CfgWeapons Config Reference

Introduction

CfgAmmo, cfgMagazines, cfgWeapons and cfgVehicles are root classes defined in the engine's config.bin.

These classes can be subsequently added to by addons inherit in the game or provided by oem.

CfgAmmo defines the missile characteristics for ammunition held in a cfgMagazine which, in turn, is used by a cfgWeapon, which, in turn, is selected for use in a (series of) cfgVehicles. The same ammunition can be, and generally is, used by multiple magazines. The same magazine, can be, and generally is, used by multiple weapons. And so on.

cfgWepaons define the rifle (eg) characteristics. What muzzles it has, how many 'modes' (if any) it can use. What magazines are selectable.

Arma Enhancement

Arma introduced a new root class, cfgMagazines.

In contrast, OFP uses a rather tedious construct in it's cfgWeapons class to distinguish between weapon and magazine parameters.

The major alterations here are:

         OFP           ARMA
ammo=                  moved to cfgMagazines
cost=                  moved to cfgMagazines
displayNameMagazine=   moved to cfgMagazines and renamed DisplayName (of course)
magazines[] = {"this"};magazines[] = {};
magazineType=          moved to cfgMagazines and renamed Type
maxLeadSpeed=          moved to cfgMagazines
minRange =             moved FROM cfgAmmo
minRangeProbab =
midRange =
midRangeProbab =
maxRange = 
maxRangeProbab = 
scopeWeapon=          renamed scope
scopeMagazine=        moved to cfgMagazines and renamed scope
shortNameMagazine=    moved to cfgMagazines and renamed descriptionShort?

Modifications

cfgWeapons {
 access=1;

• Weapon classes can be added.

  default {
   access=3;

• Existing classes can (rarely) be altered.

The default class of cfgWeapons specifies access=3; Almost all subsequent classes inherit this value, which means they cannot be altered in any way.

To allow YOUR addon to subsequently modify YOUR weapon (should you wish to with other addons), you must change the access= in YOUR Weapon.

Navigation thu the woods for the trees

CfgWeapons can be a puzzling mess to the un-initiated.

The tokenpairs, their placement, and their constructs can be befuddled. This is not a reflection on bi, the ultimate class structure is very, very, adaptive, but, it does confuse.

• Essentially, Arma did open heart, and excellent, surgery to this class to distinguish between weapons and their magazines. Ofp had a common weapon/magazine class with variables declaring what to use, when. Variables only relevent to ofp, are sometimes still encountered in arma, simply because, they do no harm.

• Weapons come in two major flavors (with plenty of subthemes). A weapon either has, or does not have, a modes[] class or classes adding different behaviour like autofire, burst, single shot. Confusingly, a weapon with only one mode, is, equivalent to not declaring it at all. The tokens that would normally be in a modes class, are declared in the main body instead. This obfuscates what-goes-where.

• Weapons can have different muzzles. adding a further layer of modelling.

• The inherited tree structure for weapons vs their magazines, vs their ammo, is not always logical. This is a throwback to OFP which (for instance) inherited RPG Ammo from an AT3, but inherited the RPG weapon from a CarlGustav, and so on. The end result being identical and good, since offending parameters were altered as necessary, but it does confuse what a HellfireHind really is, depending on who you are (ammo vs mag vs weapon)

Modes

Some TokenNames are relevant only within a mode class (sound[]= eg), and stated as such.

All weapons, without exception, have at least one mode class.

By default, the inherited mode for a weapon is

modes[]= {"this"};

Which means the engine will treat the main body as also being a mode class unless over-ridden.

Some weapons do not have a modes class specified, nor do they inherit a specified modes class via their parent(s). Under these circumstances, TokenNames stated to be ModeClass only must occur in the main body of that weapon (or it's parents) instead. The TokenNames themselves, remain, accurately described, as being mode class only.

