferences.json, token.txt, extension database.json.	Discord channel name, bot presence and status embed updates every 60 seconds.	Missing token/preferences are expected in repo; active status reads Preferences.Instance.DataSourcePath or the default data path, while FileConfiguration.cs is secondary until config ownership is cleaned up.
Extension	.NET Framework 4.8 x86 Arma extension	_RVExtension@12 export	Arma callExtension arguments from mission scripts.	Writes C:\a2waspwarfare\Data\database.json for DiscordBot.	Legacy Visual Studio/MSBuild target using RGiesecke.DllExport/UnmanagedExports from ../packages; preserve x86.
Mods/mkswf_sidewinder_reload_time_fix	Arma addon config	CfgWeapons.hpp	Sidewinder launcher class config.	Sets magazineReloadTime = 1 for Sidewinder launchers.	External addon fragment, not mission SQF.

Local Build Verification 2026-06-03

Project	Local result	Notes
Tools/LoadoutManager/LoadoutManager.csproj	dotnet build -v minimal succeeded with 86 nullable warnings and 0 errors.	Warnings are mostly non-nullable initialization / possible null-reference warnings in data classes and zip helper paths. Build success does not run mission generation or packaging.
DiscordBot/DiscordBot.csproj	dotnet build -v minimal succeeded with 0 warnings and 0 errors.	Runtime still requires ignored token.txt and preferences.json plus a valid database.json source.
Extension/Extension.csproj	dotnet build -v minimal failed locally with MSB3644: .NET Framework 4.8 reference assemblies were not found.	Treat as local toolchain missing targeting pack, not proof the legacy extension source is broken. Use Visual Studio/MSBuild with the .NET Framework 4.8 developer pack and x86/package layout before release claims.

PerformanceAuditAnalyzer

Dedicated page: PerformanceAuditAnalyzer.

Tools/PerformanceAuditAnalyzer parses existing Arma 2 RPT/log files containing [Performance Audit] and exports CSV/Markdown/HTML/Word-friendly reports. It has a GUI picker plus command-line script, but the current tree does not ship a live RPT tailer, background telemetry service or server restart/deploy helper.

Operational caveats from the 2026-06-04 tooling scout:

• Analyze-PerformanceAudit.ps1:1224-1228 creates the output directory before it confirms any input files, so failed/no-input runs can still leave output folders behind.
• Analyze-PerformanceAudit.ps1:1248 reads each input with Get-Content | ForEach-Object; useful for normal RPTs, but very large logs should be treated as memory/latency-sensitive until streaming behavior is improved and tested.
• Start-PerformanceAuditAnalyzer.ps1:11-12,119-120 loads System.Windows.Forms and opens the picker dialog, so the launcher is desktop/interactive only. Use Analyze-PerformanceAudit.ps1 directly for automation, CI or headless server log processing.

Important outputs include:

• performance_raw.csv
• performance_pivot_ready.csv
• performance_extra_fields.csv
• performance_timeline.csv
• performance_by_script.csv
• performance_spikes.csv
• performance_fps_context.csv
• performance_by_player.csv
• performance_by_map.csv
• performance_by_session.csv
• performance_report.md
• performance_report.html
• performance_interpretation.html
• performance_report_word.doc

Use it after performance-sensitive mission changes or live-server audits.

Packaging And Deployment Notes

• 7za environment variable points to 7za.exe.
• ZipManager packages mission directories after copy/generation and currently zips only Missions plus Missions_Vanilla, not Modded_Missions.
• Missing 7za causes the final packaging step to throw unless A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP=1 is set; inspect generated/copied files before assuming the whole run did nothing.
• Packaging success is not a strong release proof by itself: ZipManager.cs:26-33 deletes an existing _MISSIONS.7z, ZipManager.cs:34-44 stages a temp mission-copy directory, and ZipManager.cs:77-92 starts 7za and prints output but does not currently gate success on the process exit code. Confirm _MISSIONS.7z exists, has the expected mission folders and was produced by a successful 7-Zip run before calling a release archive complete.
• File replacement warnings can still hard-fail later: BaseTerrain.cs:275-301 logs "File not found!" for a missing expected file and then still calls File.ReadAllText on the same path. Treat missing replacement targets as real generator failures, not harmless warnings.
• Generated aircraft damage insertion is marker-based: BaseTerrain.cs:84-86 wires Common_ModifyAirVehicle.sqf, and FileManager.cs:224-247 prints missing-content warnings without failing the run. Keep a marker-contract check in release validation before changing generated aircraft damage logic.
• The source Chernarus mission is copied to target terrain folders, and extra destination-only files/directories can be deleted during sync (FileManager.cs:116-119,123-136). Avoid manual changes in generated targets unless the generator is being updated; snapshot generated mission trees before risky propagation runs.
• The specified content was not found in the file. during the current run comes from the terrain help-menu title replacement path and did not stop Chernarus/Takistan generation/copy.
• For the exact version.sqf -> description.ext / Rsc/Header.hpp / initJIPCompatible.sqf contract, use Mission config/version include graph.

Development Commands

cd Tools\LoadoutManager
dotnet run
dotnet run -c SERVER_DEBUG

$env:A2WASP_SKIP_ZIP = "1"
dotnet run --project Tools\LoadoutManager\LoadoutManager.csproj

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Tools\PerformanceAuditAnalyzer\Analyze-PerformanceAudit.ps1 -InputPath ".\logs\arma2oa.rpt" -OutputPath ".\PerformanceAuditResults"

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