Zeus Ex Machina – Multiplayer Mission creation
Build missions together in multiplayer, save your Zeus sessions, and seamlessly transfer them to the Eden editor.
Zeus Ex Machina was created with the primary goal of enabling collaborative Arma 3 mission design in a live, multiplayer environment. It allows you to build missions with friends in Zeus, save your progress (including all object states), and then load these sessions back into Zeus or import them into the single-player Eden Editor for final adjustments. It’s an essential tool for seamless team-based mission creation and persistent scenario management.
This tool offers several key features that enable this new collaborative workflow:
- Collaborative Design: The mod enables a unique workflow for designing missions with others in a live Zeus environment. You can then save that session and port the collaborative work into the Eden Editor for further development or load it back up in Zeus at a later time.
- Comprehensive Save System: This is more than a simple position export. The save system records fine details, including:
- Vehicle and Unit Inventories (full loadouts)
- Damage, Fuel, and Ammunition levels
- Precise object rotation and orientation
- AI Skill levels
- Vehicle Lock status
- Custom simulation settings
- And much more…
- Eden Editor Integration: Load any of your saved sessions directly into the Eden Editor via a top-menu bar option. This is the crucial step that allows you to turn a dynamic in-game creation into a permanent, editable mission file (.sqm).
- Profile-Based Saves: Your saves are tied to your Arma 3 user profile, not to a specific mission file. This makes your saved scenarios portable, allowing you to save on one map and load on a completely different one.
- Collaborative Mission Design Teams: Build and playtest your mission’s core components together in a live environment before taking it to the editor for final scripting.
- Dynamic Campaign Makers: Run persistent, multi-session operations where the state of the battlefield carries over from one session to the next.
- Mission Developers: Rapidly prototype encounters and layouts in Zeus, then import them into the Eden editor for polishing.
- Content Creators: Stage complex scenes for videos or screenshots, and reload them instantly if you need a retake.
Special thanks to all my Supporters! <3
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To Save/Load in Zeus (In-Game):
- As Zeus, press F7 to open the Modules menu and find the "Zeus Ex Machina" category.
- Place the "(ZEM) Save Scenario" module. Look at it and use your action key to open the save dialog, give your creation a name, and hit save.
- To load, place the "(ZEM) Load Scenario" module and use its dialog to select and load your desired file.
- To delete a save, place the "(ZEM) Delete Scenario" module and use its dialog to select and delete the unwanted save.
- Note: You can delete the modules after using them to keep the map clean. The saves are stored in your profile, not in the module itself.
To Load into the Eden Editor:
- Open the Eden Editor on any map.
- In the top menu bar, navigate to Zeus Ex Machina > Load.
- A dialog will appear listing all your saved scenarios.
- Select one and click "Load."
- To delete a save, navigate to Zeus Ex Machina > Delete and use its dialog to select and delete the unwanted save.
- Note: The entire import is registered as a single action, so if you make a mistake, you can undo the entire load with one Ctrl+Z.
Here are some of the features and improvements planned for the future:
- Advanced Save Customization: Gain more control over your saves, with future options to include all mission objects or filter by side, area, and more.
- Expanded Data Persistence: Save and load even more detailed information, such as custom unit/object variables and initialization parameters.
- Scenario Import/Export: Easily share your saved scenarios with other players or transfer them between different computers.
- My saves aren’t showing up!
Make sure you have both this mod and its dependencies loaded. Saves are stored in your profile, so they will only appear for the user who created them. - Does this work in multiplayer?
Yes. The saving and loading actions are performed client-side for the Zeus user. When you load a scenario, other players will see the objects appear as if you were placing them manually. - Does this require anything on the server?
Yes, the mod needs to be installed on the server as well. This is due to the reason that otherwise you won’t have the Zeus modules for some reason. - Does is also save Players?
No (Not for now at least). From testing I noticed that it only creates issues if it also saves players do to everyone having different settings regarding respawns, loadouts, player initialization, etc.
If u have any questions/issues or want to report a but please join my Discord for that to make it easier for everyone.
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This mod requires the following to function:
Credit for the original scripting and functionality goes to DiGi.
"Zeus Ex Machina" name and workshop description design prepared by your friendly AI assistant.