Muzzles

exact same comments as per Modes. By default the inherited muzzle for a weapon is

muzzles[]={"this");

parameters belonging in muzzles are stated as such.

different muzzles are normally only encountered on grenade launcher weapons (eg)

TokenNames

• All engines accept integer values (or math strings) where a float would normally be expected.

• Default values are shown in the legend.

• Usage
  • OFP generally moved to ArmA's cfgMagazines Class and often renamed, else simply renamed.
  • ArmA Introduced from Xbox Elite and beyond.
  • ModesClass. Any item marked as a ModesClass lives in a class Mode... body. It must be declared (or inherited) for each class.
  • MuzzleClass. Any item marked as a MuzzleClasslives in a class Muzzle... body. It must be declared (or inherited) for each class. Normally, except for grenadelaunchers, the muzzle IS the mainbody.
  • Blank: used as described in both OFP, and, ArmA

• Dual Use TokenNames (such as picture=) moved to ArmA's cfgMagazines Class as appropriate.

---

	Type	Usage	Desc	Example
access=3	Integer		#define ReadAndWrite 0 // any modifications enabled #define ReadAndCreate 1 // only adding new class members is allowed #define ReadOnly 2 // no modifications enabled #define ReadOnlyVerified 3 // no modifications enabled, CRC test applied
aiDispersionCoefX=1.0	Float		Dispersion multiplier for Ai units (axis X - left to right)
aiDispersionCoefY=1.0	Float		Dispersion multiplier for Ai units (axis Y - top-down)
aiRateOfFire=5.0	Float	ModeClass	delay between shots at given aiRateOfFireDistance
aiRateOfFireDistance=500	Integer	ModeClass	at shorter distance delay (aiRateOfFire) goes lineary to zero
ammo=""	String	OFPModeClass	CfgAmmo class that this weapon fires. Moved to cfgMagazines in Arma.	ammo = "TimeBomb";
autoAimEnabled=true	Boolean		FALSE for all standard weapons
autoFire=false	Boolean	ModeClass	If true weapon will continue firing once you press fire button once until you release it. And if true the gunner can use the weapon on his own discretion (no commander fire order needed - like MG type).
autoReload=true	Boolean		if true weapon will be reloaded automaticly once magazine is empty
backgroundReload=false	Boolean		Weapon automatically reloads magazines without player intervention or animation.
ballisticsComputer=false	Boolean	ArmA	Weapon attempts to calculate and shift the aimpoint to hit a locked target based on range, target movement, own movement, and ballistics of selected ammo type.
burst=1	Integer	ModeClass	Number of shots actually fired each time the weapon is fired.
cameraDir	String	MuzzleClass		cameraDir = "GL look";
canDrop=true	Boolean		Weapon can/not be dropped from Inventory Menu . CanDrop is poorly implemented. It is normally associated with true vehicles such as air. For humans nothing in the gui panel suggests that you can't drop a weapon, and yet, hidden-from-view, the drop action has no effect. Candrop should have also been implemented in cfgMagazines, but isn't. You can always drop the magazine, and yet, for some weapons, such as a laser designator, this is non-sensical.
canLock=2	Integer		Defines if weapon can be locked on the target (white box appears) #define LockNo 0 #define LockCadet 1 #define LockYes 2
cartridgePos="nabojnicestart"	String
cartridgeVel="nabojniceend"	String
count=0	Integer	OFP	Number of shots weapon starts with. Moved to CfgMagazines in ArmA
cursor=""	String	ArmA
cursor="w_weapon"	String	OFP
cursorAim=""	String	ArmA		cursorAim = "\ca\Weapons\Data\cursor_target_locked_ca.paa";
cursorAim="w_lock"	String	OFP
cursorAimOn=""	String	Arma
cursorSize=1.0	Float	Arma
dexterity??	Float		Ingame weapon handling value, lower value = takes more time to traverse a weapon	dexterity = 3.1;
dispersion=0.002	Float	ModeClass	Ingame weapon dispersion in radians. Bigger value - more dispersion
