CAM — Campaign Definition (.CAM)¶

FA_2.LIB contains 6 .CAM files — one per built-in campaign. Pilot save files (.P) store the active campaign by this filename. Each is a Win32 PE DLL loaded by the FA engine at runtime.

Tools¶

fx¶

fx cam info    <file.CAM>            # container check + CODE section geometry
fx cam strings <file.CAM> [-n MIN]   # embedded campaign string tables

Read-only by design: the campaign configuration is what the tooling surfaces; the surrounding DLL machine code is engine territory (fighters-legacy), not asset tooling.

File Layout¶

All multi-byte integers are little-endian.

Win32-style DLL: MZ stub + a Phar Lap PL\0\0 image (PE32 section layout with a COFF section table — pe_code_section in lib/src/pe.cpp reads it; verified against BALTIC.CAM: sections CODE/.idata/.reloc/ $$DOSX, CODE at raw 0x400, VMA 0x1000). The standard DOS stub message "!This program cannot be run in DOS mode." is present, followed by standard PE sections .idata and .reloc. BALTIC.CAM decompresses to 8704 bytes; UKRAINE.CAM is larger to accommodate its 50-mission list.

All CAM files import from main.dll (= the game executable — see architecture.md) and export a campaign-specific set of functions that the engine calls to drive campaign state.

CODE Section Binary Layout — confirmed¶

AnalyzeCAMDLL.java scanned the executable blocks (CODE section). Full string dump of UKRAINE.CAM CODE section (0x1000–0x19ff, 2560 bytes):

CODE offset	Content	Role
`0x1075`	`"Fighters Anthology (CD 1)"`	Required disc label
`0x108f`	`"FA_4C.LIB"`	LIB archive for CD assets
`0x112e`	`"SU33"`	Aircraft type available in campaign
`0x1166`–`0x11c9`	`F150.GAS`–`F500.GAS` (4 entries)	Fuel tank BRF files
`0x11ea`–`0x141d`	`AA11.JT`–`AAS38.SEE` (18 weapon entries)	Weapon/sensor store pool
`0x1477`	`"F22N"`	Second aircraft type (F-22 Night)
`0x149a`–`0x158f`	`U01I`–`U50I` (50 × 5 bytes)	Mission slot IDs — initial/available state keys
`0x1594`–`0x16eb`	`~U01.M`–`~U50.M` (50 × 7 bytes)	Mission filename list (7 bytes each, null-terminated)
`0x16eb`–`0x17bb`	(0xD1 bytes — all `0x00`)	Null padding — confirmed by direct hex dump; no decoded content
`0x17bc`–`0x17d2`	`UMEDAL`, `UDEAD`, `UWON`, `ULOST`	Campaign outcome state IDs
`0x17e3`–`0x1873`	`U01O`, `U03O`, `U05O`, … `U49O` (25 × odd missions)	Secondary mission outcome IDs (odd-numbered missions only)

KURILE.CAM uses the same layout with prefix K and 35 missions; its CODE section is 0x1000–0x17ff (2048 bytes). Mission list starts at 0x14e1 (shorter weapon table). VIETNAM.CAM (T prefix, 25 missions), EGYPT.CAM (E), BALTIC.CAM (B), VLAD.CAM (V) follow the same schema.

Embedded Data¶

Each .CAM DLL embeds its campaign configuration directly as flat arrays and null-terminated strings:

CD and LIB reference:

Fighters Anthology (CD 1)
FA_4C.LIB

The campaign specifies which installation disc and LIB archive it requires for its assets.

Aircraft availability — named aircraft type identifiers listed before the weapon table; e.g. UKRAINE.CAM includes SU33, F22N; BALTIC.CAM includes E2000, GRIPEN, RAFALE, ASTOVLF. These are the aircraft the campaign makes available to the player.

Weapon / stores tables — a sequence of BRF asset filenames (JT, GAS, SEE, ECM extensions) defines the weapon and sensor loadout pool for the campaign:

GSH301.JT   M61.JT    GAU12.JT  GSH30.JT  ADEN.JT   ...
F150.GAS    F250.GAS  F350.GAS  F500.GAS
AAS38.SEE   ALQ167.ECM
AA11.JT     AA12.JT   AIM7.JT   AIM9M.JT  AIM120.JT ...

Mission list — null-terminated strings of the form ~<prefix><NN>.M, one per mission in sequence order. The ~ prefix on mission filenames is the game's notation for LIB-resident mission files.

Campaign state identifiers — short string keys track per-mission and campaign-wide state:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
`<pre>NNI`	`U01I`, `U02I`	Mission initial (available/locked) state
`<pre>NNO`	`U01O`, `U03O`	Mission objective complete flag (odd-indexed in UKRAINE)
`<pre>MEDAL`	`UMEDAL`	Campaign medal awarded
`<pre>DEAD`	`UDEAD`	Player death recorded
`<pre>WON`	`UWON`	Campaign won flag
`<pre>LOST`	`ULOST`	Campaign lost flag

Reference Chain: .CAM → .M → .MM / .LAY / .MC¶

The .CAM DLL holds only its own mission list (~<prefix>NN.M strings). It does not reference .MM theater files, .LAY sky files, or .MC condition files directly. Those references are carried by each .M mission file via three keywords:

Keyword	Target	Example
`map`	`.MM` theater file	`map ukr.T2` → loads `UKR.MM`
`layer`	`.LAY` sky file	`layer day2.LAY 0`
`code`	`.MC` condition DLL	`code u01` → loads `U01.MC`; `code extra01` → loads `EXTRA01.MC`

The .MC file to load is determined by the code directive in the .M file, not by the .CAM DLL. Most missions use a unique per-mission .MC (U01.MC, K16.MC, etc.); bonus missions share the generic EXTRA01.MC gate via code extra01.

