DCS mission briefing construction
Requires .NET 10.0 Desktop Runtime https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/10.0
Requires Microsoft WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 11 and most Windows 10 machines; bootstrapper available at https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/)
Thanks to Sharko and Tripack for testing. Thanks to Jed the for speed computation algorithm.
DcsBriefop is a tool to help DCS mission makers to efficiently create and maintain the kneeboard pages that document their missions. The program allows the user to combine and organise the mission data in kneeboard folders. Target coordinates, weather information, waypoint altitudes, radio and radionav frequencies and more are read directly from the mission file and used to build the kneeboard, then inject it back in the mission file.
In addition to the data available in the mission, DcsBriefop manages additional custom informations such as comments, map markers, custom radio or tacans, etc.
DcsBriefop works with the static data of a DCS miz file, and as such cannot intepret and use dynamically scripted informations.
DcsBriefop is split into two main parts. The mission configuration part allows to consult, modify and enrich the data present in the DCS mission file. The briefing construction part is where the briefing pages will be built and organised based on the mission data.
Here you will find general mission informations. Some can be directly modified in DcsBriefop such as the date, the mission name and description, the coalitions tasks. The user will also be able to choose if a Bullseye waypoint will be generated by DcsBriefop for the playable flights.
Here you will find a list of all airbases in the mission. Airbases can be airdromes, carriers, FARPs. For these it is possible to define custom radionav data to be used in the briefing (TACAN and radios).
Here you will find a list of all the groups in the mission. Flights, vehicles, ships, statics. Depending on the group, DcsBriefop will list the units, the waypoints, the tasks of the waypoints. It will also extract and normalize radionav data from the various sources in the mission file.
Here you will be able to see the map overlays for the mission and for each coalition.
A map provider (basemap tile source) can be selected for the mission: OpenStreetMap, Bing, ESRI Imagery, BKG, OpenTopoMap, and custom WMS or XYZ tile sources are supported.
Map overlays can be layered on top of the basemap:
- ESRI Reference Overlay
- ESRI Transportation
- ESRI Boundaries and Places
- OpenAIP (requires an API key — see Preferences)
Overlays can be configured independently for each coalition (Blue, Red, Neutral) and for the mission-wide view.
WIP — this feature is not yet functional and its button is currently disabled.
The briefing is built in three levels. The folder, which contains a series of pages, which are composed of parts.
The briefing folder is a grouping entity that defines some global parameters to be used for the pages it contains, and can be affected to one or more kneeboard aircraft types. A mission can have any number of folders.
A page is a unique image to be included in the kneeboard.
A part is a semi-configurable object that can be included in a page. The parts are :
- Airbases (table of airbases)
- Groups (table of groups or units)
- Waypoints (waypoints of a flight)
- Sortie (title of the mission)
- Bullseye (bullseye coordinates and description)
- Weather
- Description (mission desciption text)
- Task (coalition task)
- Paragrah (free paragraph)
- Image (free image)
- TableText (formatted text table)
When saving, DcsBriefop generates the briefing images and injects them back into the .miz file.
Images can also be written to an output directory alongside the mission file (configurable in Preferences).
By default, a backup of the original .miz is created before overwriting it (.bak extension).
A companion .cmd batch file can be generated automatically on save, allowing the briefing to be regenerated later from the command line without opening the GUI.
- Working directory — default folder opened when loading a mission
- Recent files — list of recently opened
.mizfiles (up to 10) - Backup before overwrite — create a
.bakcopy of the mission before saving (default: on) - Generate batch command on save — write a
.cmdfile alongside the mission for command-line re-generation (default: on) - Internet proxy — host, port, and optional credentials for tile map requests behind a corporate proxy
- No callsign for playable flights — hide callsigns for player-controlled flights (default: on)
- Bullseye waypoint — whether to inject a bullseye waypoint into playable flights: None, One (first flight only), or Last (append as last waypoint)
- Provider — tile source used for the in-app map and briefing image generation (default: OpenStreetMap)
- Zoom — default map zoom level
- Active overlays — which overlay layers are enabled on top of the basemap
- OpenAIP API key — required to use the OpenAIP airspace/airport overlay
- Weather display — Plain text or METAR format
- Measurement system — Metric, Imperial, or Hybrid
- Coordinate display — one or more of DMS, DDM, MGRS
- Image size — pixel dimensions of the generated kneeboard images (default: 720 × 1085)
- Generate on save — automatically regenerate briefing images when saving the mission (default: on)
- HTML output — optionally generate an HTML index file alongside the images
DcsBriefop can be run headlessly to regenerate a briefing without opening the GUI.
DcsBriefop.exe [app] Launch the GUI (default when no verb is given)
DcsBriefop.exe batch Process a mission file without UI
-m, --miz <path> Path to the .miz file or its containing folder (required)
-b, --briefing-output <targets> Output destination(s): None | Miz | Directory (combinable)
Common options:
-l, --loglevel <level> Override the log4net logging level
-d, --debug Enable debug mode
The GenerateBatchCommandOnSave preference (on by default) writes a ready-to-use .cmd file next to the mission whenever you save, making it easy to schedule or script briefing updates.