veafShortcuts — Marker Aliases¶

Module ID: SHORTCUTS | File: veafShortcuts.lua

Purpose¶

Provides short, easy-to-remember marker commands (aliases) that map to full _spawn or other VEAF commands. Players type -aliasName in a map marker instead of memorizing complex command syntax.

How It Works¶

Player places an F10 map marker with text starting with -
veafShortcuts resolves the alias to the underlying VEAF command
The resolved command is executed as if the player had typed it directly

Aliases can include randomized parameters (e.g. -sam picks a random defense level each time).

Enable¶

veafShortcuts.initialize()

This automatically registers the default alias list.

Enabled by default. The built-in aliases (-shilka, -sa2, …) work out of the box — you only need the shortcuts: list below to add your own custom aliases.

Configuration (`mission.yaml`)¶

modules:
  SHORTCUTS:
    enabled: true          # default: true
    logLevel: info        # optional log level override
    shortcuts:            # custom alias definitions
      - name: "smoke"                 # alias name (used as -smoke in markers)
        description: "Smoke shortcut" # shown in radio help
        command: "/_smoke"            # VEAF command to execute
        bypass_security: false        # true = skips the command's level check (always available)

Field	Type	Default	Required	Description
`enabled`	boolean	`true`	No	Enable or disable the module
`logLevel`	string	(global)	No	Per-module log level override
`shortcuts`	object[]	`[]`	No	Additional custom aliases
`shortcuts[].name`	string	—	Yes	Alias name — players type `-name` in a map marker
`shortcuts[].description`	string	—	No	Description shown in radio help
`shortcuts[].command`	string	—	Yes	Full VEAF command to execute (e.g. `/_smoke`)
`shortcuts[].bypass_security`	boolean	`false`	No	If true, this alias ignores the security system

Minimal example¶

modules:
  SHORTCUTS:
    enabled: true
    shortcuts:
      - name: "cas"
        description: "Request CAS"
        command: "/_spawn group, name CAS-Template"

Mission makers can also add custom aliases in mission-script.lua:

Custom Aliases¶

Add mission-specific aliases in your mission-script.lua:

veafShortcuts.AddAlias(
  VeafAlias:new()
    :setName("-myalias")
    :setDescription("My custom spawn")
    :setVeafCommand("_spawn group, name my-custom-group")
)

Default Aliases Reference¶

The most common built-in aliases are grouped below. See the Aliases Reference for the complete list of all built-in aliases.

Air Missions¶

Alias	Description
`-cap`	Dynamic CAP (needs aircraft name)
`-awacs`	AWACS on a race-track from the marker, in Skynet with its datalink on; `escort <template>` adds an escort
`-escort`	Fighter escort for the friendly or neutral airplane nearest the marker (template optional)
`-airstart`	Start a combat mission (needs name)
`-airstop`	Stop a combat mission (needs name)
`-zonestart`	Activate a combat zone (needs name)
`-zonestop`	Deactivate a combat zone (needs name)

Radio¶

Alias	Description
`-send`	Send radio message (needs `"MESSAGE"`)
`-play`	Play sound file (needs `"FILENAME"`)

Mission Master¶

Alias	Description
`-flag`	Get flag value (needs name)
`-flagon`	Set flag to ON (needs name)
`-flagoff`	Set flag to OFF (needs name)
`-run`	Run a runnable (needs name)

Utility Commands¶

Alias	Description
`-destroy`	Destroy any unit within 100m of marker
`-ai_set`	Set AI handler for a ground group

Security¶

Most aliases respect the security system (veafSecurity). Nine utility aliases bypass it and stay available to every player: -smoke, -longsmoke, -signal, -light, -point, -tacan, -jtac, -afac, -beacon.

What may follow a security-bypassing alias¶

After such an alias, a player's marker admits only the options that tune its effect, each in a strict form:

Alias	Admitted options
`-smoke`, `-longsmoke`	`color` (red, green, orange, blue, white)
`-signal`	`color` (red, green, white, yellow)
`-light`	`alt`, `radius` (integers)
`-jtac`	`laser` (4 digits), `freq` (MHz), `mod` (am, fm)
`-afac`	`laser`, `freq`, `mod`, `alt`, `speed`, `hdg` / `heading` (integers), `immortal`
`-tacan`	`channel` (1 to 3 digits), `band` (x, y), `code` (1 to 4 letters or digits), `radius` (0 to 999 m)
`-point`	a name, without a comma
`-beacon`	none

Anything else refuses the marker whole: nothing runs, and only the marker's author gets a message saying what the alias accepts. A VEAF command keyword (_spawn, _cas…) is refused anywhere after these aliases. The refused text is never written to the log: it may carry a password.

Unchanged: the bare alias, #… coordinates and the !N delay, aliases run by a script (alias batches, combat zones), and a mission with security disabled.

A security-bypassing alias of your own admits nothing after it, unless it declares its options in mission-script.lua:

veafShortcuts.AddAlias(
  VeafAlias:new()
    :setName("-mysmoke")
    :setVeafCommand("_spawn smoke")
    :setBypassSecurity(true)
    :setAllowedOptions({ color = "color", shells = "^[1-3]$" })
)

A form is the name of a veafShortcuts.OptionForms form (color, flareColor, laser, frequency, modulation, integer, tacanChannel, tacanBand, morseCode, radius999, flag), or an anchored Lua pattern. An alias declared in mission.yaml with bypass_security: true admits nothing after it.

Skipping the password does not mean keeping quiet. Those two ideas were the same setting in the code for a long time, and it showed: a pilot who dropped a -tacan marker got no confirmation at all — no channel, no band. Silence now depends on one thing only: who asked.

Who places the object	Message to the player
a pilot, through a marker on the F10 map	always, even when the alias skips the password
a script — combat zone, AirWaves wave, pre-placed unit	none, or a thirty-group zone would print thirty messages

Two deliberate exceptions, because their message is not a notification but the data a pilot needs to use the thing:

a JTAC announces its laser code and frequency even when a script placed it;
a TACAN announces its channel, band and ident — but only from a marker. Placed by a script it stays quiet, which is the previous behaviour, left alone for want of a mission that needs otherwise.