File Inventory¶

File	Missions	Theater prefix
BALTIC.CAM	40 (`~B01.M`–`~B40.M`)	`B`
EGYPT.CAM	40 (`~E01.M`–`~E40.M`)	`E`
KURILE.CAM	35 (`~K01.M`–`~K35.M`)	`K`
UKRAINE.CAM	50 (`~U01.M`–`~U50.M`)	`U`
VIETNAM.CAM	25 (`~T01.M`–`~T25.M`)	`T`
VLAD.CAM	40 (`~V01.M`–`~V40.M`)	`V`

All six live in FA_2.LIB.

Engine Notes¶

Loading Mechanism¶

FUN_00428412 (0x428412) is the canonical the game executable campaign/mission loader. Called from the mission-map screen handler FUN_00422a71 (when _curScreen == 3) and from FUN_0042a71a.

Execution sequence: 1. _MISSIONShutdown_0() — teardown prior mission 2. _MISSIONInit1_0() — engine pre-init 3. Select .mc_M file: s__mc_nato_M_004f0ca8 or s__mc_M_004f0ca0 based on _natoFighters flag 4. _CallMissionProc_8(pcVar2, 0) — load the campaign DLL 5. Copy mission name string; call _CallMissionProc_8(&_missionName, 0) for named missions 6. _MISSIONInit2_0() — post-DLL init; zeros six globals; calls FUN_00422828, FUN_004242a0(0), FUN_00428340 7. _T_NamedTmaps_0() / _T_InitDictionary_0() — terrain dictionary initialization

_CallMissionProc_8 (0x481940) is the central mission-DLL dispatcher. Its callers: FUN_00428412, _ChooseScoreInit (0x441c60), _MISSIONTextProc@16 (0x481c10), _MISSIONCheckSuccess@0 (0x486860), and ?usnfmain@@YAXXZ (0x403700 — main loop).

DLL Entry Point and Command Protocol¶

AnalyzeCAMDLL.java confirmed the dispatch function for KURILE.CAM (representative of all CAM DLLs). The single exported entry point is at PE code offset 0x1000 (FUN_00001000). The game executable calls it via _CallMissionProc_8, passing a command byte as the first stack argument (in_stack_00000004).

Command byte protocol:

Cmd	Action
`0x00`	No-op / init query — returns immediately
`0x01`	String match + copy: scan `DAT_000014e1` (mission name string) against current `_missionName`, then copy result to `DAT_000017b6`
`0x02`–`0x03`	No-op
`0x04`	Flag check: if `DAT_000017bc != 0`, set `DAT_000017a4 = 1` and invoke the campaign callback subfunction
`0x05`–`0x08`	No-op

Data globals are stored in the PE .data section at offsets around 0x1700–0x17C0. The mission list string table starts at DAT_000014e1.

Import Table (Functions CAM DLL Calls from the game executable)¶

The .idata section of each CAM DLL lists the the game executable functions it calls back into. Note: these appear in the CAM DLL's import table (calls out to The game executable) — they are not functions exported by the DLL.

Common imports (all campaigns):

Function	Role
`_AddCampaignPlane`	Add aircraft to campaign fleet
`_AddCampaignStore`	Add weapon/store to campaign pool
`_CampaignPlanesLeft@0`	Return remaining aircraft count
`_CheckCD`	Verify correct CD inserted
`_DoFadeout@0`	Trigger screen fade transition
`_GetKeySlow`	Wait for key input
`_InitCampaignPilot`	Initialize pilot state for campaign start
`_SeqContinue`	Resume a cutscene sequence
`_SeqStart`	Start a cutscene sequence
`_campaignFailed`	Handle campaign failure outcome
`_campaignFailures`	Access failure count
`_campaignSucceeded`	Handle campaign success outcome
`_missionName`	Global: current mission name string pointer
`_playerDead`	Handle player aircraft loss
`@G_Flush@4`	Flush graphics to screen

Campaign-specific imports (KURILE.CAM example):

Function	Role
`_KurileMedals`	Kurile-specific medal award logic
`_KurilePromotions`	Rank promotion handling
`_KurileQuit`	Campaign exit handler
`_KurileRescued`	Rescued pilot tracking

UKRAINE.CAM, VIETNAM.CAM, etc. import analogous _Ukraine* / _Vietnam* functions from the game executable.

Formats: P — pilot save files store the active campaign .CAM filename; M — .M mission files referenced by ~<prefix>NN.M strings; MC — per-mission condition files; BRF — .JT, .GAS, .SEE, .ECM weapon type files listed in the weapon table.

Engine: architecture.md — the overlay DLL loading architecture.