How To Install ArmA 2 BIS Tools

See also ArmA How To Install ArmA BIS Tools and Synide's Build Environment.

This tutorial assumes you have Mikero's tools installed (to c:\tools\mikero\ directory) and ArmA 2 and ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead located in c:\arma2\ directory, if you don't have Mikero's tools installed; install them and if your arma2 is installed to other directory, adjust reading this tutorial accordingly.

Download the latest tools.

Install them by running the installer, use some good path like c:\armatools\ for them, do not put them in c:\program files\ or other similar 12 year old multimedia expert directory. Use c:\armatools\armawork\ as the “armawork” directory.

During install you need to agree to some EULAs and press few next's which is annoying but wade through them.

When they are fully installed, go to your c:\armatools\armawork\ directory and create batch file there lets say _unpack_bis_pbos.bat file. In this file use the following commands:

@echo off
for %%x in (c:\arma2\common\*.pbo,c:\arma2\addons\*.pbo,c:\arma2\expansion\addons\*.pbo) do (
c:\tools\mikero\extractpbo %%x c:\armatools\armawork
)

Execute the .bat file and wait quite long time when ExtractPbo will unpack all the pbo's into c:\armatools\armawork\ca\ directory which at the same time will be p:\ca\ dir.

When its completed, you have fully working bis ca\ environment where config.cpp's and rvmat's are in human readable format, all models and textures are there too.

Then just copy the config's into your own namespace, in our example we call it “PMC” and its located in the c:\armatools\armawork\ directory which in fact P:\ root. So copy the configs with this command:

xcopy /s /y p:\ca\*.cpp p:\pmc\ca\

Remember to replace p:\pmc\ca\ with your own name space tag.

All done.