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ALiVE.OS · ALiVE 3 Development

SITREP

Send a battlefield situation report that gets logged, mapped, and saved to the database.

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 SITREP does

SITREP lets a player submit a formal Situation Report through the ALiVE Action Menu, under Commander Actions. The entry only shows for players carrying one of the items the C2ISTAR module's Access Item Categories allows, which on the default setting means a laser designator, or the Combat Support Tablet. Opening the tool brings up a report form (the 'toughbook' screen) where you fill in callsign, date/time, grid location, enemy and friendly casualties, ammo and vehicle status, and free-text remarks, then click a point on the map to mark where the report applies. Sending the report drops a marker on the map, writes a readable diary entry ('SITREP' tab) for the player, and (on a dedicated server) saves the report so it is restored automatically the next time the mission runs. Who else can see a given report depends on an Eyes Only setting the sender picks: public, side, faction, group, or private (side is the default).

Reports are meant as a lightweight command-and-control layer: instead of shouting status over voice comms, a squad or commander can file a structured, persistent record that other authorized players and the map can reference later. A report's marker can be deleted again from the map (by the report's owner or a server admin) by pressing Delete, a key you can rebind in the CBA keybinds, while the map is open and the cursor is over the marker.

Capabilities

What it handles

Report form

Structured SITREP form

A dedicated screen collects callsign, DTG, date/time, grid location, enemy and friendly and civilian casualty counts, enemy and friendly force notes, ammo/casualty/vehicle/combat-support status dropdowns, and a remarks box, then sends it as one report.

Map marker + diary

Marker and diary entry on send

Sending a report places a map marker at the chosen location and writes a formatted entry into the player's SITREP diary tab, so the report can be reviewed later without reopening the form.

Visibility control

Eyes-only visibility

Each report has an Eyes Only setting: public, your side, your faction, your group, or private to you. It controls who else sees the marker and diary entry. Side is the default.

Persistence

Saved and restored across sessions

With the ALiVE Data module also placed and running as the server (a dedicated server or a hosted listen server), reports are written to the database and reloaded automatically when the mission restarts, so earlier SITREPs reappear on the map instead of being lost.

Terrain toggle

Satellite/schematic map toggle

A Terrain button on the SITREP screen switches its map between satellite imagery and a schematic view, matching the same toggle used on other ALiVE tablets.

How to use it

Getting started

  1. Nothing to placeSITREP has no module in the editor. The Player Command/Control (C2ISTAR) module starts it, so place that and the reports follow. It has no settings of its own.
  2. Add the Data module if you want reports savedThere's nothing to sync. To save reports and restore them between sessions on a dedicated or hosted server, also place the ALiVE Data module. SITREP finds it on its own, without a sync line.
  3. Preview the mission and open the Action MenuFirst make sure you're carrying one of the items the C2ISTAR module's Access Item Categories allows, a laser designator on the default setting, or the Combat Support Tablet, or the entry won't be there. Then open the ALiVE Action Menu, go to Commander Actions (C2ISTAR, then Reporting, in the ACE self-interaction menu), and choose Send SITREP to bring up the report form.
  4. Click a map location, then fill in the formClick a spot on the SITREP map to set the grid, then fill in callsign, date/time, enemy, civilian and friendly casualty counts, the ammo, casualties, vehicles and combat support dropdowns, and remarks. Don't use quote marks in the text boxes. Pick an Eyes Only audience (public, side, faction, group or private); it starts on side.
  5. Send the report and check the resultsPress Send SITREP and confirm a marker appears at the chosen spot on the map and a new entry is added under the SITREP tab of your diary. BACK, beside CANCEL, clears the report's markers and takes you to the C2ISTAR menu.
  6. Restart to check persistence, and try the Terrain buttonOn a dedicated or hosted server with the ALiVE Data module, restart the mission and confirm earlier SITREPs reappear as markers. Also try the Terrain button on the SITREP screen to confirm it swaps cleanly between satellite and schematic views.

Recent work

What's changed lately

  • Eyes Only now decides who sees a reportBefore, every report went to the sender's whole side whatever was picked. Public, faction, group and private reports now reach, and come back after a rejoin for, only the players they're meant for. Only the report's author or a server admin can delete it, and its marker goes for everyone who could see it. Reports saved before this keep the old behaviour.
  • Saved SITREPs come back for every playerPlayers who start with the mission, and players who join one already running, now get the saved SITREPs back once their side is known. Before, many of them missed the reports.
  • Deleting your last report sticksDeleting reports one at a time worked until the last one, which came back after a restart. It stays deleted now, and the report's database record is removed too.
  • A BACK buttonThe SITREP form has a BACK button beside CANCEL. It clears the report's map markers and opens the C2ISTAR menu.
  • Added a terrain toggle to the SITREP mapThe SITREP screen now has its own Terrain button that swaps between the satellite map and a schematic map, the same control already available on other ALiVE tablets.
  • SITREP screen no longer stretches on wide displaysThe report screen used to be sized from the width of the screen, so on ultrawide monitors the tablet artwork, its buttons and its map were all pulled sideways while the text stayed small against them. It is now drawn at a fixed shape and centred, with the text scaling along with the panel, so the screen looks the same at any resolution or aspect ratio. On an ordinary widescreen monitor the layout is unchanged apart from sitting slightly larger.