displayName=""	String	MainBody	Name of the WEAPON. Declared in the main body. This string is shown in gear selection as the rifle's name.
		ModeClass	Name of the MODE. In every mode class. This string is shown in-game when selecting burst, single, auto etc. A weapon that only has a single mode *normally* has the same displayname, repeated in the mode class. But, repeated, it must be. A weapon with no modes (modes={"this"); uses the weapon name for both.
		MuzzleClass	Name of the MUZZLE. In every muzzle class. This string is shown in-game similar to burst, single, auto etc. It is quite common for one of the muzzle classes to inherit a basic rifle muzzle. in which case, the name of the muzzle for THAT class is the inherited weapon name. A weapon with no muzzles (muzzles={"this"); uses the weapon name.
displayNameMagazine=""	String	OFP	'displayname' of the magazine in gear selection. Replaced in Arma via the cfgMagazines Class see also shortNameMagazine and descriptionShort
distanceZoomMax=400	Integer
distanceZoomMin=400	Integer
descriptionShort=""	String	ArmA	A paragraph or two describing the rifle in bottom left panel of in-game gear selection. This is NOT equivalent of ofp's short label (shortNameMagazine). That descriptionShort exists in cfgMagazines
drySound[]={"",1,1}	Array		click Sound when empty weapon fired	drySound[] = {"\ca\Weapons\Data\Sound\XMS_dry_v2",0.000316228,1};
enableAttack=true	Boolean
emptySound[]={"",1,1}	Array	Arma
ffCount=1	Integer	ModeClass
ffFrequency=1	Float	ModeClass
ffMagnitude=0.0	Float	ModeClass
fireLightDuration=0.05	Float	Arma
fireLightIntensity=0.012	Float	Arma
flashSize=0.0	Float	ModeClass	ofp only?
forceOptics=0	Integer		Valid values: 0, 1, 2, as per canLock
handAnim[]={}	Array	Arma
initSpeed=0	Integer		Initial speed of shot in meters per second. Also present in cfgMagazines	initSpeed = 900;
laser=false	Boolean	Arma
Library	Class	Arma	class Library { libTextDesc = ""; };
libTextDesc	String	ArmaClass	libTextDesc = "$STR_LIB_SVD";//eg
magazineReloadTime=0	Float	MuzzleClass	Time delay when reloading the weapon (changing magazines).
magazines[]={"this"}	StringArray	OFP	Array of magazine classes compatible with this weapon. This very same Weapon class in cfgWeapons if not over-ridden
magazines[]={}	StringArray	ArmA	These are declared here, same as ofp, but defined in CfgMagazines. Note with extreme caution, unlike ofp, you cannot have identical named mag classes. The in-game gear selection panel gets confused. Safe bet is to call all your magazine classes [rifle]Mag
maxLeadSpeed=50	Integer	Ofp	Maximimum speed of the target that can be shot with this weapon by AI. Moved to CfgMagazines in ArmA.
min/mid/maxRange...	Integer	ArmAModeClass	Together with *Range and *RangeProbab values defines probability to use this weapon for Ai units at given distance. For OFP these paramaters were specified in cfgAmmo, rendering all rifles the same.
magazineType=0	Integer	ofp	See Types below
minRange=1	Integer
minRangeProbab=0.3	Float
midRange=150	Integer
midRangeProbab= 0.58	Float
maxRange=500	Integer
maxRangeProbab=0.04	Float
memoryPointCamera="eye"	String	Arma	MuzzleClass	memoryPointCamera = "GL eye";
model="[.p3d]"	String			model = "\ca\a10\AGM65";
modelMagazine="[.p3d]"	String	ArmA
modelMagazine="\misc\mag_univ"	String	OFP
modelOptics="[.p3d]"	String	MuzzleClass	Optic model used in game. "-" defines 3d view from the model (point "eye")	modelOptics = "\ca\Weapons\G36_optics"; modelOptics = "-";
modelSpecial=[.p3d]""	String
modes[]= {"this"}	StringArray		Anything you care to claim as a class xxx. modes[]= {"this"}; means all parms necessary for the one and only mode are declared within the main body. Note this also gives the order of selection using the control key in-game.	modes[] = {"single","burst","auto"};
multiplier=1	Integer	ModeClass	Ammunition used per shot.
muzzleEnd="konec hlavne"	String
muzzlePos="usti hlavne"	String
