ALiVE.OS · ALiVE 3 Development

ORBAT Creator

Build custom factions and orders of battle directly in the editor, then export them as ready-to-use config code.

In development · ALiVE 3

ALiVE 3 is in active development. This briefing describes work in progress, and the behaviour it covers is subject to change as testing continues. Check the changelog at the foot of the page for what has moved recently.

On this page

Overview

What ORBAT Creator does

The ORBAT Creator opens an in-editor tool for building custom factions from scratch. A mission maker can pull in units and vehicles from any installed mod or base game content, group them into squads and formations, and organize the result into a complete faction. Once happy with the result, the tool exports everything as config code that can be dropped straight into an addon, so the custom faction can be reused in future missions and recognized by other ALiVE modules. It can either work over a plain grey background for focused editing, or use the actual map and module location so unit placement can be judged in context.

Capabilities

What it handles

Faction Editor

Create, edit, and copy factions

Start a brand new faction, edit an existing one, or duplicate one as a starting point. Factions carry a side (BLUFOR, OPFOR, Independent, or Civilian), a display name, flag, and icon, and can pull in any faction already known to ALiVE.

Unit Editor

Build custom units and vehicles

Create individual soldiers or vehicles for a faction, editing their loadout, face, voice, and insignia through an arsenal-style screen, and adjusting other unit properties before adding them to the roster.

Group Editor

Assemble squads and formations

Combine created units into groups covering the full range of unit categories, including infantry, special forces, motorized, mechanized, armored, artillery, naval, and air, so a faction's order of battle matches how it will actually fight.

Config Export

Export ready-to-use config code

Export a faction's config, its crates, its images, selected or all units, selected or all groups, or the entire package in one go. Output can be copied straight to the clipboard or written out to a file, ready to drop into an addon.

Setup Options

Editor and addon settings

Choose whether the editor runs on a plain grey background or uses the current map, add an addon prefix for exported classes (for example when building alongside another mod), and optionally copy parent classes instead of existing ones for advanced setups. Disable Unit Randomization decides whether exported infantry inherit the gear randomization of the unit they were built from, and is on by default.

How to use it

Getting started

Place the ORBAT Creator moduleDrop the ALiVE ORBAT Creator module anywhere in the editor. It doesn't need syncing to anything; it works as a standalone editing tool.
Choose a background settingSet Enable Background to Yes for a plain grey editing space, or No if the module should use the actual map and its own position so unit placement can be judged in context.
Set an addon prefix if neededOptional: type a prefix in Addon Prefix (for example CUP) and it's put at the front of the class names the tool generates for your faction, units and groups.
Decide on parent class copyingLeave Copy Parent Classes set to No for normal use. Only set it to Yes for advanced cases where existing units' parent classes should be copied instead of the units themselves.
Pick an arsenal typeLeave Arsenal Type on Virtual Arsenal unless your group plays with ACE. Then pick ACE Arsenal to edit unit loadouts in the arsenal you're used to.
Preview the mission to open the toolPreview the mission from the editor. The Faction Editor opens by itself, and you can reopen it from the ALiVE menu (ALiVE ORBAT Creator). From there create or copy a faction, add custom units and vehicles with their own loadout, face and voice, and organise them into groups.
Export the finished factionWhen the faction, units and groups look right, open Export and pick Full Faction to copy the config to the clipboard, or Full Faction (To File) to write it to a file. Check the exported units keep their voice, face and other identity settings.

Settings

Every setting, and what it does

These settings shape the ORBAT Creator's editing space and what it exports when you build your own factions and units. The module is an authoring tool that runs on your own machine and does nothing on a dedicated server.

Quick setups

Build units against the real terrain instead of a grey void

Enable Background: No

The editor then uses the current map at the module's position.

Edit loadouts with ACE Arsenal

Arsenal Type: ACE Arsenal

Loadouts open in ACE Arsenal. The editor won't let you pick it unless ACE is loaded, and if a mission saved with it is later run without ACE the creator falls back to Virtual Arsenal and tells you so.

Export units that spawn with exactly the gear you gave them

Disable Unit Randomization: Yes

Exported units turn off the game's automatic gear randomisation, so your chosen loadout isn't swapped on spawn. This is already the default, so you only need to check nobody's switched it to No.

General

5 settings

Enable BackgroundDefault: Yes

Choices: Yes / No

Yes puts you in a plain grey editing space high above the map. No uses the actual map at the module's position as the backdrop.

Addon PrefixDefault: (empty)

Text added to the front of the class names the creator makes for your factions, units and groups, such as CUP. It's baked in as the names are generated, so it's already in the class names you see in the creator before you export. Leave it blank for no prefix.

TryType your mod's short tag, for example MYMOD, so exported classes don't clash with other addons.

