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Architecture

Repository structure

src/                    Source modules (pure Lua 5.1, one class per file)
  core/                 Foundations: class.lua, CTLD_objectRegistry, CTLD_modValidator,
                        CTLDParachuteEffect
  scenes/               Scene data files (auto-registered at load time)
  legacy/               Legacy v1 API wrappers (thin delegates, deprecated)
  CTLD_*.lua            Domain managers (config, i18n, utils, menu, zone, troop, crate,
                        vehicle, fob, aasystem, beacon, recon, jtac, player, core…)
  CTLD_userConfig.lua   User configuration (merged last)
tools/
  build/                Build tooling: merge_CTLD.ps1, listToMerge.txt, generate_i18n_dicts.ps1
tests/
  ci/                   busted tests (no DCS required)
    helpers/            DCS stubs + module loader (init.lua, loader.lua)
    unit/               *_spec.lua unit tests
    functional/         *_spec.lua functional tests
  dcs/                  DCS integration-test scenarios (require a live mission)
docs/                   Published documentation (this site)
assets/                 Runtime audio (beacon.ogg)
missions/               Demo and test .miz files
migration/
  source/               Reference — original monolithic v1 CTLD.lua (read-only, immutable)
CTLD.lua                Generated deliverable — never hand-edit (rebuilt from src/)

Manager / singleton idiom

Classes are built with the minimal OOP micro-framework in src/core/class.lua:

MyClass = class()            -- create a class
Child   = class(MyClass)     -- subclass (single inheritance)

function MyClass:init(...) end   -- constructor, called by :new()
local obj = MyClass:new(...)     -- allocate instance + run init()

class(base) sets the class table as its own __index, so instance method lookups fall through to the class; passing a base chains __index to the parent.

Domain managers are singletons. They declare _instance and expose a getInstance() factory that bypasses :new() and calls init() on first access:

CTLDZoneManager = class()
CTLDZoneManager._instance = nil

function CTLDZoneManager.getInstance()
    if not CTLDZoneManager._instance then
        local o = setmetatable({}, CTLDZoneManager)
        o:init()
        CTLDZoneManager._instance = o
    end
    return CTLDZoneManager._instance
end

Configuration is read-only via ctld.gs("paramName") — never config:getSetting().

CTLDCoreManager init sequence

CTLDCoreManager:init() runs once at mission start and executes these phases in order:

Phase Method Description
INIT-B _initMMCrates() Scan coalition statics for MM-placed cargo objects
INIT-C _initMMJTACs() Scan coalition groups for MM-placed JTAC groups
INIT-D CTLDVehicleSpawner:scanMMVehicles() Scan coalition ground groups for MM-placed vehicles
INIT-E _initExtractableGroups() Register extractableGroups names into CTLDTroopManager._droppedGroups
INIT-A _initAITransports() Build AI team lists and start the auto-pickup/dropoff loop

INIT-E detail: reads ctld.gs("extractableGroups"), calls Group.getByName() for each entry, and inserts the group name into CTLDTroopManager._droppedGroups[coalition]. Groups not found are logged as WARN and skipped. There is no late activation (iso-legacy) and no _droppedTemplates entry — embarkFromField uses a 130 kg/unit fallback.

Adding a new module

  1. Create src/CTLD_mymodule.lua using the class/singleton idiom above (CTLDMyManager = class(), _instance, getInstance()).
  2. Add the filename to tools/build/listToMerge.txt in dependency order (foundations first, then domain managers, then scenes, then CTLD_core.lua, then legacy/, CTLD_userConfig.lua last).
  3. Add the same dofile entry to tests/ci/helpers/loader.lua.
  4. Write busted specs in tests/ci/unit/mymodule_spec.lua (test-first — see Building & testing).

The merge order in listToMerge.txt is authoritative: scenes are listed after all managers so that model.crate auto-injection resolves, and CTLD_core.lua (the orchestrator) comes after the scenes it instantiates.

Internal libraries

core/class.lua — OOP base

The single-inheritance class system used throughout CTLD (see the idiom above). class() creates a class whose __index is itself; class(base) chains to a parent.

core/CTLD_objectRegistry.lua — spawn descriptor store

CTLDObjectRegistry is a static registry mapping template keys to DCS group/unit spawn descriptors. It manages descriptors, not instances.

CTLDObjectRegistry.register(key, descriptor)    -- add a template
CTLDObjectRegistry.spawnObject(key, coa, country, x, z, hdg, opts)
    -- → DCS Group object | nil

Scenes register their component descriptors at dofile time; troop and vehicle templates are registered by their managers at init.

core/CTLD_modValidator.lua — mod presence probe

CTLDModValidator probes whether optional DCS mods (HAWK, Patriot, NASAMS…) are present by attempting a coalition.addStaticObject with the mod's unit type and immediately destroying it.

CTLDModValidator.getInstance():isPresent("AAA_HAWK_SR")  -- → bool (cached after first probe)

Results are cached in _cache[typeName]. The probe is deferred to first use so mission load time is not impacted.

probeSkip — heliport-type objects cannot be probed

The probe technique works for STATIC and GROUND objects. It does not work for objects registered with category = "Heliports" (spawned via the airbase API rather than the static object API).

Root cause (verified by live DCS diagnostic): when a heliport-type static is spawned via coalition.addStaticObject, DCS registers it as an Airbase entry regardless of whether the mod is installed. All API fields — getTypeName(), getCategory(), getCategoryEx(), getCallsign(), getDesc().life, getDesc().displayName — return identical values whether the mod is present or absent. There is no signal in the Lua scripting API to distinguish the two states.

Consequence: if a heliport registry entry does not set probeSkip = true, CTLDModValidator always reports it as present — a false-positive "mod found" even when the mod is missing.

Rule: any registry entry with category = "Heliports" must set probeSkip = true.

CTLDObjectRegistry.registerIfAbsent("Farp_FG_Petit_Helipad", {
    groupType = "STATIC",
    category  = "Heliports",
    -- probeSkip suppresses the ModValidator probe: DCS returns life=0 and identical
    -- API data regardless of mod installation state — no reliable detection is possible.
    probeSkip = true,
    -- …
})

Mitigation for scenes using heliport mods: declare requiresMod on the scene model. CTLDSceneManager:_auditAfterModValidator() emits a WARN outText at mission start reminding the mission maker that all clients must have the mod installed:

metalFarpScene.requiresMod = "Farp_FG_Petit_Helipad"

This WARN is the only mechanism available — automatic menu suppression is not possible for heliport-type mods.

core/CTLDParachuteEffect.lua

Visual parachute effect helper used when dropping crates/troops from altitude.

CTLD_utils.lua — utility functions

Key functions available as ctld.utils.*:

Function Purpose
log(level, fmt, ...) Write to CTLD.log (levels: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR)
getDistance(caller, p1, p2) 2D ground distance between two {x,z} points
getHeadingInRadians(caller, unit, magnetic) Unit heading in radians
inAir(unit) True if unit is airborne (AGL + velocity guard)
getNextMarkId() Allocate the next unique DCS mark ID from ctld._markIdCounter
getNextUniqId() Allocate the next unique entity ID from ctld.utils.UniqIdCounter
drawQuad(coalitionId, pts, msg) Draw a 4-point polygon on the F10 map
buildWP(caller, pt, type, speed) Build a DCS waypoint table
getSecureDistanceFromUnit(unitName) Minimum spawn clearance radius from a unit's bbox
dynAddStatic(coalitionId, data) coalition.addStaticObject wrapper with country resolution