Guide:Mission File Syncing

To make joining the Altis Life server easier for people with slower internet connections, and to relieve load off the server, we are making the mission file available on Google Drive to sync to your PC.

The mission files can be found here: https://www.roleplay.co.uk/missions

FAQ:

Q: Why are there multiple files?

A: There are three mission files, although we only have one Arma server. We alternate between the three (A, B, C) when we update, which allows the mission file to be updated in the background while you are still playing on the server. This mitigates issues where Google Drive has to wait to update since the file is in use by the game.

Q: Do I need to do this?

A: Not necessarily, however it will allow you to completely bypass the mission file downloads in game, and allow you to join immediately after updates.

Q: Are these updated automatically?

A: Yes, our build system automatically pushes updated mission files, which in most cases will be well in advance of the restart.

Q: Does this give people a way to steal the mission file?

A: Not really, no. We already have protections in place for this, and someone who would be able to bypass these would already have the knowledge to easily extract it from their game folder (or get another person to get it for them if they were banned).

How to

Instructions for setting up automatic synchronization can be found in the HOWTO.txt, including a link to instructional images on how to set it up.

1. Visit the mission file folder at https://www.roleplay.co.uk/missions (making sure you are signed into your google account)
2. Add this folder to your Google drive (shared with me -> select RPUK MIssion Files folder -> press Shift + Z -> add to drive)
3. Download Google Drive Sync application: https://www.google.co.uk/drive/download/
4. Ensure that this folder has been synced to your local Google Drive folder (C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive). You may need to enable syncing this folder if you didn't click Sync All in Google Drive Sync settings (see tutorial images above!)
5. Run the following commands in an Administrator command prompt (with your game closed!):
6. You will now receive updates to the mission file, even when you are actively playing on our server thanks to the 3-file system.

Run each of these individually in an elevated Command Prompt
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo"
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo"
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo"

Image Tutorial

Step 1: After opening the RPUK Mission Files folder from https://roleplay.co.uk/missions, click Shared With Me

Step 2a: Select the RPUK Mission Files Folder, and then hit Shift+Z. Click "My Drive" if it isn't selected already, then click Add

Step 2b: After clicking into "My Drive", you should now see "RPUK Mission Files" folder

Step 3a: Head to https://www.google.co.uk/drive/download/ and install Google Drive's sync application (we suggest all the default settings / locations)

Step 3b: Right click on the Google Drive cloud icon in your taskbar tray (bottom right), then go to Sync Some Folders.... ensure that RPUK MIssion File is selected (or Sync Everything is selected)

Step 4a: Head to your installed Google Drive folder (as show in the above photo, it should be C:\Users\%username%\Google Drive and double check that the RPUK Mission Files folder is there (it may take upto 5 minutes to sync)

Step 4b: Check inside the folder that the 3 mission files A, B and C have synced

Step 5a: Head to the start menu and type in CMD, you should then right click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator

For Step 5b and 5c - Run each of these individually in an elevated Command Prompt
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo"
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo"
del "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.A.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.B.Altis.pbo"
mklink "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Arma 3\MPMissionsCache\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Google Drive\RPUK Mission Files\RPUK.live.prod.C.Altis.pbo"

Step 5b: YOU MUST BE LOGGED OFF THE SERVER. You need to ensure the Command Prompt is open as an administrator (so it says C:\WINDOWS\system32). You should then copy and paste the 3 delete commands individually (pressing ENTER after each one) to delete existing RPUK mission files.

Step 5c: Now run the 3 mlink commands to setup the mission files to sync from Google Drive into your missions folder. Run these 3 individually. You should get a successful response of 'symbolic link created'

That's everything done, if the 3 symbolic links have completed successfully, you should now find the mission files sync automatically and you can login without downloading them.