muzzles[]={"this"}	Array		similar to modes, if not declared, assumed muzzle is 'this'	muzzles[] = {"TimeBombMuzzle","PipeBombMuzzle","MineMuzzle","MineEMuzzle"};
nameSound=""	String		sound classname played when vehicle commander switches to this weapon?	nameSound = "smokeshell";
nameSound="weapon"	String	OFP
optics=true	Boolean
opticsDisablePeripherialVision=0.67	Float	ArmA
opticsFlare=true	Boolean
opticsPPEffects[] = {}	Array	Arma
opticsZoomInit= 0.35	Float	MuzzleClass	Optics field of view at default zoom in radians.
opticsZoomMax=0.35	Float	MuzzleClass	Optics field of view at maximum zoom in radians.
opticsZoomMin=0.35	Float	MuzzleClass	Optics field of view at minimum zoom in radians.
picture="[\][.pac]"	String		Defines weapon and magazine. See below
primary=10	Integer
recoil="Empty"	String	ModeClass	Selects recoil defined in cfgRecoils class. ArmA differs substantially in Recoil ability. Much more of them, and very different names.	recoil="AK74Recoil"
recoilProne=""	String	ArmAModeClass	When prone, recoil can be set to slower values	recoilProne = "AK74Recoil"
reloadAction=""	String	Arma	enumerated list
reloadAction="ManActReloadMagazine"	String	OFP
reloadMagazineSound[]={"",1,1}	Array	MuzzleClass		Sound played while changing magazines.	reloadMagazineSound[] = {"\ca\Weapons\Data\Sound\flare_reload",0.000316228,1};
reloadSound[]={"",1,1}	Array		Sound played after each shot.	reloadSound[] = {"\ca\Weapons\Data\Sound\gun125reload",1,1};
reloadTime=1.0	Float	ModeClass	Time delay between each individual shot.
		MuzzleClass
scope=0	Integer	ArmA	OFP had no scope token. Instead, it used scopeWeapon and ScopeMagazine to distinguish who was what and when used. 2 = can use ingame, picture in gear present, 1 = can use ingame, no picture in gear.
scopeWeapon=0	Integer	Ofp
scopeMagazine=0	Integer	Ofp	used as couplets instead of scope
selectionFireAnim="zasleh"	String	Arma
shortNameMagazine=""	String	OFP	The descriptive magazine paragraph. Replaced in Arma by descriptionShort in the cfgMagazines Class
shotFromTurret???	Boolean	ArmA	meaning unknown. But "zasleh" animation is not working if set to 1
showAimCursorInternal=true	Boolean	ArmA
showEmpty=true	Boolean		If false weapon gets hidden from the player once there's no ammo left for it
showToPlayer=true	Boolean	ModeClass	Some modes defined for Ai usage (ex. burst modes for full auto weapons) can be hidden from player with this parameter
simulation="Weapon"	String	ArmA
sound[]={"",1,1}	Array	ModeClass	There are several sound types Most are relevent to the weapon overall and specified in the main body, sound[]= is specific to each mode.	sound[] = {"\ca\Weapons\Data\Sound\AGS30_shot1",10,1}; The last parameter defines how fast the sound should be played. 1 means normal speed.
soundBurst=true	Boolean	ArmaModeClass	When set to false single shot sound can be used with burst mode - it will be played several times
soundContinuous=false	Boolean	ModeClass	If true sound for the next shot won't start before previous oe ends. Thus you can prevent sound overlapping.
soundBegin[]={"sound",1}	Array	ArmaModeClass
soundBullet[]={"emptySound",1}	Array	ArmaModeClass
soundEnd[]={"sound",1}	Array	ArmAModeClass
soundLoop[]={"sound",1}	Array	ArmaModeClass	note that there is extensive use of soundloops in arma. Most weapons elaborate on this basic, essentially ofp, structure with begin1,2,3 loops etc.
soundServo[]	Array			soundServo[] = {"",0.0001,1};
Type=WeaponHardMounted	Integer	Arma	Defines the equipment slots this WEAPON or MAGAZINE will occupy. See Types below
UiPicture="[\][.pac]"	String	ArmA		\CA\weapons\data\Ico\i_aa_CA.paa";
uiPicture="ivojak"		ofp
useAction=false	Boolean	ModeClass
useActionTitle=""	String	ModeClass		useActionTitle = "$STR_ACTION_PUTBOMB";
useAsBinocular=false	Boolean
value=2	Integer	ArmA
valueMagazine=2	Integer	ofp
valueWeapon=2	Integer	ofp
weaponType=WeaponHardMounted	Integer	ofp	See Types below