Status

Where it stands

Delivered

Full SITREP form and workflow

Players can open the SITREP screen from the ALiVE Action Menu, fill in a structured report, and send it to create a map marker and a diary entry.

Eyes-only sharing

Reports can be public, or scoped to side, faction, group or just the sender, so only the intended audience sees them.

Database save and restore

Reports persist across mission restarts on a dedicated server, including for players who join in progress.

Terrain toggle on the map view

The satellite/schematic toggle works on the SITREP map and no longer flashes while focused.

In progress

Diary date display

The developers' own notes flag that the date shown on a player's SITREP diary entries can come out wrong; this has not yet been confirmed fixed.

Multiplayer pass

The module's own to-do list still calls for a dedicated multiplayer test pass, so edge cases with several players filing and viewing reports at once may not all be shaken out yet.

Testing

How you can help

There is no SITREP module to place. Place the Player Command module, which starts it, and also place the ALiVE Data module if you want reports saved and restored. In a mission, as a player carrying a laser designator or the Combat Support Tablet, open the ALiVE Action Menu, choose Commander Actions, then Send SITREP. Click a spot on the map to set the location, fill in the callsign, casualty, and status fields, and press Send SITREP. Confirm a marker appears at the chosen spot and that a new entry shows up under the SITREP tab of your diary. On a dedicated server, or a hosted listen server, restart the mission and confirm previously sent reports reappear on the map. Try the Terrain button on the SITREP screen to confirm the map switches cleanly between satellite and schematic views without flicker. With a second player in another group, file a report with Eyes Only on the group option and confirm they don't see it. Then file one on the side option and confirm that when that player (not the host or a logged-in admin) opens the map, puts the cursor over its marker and presses Delete (the key bound to PatrolRep/SitRep - Delete marker in the CBA keybinds), they get "You are not authorized to delete this report".

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

  • 2026-10-29
    The SITREP form's labels and boxes now show their text in full, and the Ammo, Casualties, Vehicles and Combat Spt labels show their colon.
  • 2026-10-27
    The SITREP screen now uses the same era-matched tablet and font as the other ALiVE tablets.
  • 2026-10-25
    The tablet's Terrain button now lines up with the right edge of the map and sits on the top edge of the screen.
  • 2026-10-24
    ALiVE's own map pins (Addon Options, Map pins and markers) now cover SITREP markers.
  • 2026-10-19
    Players who join a mission already running now get the saved SITREPs too, once their side is known.
  • 2026-10-19
    SITREP has a BACK button beside CANCEL that clears the report's map markers and opens the C2ISTAR menu.
  • 2026-10-17
    Saved SITREPs now come back for every player who starts with the mission; they were put back before the player's side was known and were lost.
  • 2026-10-12
    The SITREP delete refusal now show in the ALiVE message box, with the logo and the module's name as the title, instead of a plain hint.
  • 2026-09-28
    SITREP pins are drawn flat, with no drop shadow.
  • 2026-09-28
    Marker labels on the tablet map aren't bold any more: they use the same plain face as the main map and the COP.
  • 2026-09-26
    Eyes Only now works: a public, faction, group or private report reaches only those players, and comes back for them after a rejoin. Older saved reports keep the old behaviour.
  • 2026-09-26
    Only the player who filed a report, or a server admin, can delete it now, and its marker goes for everyone who could see it.
  • 2026-09-22
    Deleting your last report sticks. Deleting them one at a time worked until the last, which came back after a restart.
  • 2026-09-22
    Deleting a report also removes its database record, instead of leaving an unreferenced row behind.
  • 2026-08-06
    Page corrected: this is not a module you place. SITREP is started by the Player Command module.
  • 2026-08-06
    Panels now line up consistently across every tablet display, and Mapbag scaling matches the reworked tablet. Worth reporting any panel that looks misaligned or clipped.
  • 2026-08-02
    The SITREP screen now holds a fixed shape and sits centred, so it no longer stretches on wide and ultrawide displays.
  • 2026-07-27
    Page first published.