A Zeus' Guide To Mission Details

Overview:

The purpose of this guide is to provide a comprehensive explanation of the details, procedure and formatting of mission details posted in Discord and Teamspeak before the start of main missions.

Topics that will be covered:

1. Standard Mission Details.
   • Map.
   • Player Side.
   • Player Faction.
   • Player Assets.
   • Restrictions.
2. Recommended Mission Details.
   • Mission Objectives.
   • Failure Conditions.
   • Special Conditions.
   • Enemy Faction.
   • Enemy Assets.
3. Formatting.
   • Discord Text Formatting.
   • Mission Details Formatting.
   • Links.
   • Examples.

Standard Mission Details:

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Whilst not expressly stated that these details should be posted in Discord the following is stated in the Zeus section of FK Rules on Arma as Rule 4. 

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The following should be announced before mission start:

• Map
• Side
• Faction
• Assets
• Restrictions

Map:

This detail is straightforward the inclusion of the map detail means people will know what map they are playing on and allows staff to select the correct map when the server is setup for the mission. The inclusion of the map in your details can be EX:(Map: Altis) or another format of your choice.

Side:

The Side detail is to inform the players which Side they will be playing on in terms of OPFOR, BLUFOR or INDFOR. This detail can be shown with EX:( Side: BLUFOR) or another format of your choice.

Examples:

• Side: BLUFOR.
• Side: OPFOR.

Faction:

The inclusion of this detail informs the players as to what faction they will be playing within the mission. Examples of what factions can be assigned vary widely with Zeus preference and do not need to be specific in their Writing. A specified faction can be anything from something as specific as EX:(Faction: United States Marine Corps) to something as broad as EX:(Faction: NATO) it all depends on the amount of selection freedom you want to offer as Zeus for your particular mission.

Examples:

• Faction: United States Marine Corps.
• Faction: NATO.

Assets:

The Assets list allows the players whether they have tags or not in addition to trainers to learn what assets will be present in the mission. It is best in this case to state how many of each type of asset there are for your mission followed by the type of each asset EX:(3x T100 Black Eagle, 1x ZSU-35 Tigris.). In addition, you may state how many people will be slotted for each asset though usually, staff will be aware already of how many are needed for each type of asset EX:(1x MRTR Team (2 Players per)) or you could simply say how many you need to the staff member doing slotting.

Examples:

• 3x T100 Black Eagle, 1x ZSU-35 Tigris.
• 1x MRTR Team (2 Players per).
• 1x Wildcat CAS (1x Pilot, 1x Copilot).

Restrictions:

Restrictions are changes and or exceptions a Zeus can make to what is typically available in terms of equipment and mechanics available to players within missions. The rules regarding the implementation of restrictions can be found in FK Arma Rules and within the Zeus Section under rules 5-9 with Rule 9. being important in that it specifies the time in which restrictions must be announced "All restrictions must be announced before slotting starts.". Restrictions when posted should be easily differentiated between which can be easily a achieved using a bullet and or numbered list.

Example:

RESTRICTIONS:

1. - 2x Scope restriction in place (DM Roles exempt).
2. - Firearms restricted to US Army Late Cold War origin (https://pastebin.com/J7Zu9UeH).
3. - Uniform: M93 (US-LATE) (Woodland) A, B, C, D or officer version.

Summary:

Whether in discord or not these details should be made available regardless of whether that be on Teamspeak, Discord or another method. It is recommended that the announcement of mission details take place first on discord and then posted in the chatbox of the main mission room on TeamSpeak as this is already the established convention with regards to mission details. In addition these details should be ready if not at the moment that you are selected as Zeus for a main mission then as soon as possible following. The reason that these particular mission details are required to be announced prior to the start of main missions is that it allows Staff, Trainers and FK Members to learn about a mission prior to the mission itself. This allows Staff to set the server to the correct Map and Side necessary for the mission as well as allowing Trainers to see what assets are available and to organize trainings and or evaluations for trainees in mission. In terms of standard FK members, it gives them the chance to see what the mission will be like and decide for themselves whether they would like to play and for yourself to make a form of advertisement for your mission with its posted details.

Recommended Mission Details:

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These details though not required to be provided prior to mission start allow you as Zeus the chance to showcase what the players will be doing in your mission as well as any special conditions or details that you want to include with your initial mission details post.

Mission Objectives:

The inclusion of the missions objectives allows player to gain a feeling of the intent behind the mission from its Zeus and allows them to prepare for what they will be doing to achieve the mission objectives themselves.

Example:

Objectives:
1st. Board and plant explosives on the PLA Navy Vessel.
2nd. Attack and destroy PLA Air assets at the nearby Airfield.
3rd. Evacuate from the AO.
 

Failure Conditions:

The inclusion of the failure conditions of the mission gives the players a warning as to what they should be focusing on and or avoiding in order to successfully complete the mission.

Example:

Failure Conditions:
1st. If the majority of the platoon’s elements are eliminated or are unable to complete their objectives within the allotted time.