Picture="[\][.pac]"

Defines WEAPON Picture and separately MAGAZINE Picture. OFP generally created TWO cfgWeapon classes. One for the weapon, one for the magazine. picture= was declared in each. In Arma, the magazine picture name has been moved to the cfgMagazines class as appropriate.

Note that this is one of those irritating bis path snafu's. (when if ever will they start using relative addressing?). The following notes apply to most picture= references. Not just cfgWeapons.

1)The DEFAULT extension is .pac. The engine accepts pac or paa, but pac is not supposed to exist. A .paa must be explicitly declared.

2)Path must explicitly have a \leading.

This because in ofp it was possible to NOT declare any picture at all.

In which case (in ofp) the engine looks for the paa file in \dta\dtaext\NameOfClass.paa

The arma engine appears to make a mess of it. ANY picture reference without a preceeding slash will look in a non-existent 'equip.pbo'

Specifically

equip\w\w_your\path\name  // for weapons and
equip\m\m_your\path\name  // for mags

if no picture is specified, then like ofp, equip\w\w_NameOfClass is assumed

note also the 'convention' of naming weapon images with w_ and magazine images with m_ (and to a certain extent having data\equip file paths). This is rigidly followed in arma. In OFP, Bis were inconsistent.

Types

weaponType=WeaponHardMounted (OfpOnly)

Integers (Note this value is often held as a math String)

Gear (equipment) selection consists of SlotTypes and one of more slot positions of that type

This integer is a bitfield containing SlotType and count which defines which SlotType this 'item' will occupy in gear selection and how many slots of that type it requires. It does NOT define which slot position to occupy, only the Type of Slot. Various engines will show this item in positions of their own choosing.

• An 'item' is defined as being a weapon, magazine, or 'equipment'.
  • A 'weapon' is rifle, handgun, law launcher
  • A 'magazine' is a magazine, a shell ,a Law, a PipeBomb, a grenade. Ie a housing for the cfgAmmo explosive(s)
  • 'equipment' are binoculars, nvg, etc.

For ArmA, MagazineSlots and WeaponSlots are mutually exclusive. The classes occur in the cfgWeapons or cfgMagazines respectively. In ofp both types of class exist in cfgWeapons, and are often the same class. OFP does not have a 'Type='. Instead, it uses WeaponType= and MagazineType= couplets. The end result, and the intent, is identical.

• Note the quite serious alteration to SecondaryWeapon and Handgun mags that occurred in arma. This to allow for an increased count field in Handgun Magazines.

