Arma 3: Respawn

Mission Configuration

Description.ext

A wide range of Description.ext entries lets you to configure respawn settings for your mission.

// Respawn type, see the table below
respawn = 2;
// Delay in seconds before playable unit respawns.
respawnDelay = 10;
// Delay in seconds before vehicle respawns.
respawnVehicleDelay = 60;
// 0 to disable the score table (it can still be opened manually by pressing 'P' key).
respawnDialog = 0;
// Respawn templates from CfgRespawnTemplates. You can combine any number of them together.
respawnTemplates[] = {"Counter","Wave"};
// Side specific respawn templates. When undefined, general respawnTemplates are used instead.
respawnTemplatesEast[] = {"Counter"};
// 1 to respawn player when he joins the game. Available only for INSTANT and BASE respawn types.
respawnOnStart = 1;
// When 1, the score table contains score of all playable units as opposed to players only.
aikills = 1;

Files

When you create files called onPlayerKilled.sqf and onPlayerRespawn.sqf in your mission directory, they will be automatically executed on player's computer when he dies and respawns.

Following parameters are passed into it in both cases:

onPlayerKilled.sqf

(first 2 params are the same as are passed into Killed event handler)

[<oldUnit>,<killer>,<respawn>,<respawnDelay>]

onPlayerRespawn.sqf

(first 2 params are the same as are passed into Respawn event handler)

[<newUnit>,<oldUnit>,<respawn>,<respawnDelay>]

Parameters:

• oldUnit: Object - killed player. objNull when executed on start.
• newUnit: Object - newly respawned player.
• killer: Object - a unit who killed player. objNull when executed on start.
• respawnDelay: Number - respawn delay defined either in respawn type or in Description.ext.

⚠

File name and arguments may change during Alpha / Beta development

Respawn Types

Type is represented either by respawn ID

respawn = 3;

Or by its name

respawn = "BASE";

ID	Name	Description	onPlayerKilled	onPlayerRespawn
0	"NONE"	Show singleplayer death screen	Template:task/	Template:task
1	"BIRD"	Respawn to a seagull	Template:task	Template:task/
2	"INSTANT"	Respawn on spot where player died	Template:task/	Template:task/
3	"BASE"	Respawn on a marker(s) start by following strings: Unit respawn respawn_west respawn_east respawn_guerrila respawn_civilian Vehicle respawn respawn_vehicle_west respawn_vehicle_east respawn_vehicle_guerrila respawn_vehicle_civilian You can have multiple markers simply by adding any text behind the name, e.g. respawn_west1, respawn_westBase etc. When no markers are defined, player is respawned on position where he started the mission.	Template:task/	Template:task/
4	"GROUP"	Respawn to the next available playable unit in a group. When none is left, BIRD respawn is used instead.	Template:task	Template:task/
5	"SIDE"	Respawn to the next available playable unit of the same side (selected using team switch window). When none is left, BIRD respawn is used instead.	Template:task	Template:task/

Respawn Templates

Templates are pre-defined scripts called when player dies and respawns. They are defined in an array and can be combined together.

respawnTemplates[] = {"MenuInventory","MenuPosition"};

Additionally, you can define side specific templates. When a side has no unique templates, it will use general respawnTemplates instead.

respawnTemplatesWest[] = {"MenuInventory"};
respawnTemplatesEast[] = {"Counter"};
respawnTemplatesGuer[] = {"Tickets"};
respawnTemplatesCiv[] = {"Spectator"};
respawnTemplatesVirtual[] = {}; // Virtual players, used mainly in Curator missions

When the respawnTemplates entry is missing, default templates based on the respawn type are used:

• NONE: None
• BIRD: Spectator, EndMission
• INSTANT: Instant, Counter
• BASE: Base, Counter
• GROUP: Group, EndMission
• SIDE: Side, EndMission

A list of official templates follows:

Class	Description	Preview
None	Singleplayer death screen. Default in singleplayer.
Spectator	Spectator Mode.
Instant	Currently empty.
Base	Currently empty.
Group	Cutscene showing a newly controlled unit.
Side	Cutscene showing a newly controlled unit.
Seagull	OFP-style seagull respawn
Wave	Adjusts respawn counter so players spawns together (wave delay is based on respawnDelay)
Tickets	Decrease number of respawn tickets by 1 every time player dies. To modify number of available tickets (for example add 5 for BLUFOR), use: [west,5] call BIS_fnc_respawnTickets;
Counter	Show a simple respawn countdown.
EndMission	Automtically fail the mission once all players are dead (for NONE, BIRD, GROUP and SIDE respawn types) or when all respawn tickets are exceeded (for INSTANT and BASE respawn types with Tickets template)
MenuPosition	Let player select from available respawn positions defined either by respawn markers (e.g., respawn_west, see Respawn Types) or by BIS_fnc_addRespawnPosition function. Once countdown reaches 0, player is not respawned immediatelly, but must confirm selection by clicking on "RESPAWN" button.
MenuInventory	Let player pick a respawn loadout defined in CfgRespawnInventory in Description.ext. Loadouts can be added using BIS_fnc_addRespawnInventory function. Example Description.ext  class CfgRespawnInventory { class WEST1 { displayName = "Light"; // Name visible in the menu icon = "\A3\Ui_f\data\GUI\Cfg\Ranks\sergeant_gs.paa"; // Icon displayed next to the name // Loadout definition, uses same entries as CfgVehicles classes weapons[] = { "arifle_MXC_F", "Binocular" }; magazines[] = { "30Rnd_65x39_caseless_mag", "30Rnd_65x39_caseless_mag", "SmokeShell" }; items[] = { "FirstAidKit" }; linkedItems[] = { "V_Chestrig_khk", "H_Watchcap_blk", "optic_Aco", "acc_flashlight", "ItemMap", "ItemCompass", "ItemWatch", "ItemRadio" }; uniformClass = "U_B_CombatUniform_mcam_tshirt"; backpack = "B_AssaultPack_mcamo"; }; class WEST2 { // Alternative configuration pointing to a CfgVehicles class. Loadout will be copied from it. vehicle = "B_soldier_AR_F" }; }; Once countdown reaches 0, player is not respawned immediatelly, but must confirm selection by clicking on "RESPAWN" button.
Revive	Enable the revive system introduced in the End Game mission. After player is damaged enough, they will get incapacitated and bleed out unless another player can revive them. Optional parameters: reviveDelay, reviveForceRespawnDelay, reviveBleedOutDelay

Respawn Button

Respawn button in the pause menu is automatically now enabled for INSTANT, BASE, GROUP and SIDE respawn types. You can set its availability manually using following description.ext entry:

respawnButton = 0;

• 1 - enabled
• 0 - disabled

Scripting Commands

• playerRespawnTime
• setPlayerRespawnTime
• respawnVehicle

System Configuration

Respawn Templates

New templates can be defined in global Config.cpp or in mission and campaign Description.ext files.

class CfgRespawnTemplates
{
	// Class used in respawnTemplates entry
	class myTag_beacon
	{
		// Function or script executed upon death. Parameters passed into it are the same as are passed into onPlayerKilled.sqf file
		onPlayerKilled = "\myAddon\scripts\respawnBeacon.sqf";
		// Function or script executed upon respawn. Parameters passed into it are the same as are passed into onPlayerRespawn.sqf file
		onPlayerRespawn = "\myAddon\scripts\respawnBeacon.sqf";
		// Default respawn delay (can be overwitten by description.ext entry of the same name)
		respawnDelay = 20;
		// 1 to respawn player when he joins the game. Available only for INSTANT and BASE respawn types
		// Can be overridden by description.ext attribute of the same name
		respawnOnStart = 1;
	};
	class Spectator
	{
		onPlayerRespawn = "BIS_fnc_respawnSpectator";
	};
};