 

Special Conditions:

Example:

Special Conditions:

- Squads are permitted to request fortifications deployed to a building or terrain Once per defensive area.

 

Enemy Faction:

Informing the players as to what enemy force they will be fighting allows them to better grasp what the mission itself will be like knowing the assets and equipment that the enemy will have.

Example:

Enemy Force: Russian Armed Forces(MSV).

 

Enemy Assets:

Typically this information can be gleaned from the enemy faction given however at times the faction that the players will be fighting is being cobbled together from several factions vehicles by the Zeus and thus needs a better definition for the player to understand the enemy's capabilities.

Example:

- Enemy force will be equipped with Merkava MBTs.

Summary:

Whilst these details are not required to be posted to fulfill the base requirements for mission details their inclusion gives the players a better understanding of your missions design and purpose and allows you to better showcase your mission itself.

Formatting:

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As it is the primary location where mission details are posted it may be important to you as a Zeus to format you mission details in a way that is easier to read by the player base and shows the amount of effort you put into their creation.

 

Discord Text Formatting:

On discord there are a number of options for changing the style of your text such as Italics, Bold, Bold Italics, Underline and Strikethrough. The addition of these styles can assist you in breaking up the contents of your mission details into easier to understand sections and styles.

Bold:

Adding two Asterics before and after text makes the words contained Bold.

Example:

**bold**

 

Italics:

Adding one Asteric or an underline before and after text makes the words contained Italic.

Example:

*italics* or _italics_

 

Bold Italics:

Adding three Asterics before and after text makes the words contained Bold Italic.

Example:

***bold italics***

 

Strikethrough:

Adding two tildes before and after text makes the words contained Struckthrough.

Example:

~~Strikethrough~~

 

Underline:

Adding two underscores before and after text makes the words contained Underlined.

Example:

__underline__

 

A full list of discord formatting options can be found here.

 

Mission Details Formatting:

It is recommended when creating the details of your mission to write the details in order of their appearing on FKs rules regarding mission details. 

• Map
• Side
• Faction
• Assets
• Restrictions

Following this additional details can appear in any order you like though the order shown in the Recommended Mission Details section has served me well previously.

• Mission Objectives.
• Failure Conditions.
• Special Conditions.
• Enemy Faction.
• Enemy Assets.

Links:

Links are typically used to provide a weapons list or equipment specification that the players will be using of in mission either as a restriction or a special allowance. Links can be placed as part of whatever section that they are belonging to though it is recommended that they have some form of distinction to them so the link does not become unusable when the mission details are posted.

Example:

- Firearms restricted to Royal Marines origin (https://pastebin.com/WsA1TVr3).

Examples:

Example Formatting:

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Map: Napf Island A3

Operation Name: Nantes.

Side: BLUFOR.

Faction: French Army.

Assets:
- 2x Rooikat 120 UP, 1x Milan Land Rover (Squad Assigned).

Restrictions:
- Firearms restricted to French Army origin (https://pastebin.com/sySpbcz3).
- 2x Scope restriction in place (DM Roles exempt).

Objectives:
1st. Defend Against attacking Russian Forces.
2nd. Evacuate from the South East Airfield.

Failure Conditions:
1st. If the majority of the platoon’s elements are eliminated or are unable to complete their objectives or Retreat.

Special Conditions:

- Squads are permitted to request fortifications deployed to a building or terrain Once per defensive area.

Enemy Faction: Russian Armed Forces.

Enemy Assets:

- Enemy force will be equipped with Merkava MBTs to counter your own base game armour.

Example Formatting (Discord):

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**__Map: Napf Island A3 __**
**__Operation Name: __** Nantes.
**__Side:__** BLUFOR.
**__Faction:__** French Army.
**__Assets:__**
- 2x Rooikat 120 UP, 1x Milan Land Rover (Squad Assigned).

**__Restrictions: __** 
- Firearms restricted to French Army origin (https://pastebin.com/sySpbcz3).
- 2x Scope restriction in place (DM Roles exempt).

**__Objectives:__**
1st. Defend Against attacking Russian Forces.
2nd. Evacuate from the South East Airfield.

**__Failure Conditions:__**
1st. If the majority of the platoon’s elements are eliminated or are unable to complete their objectives or Retreat.

**__Special Conditions:__**
- Squads are permitted to request fortifications deployed to a building or terrain Once per defensive area.

**__Enemy Faction:__** Russian Armed Forces.

**__Enemy Assets:__**
- Enemy force will be equipped with Merkava MBTs to counter your own base game armour.

Example Formatting (Discord) Blank:

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**__Map:__**
**__Operation Name: __**
**__Side:__**
**__Faction:__**
**__Assets:__**
 

**__Restrictions: __**
 

**__Objectives:__**
 

**__Failure Conditions:__**
 

**__Special Conditions:__**
 

**__Enemy Faction:__**

**__Enemy Assets:__**
 

Feel free to use these templates however keep in mind that the exact formatting of your mission details is up to you and can be modified to suit your tastes. Just keep in mind that your mission details are typically the first introduction most players will have to your mission and like many things first impressions are important.