---

Slot:	SlotType	value/nbits		Example
		OFP	ArmA
either:	NoSlot	0/0	same	'stroke' is a weapon, but it occupies no slots
Weapon:	PrimaryWeapon	1/1	same	AK47
Weapon:	HandGun	2/1	same	CZ75
Weapon:	SecondaryWeapon	16/1	4/1	Law
Mag:	HandGunMagazines	32/3	16/4	CZ75Mag or GLMag
Mag:	MainMagazines	256/4	same	AK47Mag or explosives
Weapon:	BinocularSlot	4096/4	same	or NVG, LD,etc
Weapon:	HardMounted	65536/1	same
Mag:	SmallItems		131072/4	(Arma 2) map, compass, small items (derived from ItemCore)

The specific combination for machine guns normally occupy both weapon slots (PrimaryWeapon+SecondaryWeapon)

---

Magazine Sizes

Architecturally, all bitfields are counts. The fact that a PrimaryWeapon can only be '1', still makes it a count of that SlotType.

In practical terms magazines are the only 'item' (warning, currently) to have bitfields > 1.

Most weapons use a single slot to declare a single magazine.

Shell weapons such as the RPG require three slots to hold the 'magazine'. Ofp presented this by filling those slots with the image. Arma makes a mess of it with a somewhat ugly blank between slots. You are supposed to guess why it's blank.

No handgun magazine (currently) has a size > 1. This could change on say a remote controlled explosive (eg). The bitfield is larger for reasons explained in 'putting it all together'.

For MainWeapon Magazines, specific bit-field identities between 256 and 4096 are frequently represented textually as

"1 * 256" // main mags
"2 * 256" // m60,pk,mortars
"3 * 256" // law , rpg
"4 * 256" // 6g30 4 slots needed
"6 * 256" // carlgustav,stinger 6 slots needed
"8 * 256" // mm1 all slots needed

And, of course, in Arma, these 'fields' are only relevent in it's CfgWeapons.

CfgVehicles Joining the dots

A 'vehicle', in this case a human or parachute, has it's equipment slots defined in it's cfgVehicles Class. The weaponslots= bitfield declares whether or not a piece of equipment can be carried at all, and if so, how much, or max size of that equipment, measured in 'slots'.

cfgVehicles.Weaponslots= is deceptively similar to CfgWeapons.Type= (and vice versa). Weaponslots= defines the carrying capacity for equipment, type= defines the size of of that equipment.

Different humans have less slots than others. Clearly, medics, police, civilians and some resistance fighters, cannot carry heavy armament. They're either not trained to, or, they're already implictly carrying medical packs. The disastrous ArmA1 completely destroyed this distinction. ArmA2 enhances the distinction a little more than ofp.

A generalised capacity declaration for humans is

weaponSlots=	PrimaryWeapon+	Can carry a Primary Weapon
	SecondaryWeapon+	Sometimes able to carry a Secondary or even heavier Weapon (Law,mg,stinger)
	(4+6)*MainMagazines+	Can carry nMagazines for these weapons (AK47Mag) (or max size of shell eg)
	HandGun+	Can carry a Handgun (Berreta eg)
	2*WeaponSlotBinocular+	Can carry nslots of equipment
	4*HandGunMagazines+	Can carry nHandgun Magazines (CZ75Mag)
	12*SmallItems	can carry nslots of SmallItems (Arma2)

--

These will later be filled out with specific weapons in the human's weapons[]= and magazines[]=arrays. Placing too many causes a ctd.

Note that specific ArmA2 women can only carry magazines and smallequipment (for their boyfriends?) and nothing else.

---

Magazine carrying ability altered markedly for ArmA2 vs ofp, is the reason for the nasty change to the bitfield, and is as follows

                    OFP        ARMA    
 Rifle Potential  : 15          15
       Actual     : 4 to 10      2 to 12
 Handgun Potential: 7           15
       Actual     : 4            4 or 8
 'Binoculars'     : 1 or 2       0 to 2