Copy Parent ClassesDefault: No

Choices: Yes / No

Yes bases a copied faction's units on the parent class of the existing units rather than on the existing units. No (the default) bases them on the existing units. Only worth changing for advanced setups.

Disable Unit RandomizationDefault: Yes

Choices: Yes / No

Yes stops preview and exported units from having their gear randomised by the game when they spawn, so they keep the loadout you set.

Arsenal TypeDefault: Virtual Arsenal

Choices: Virtual Arsenal / ACE Arsenal

Which arsenal opens when you edit a unit's loadout. In the editor the ACE Arsenal choice is greyed out and can't be picked unless ACE is loaded. If a mission saved with ACE Arsenal is later run without ACE, the creator falls back to Virtual Arsenal and shows a message saying so.

AffectsACE Arsenal needs the ACE mod loaded.

Recent work

What's changed lately

Choose which arsenal edits your unit loadoutsKitting out a custom unit always opened the game's Virtual Arsenal. The module now has an Arsenal Type setting offering that or the ACE arsenal, with its own sorting and filtering. If ACE isn't loaded the ACE option is greyed out with a tooltip, and picking it snaps back to the game's arsenal. If the ACE arsenal can't be opened in a running mission you get the game's own arsenal instead of nothing.
Ranks read correctly again, old exports still workFactions exported between late July and late September 2026 stored ranks as numbers, such as "2" for a sergeant, and their soldiers spawned as privates with an error in the log. Numbered ranks are now understood when a group is built and when it spawns, so those factions work without being exported again. The ORBAT Creator also writes rank names again, the same in every language. Opening an old faction here and exporting it once more cleans up the numbers in the faction itself.
Copy Parent Classes now does somethingThe setting was never read when the module started, and copying a faction wrote No over it, so it always behaved as if it were off. It is now read at start-up like the other settings and copying no longer changes it.
Renaming a unit keeps the units built from itRenaming a custom unit used to leave any other custom unit built from it pointing at the old name, and exporting then stopped without copying anything. Those units now follow the rename, as they already did when a unit was removed.
Disable Unit RandomizationA setting, Yes by default, that stops exported infantry from inheriting the gear randomisation of the unit they were built from, so they keep the loadout you gave them. The group editor's "open in unit editor" button also no longer leaves the unit editor blank.

Status

Where it stands

Delivered

Faction, unit, and group creation

Mission makers can build a faction end to end: create or copy a faction, add custom units and vehicles, and organize them into groups by category.

Config export

Finished factions, crates, images, units, and groups can be exported to the clipboard or to a file for reuse in an addon.

Editor setup options

Background style, addon prefix, and parent-class copying can all be configured before building a faction.

In progress

Ongoing stability fixes

Recent work has gone on fixing bugs found in real use, such as ranks, Copy Parent Classes not working and renames leaving units orphaned. This polish continues as more factions get built and tested.

Testing

How you can help

Testers should place the ORBAT Creator module in the editor, open it, and try building a small custom faction: create a faction, add a couple of custom units with different loadouts, faces, and voices, group them together, and then export the result. Worth checking that voice, face, rank and other identity choices are still set correctly when reopening a unit, that renaming a unit does not break units built from it, and that exporting more than one custom faction that shares base units does not cause loading problems. If you have a faction exported earlier this year, spawn it and check the ranks are right.

Spotted a problem? Please report it on the ALiVE issue tracker on GitHub, with the map, rough location and what the units were doing so it can be reproduced.

Changelog

Updates to this page

2026-11-02
The ORBAT Creator now waits for the map's data to finish loading before it starts, as the Civilian Population module now does, so it never starts with half its lists missing.
2026-10-09
Copy Parent Classes works.
2026-09-28
Enable Debug is gone from the module, as the ORBAT Creator has no debug output for it to switch on. A mission that saved it still loads.
2026-09-26
Ranks export by name again. A faction exported since late July carries numbers such as "2" for a sergeant; open it here and export it again to fix it.
2026-09-03
New Disable Unit Randomization option decides whether exported infantry inherit the parent unit's randomized gear. It's on by default, so your faction keeps the loadout you gave it. Opening a unit from the group editor no longer lands you in a blank editor.
2026-08-18
Renaming a custom unit no longer breaks the ones built from it. Removing a unit has always handed its children back to its own parent; renaming one now does the same.
2026-08-18
Exporting units no longer comes back with nothing after you rename a custom unit.
2026-08-15
You can now choose which arsenal edits unit loadouts. A new Arsenal Type setting offers the game's Virtual Arsenal or ACE's, falling back to the game's if ACE's can't open. Needs a rebuilt copy of the mod.
2026-08-06
Ranks are now read using the engine's own rank identifiers rather than their translated names, so building an ORBAT works the same way on a non-English game.
2026-07-27
Page first published.