How to Set Up a Nuclear Option Server Mission Rotation (PvP, Co-op, Workshop)

A Nuclear Option dedicated server plays a list of missions in a loop: the mission rotation. It decides whether your server is a PvP war, a co-op night against the AI, or a showcase of community missions from the Steam Workshop. This guide covers every built in mission name the server accepts, how to build PvP and co-op rotations, and how to add Workshop and custom missions.

How the rotation works

The rotation lives in DedicatedServerConfig.json, in three keys:

"RotationType": 0,
"MissionDirectory": "/home/steam/NuclearOption-Missions",
"MissionRotation": [
    { "Key": { "Group": "BuiltIn", "Name": "Escalation" }, "MaxTime": 7200.0 },
    { "Key": { "Group": "BuiltIn", "Name": "Terminal Control" }, "MaxTime": 7200.0 }
]

Each entry names a mission by group and name, with a MaxTime in seconds.
A mission ends when one side wins or its time runs out. After PostMissionDelay (30 seconds by default) the next one loads.
With nobody online, the server unloads the mission and waits. The next mission in the rotation loads when the first player joins.

RotationType sets the order:

Value	Order	Notes
`0`	Sequence	Plays the list top to bottom, then starts again
`1`	Pure random	Any mission each time, repeats possible
`2`	Random queue	Shuffles the list and plays each mission once before shuffling again

Every built in mission name

Built in missions use the group BuiltIn. These are the names the server accepts, exactly as written, checked against the current server build.

PvP operations

Name	Map	What it is
`Escalation`	Heartland	The flagship war of attrition. Stronger aircraft unlock with score, and eventually nuclear weapons
`Terminal Control`	Ignus Archipelago	Island hopping, capturing and holding airbases
`Confrontation`	Heartland	Combined arms on a smaller scale, limited to smaller aircraft
`Domination`	Heartland	Air superiority with top tier aircraft from the start
`Altercation`	Heartland	Low intensity fighting with no medium or long range air to air missiles
`Carrier Duel`	Ignus Archipelago	Two carrier groups, every carrier aircraft available at once. Sink the other carrier to win

Co-op against the AI

Each large operation also has two co-op versions, where every player flies for one side and the AI fights for the other. BDF is the Boscali Defense Force and PALA is the Primeva Armed Liberation Alliance.

Fly for BDF	Fly for PALA
`Escalation Co-op as BDF`	`Escalation Co-op as PALA`
`Terminal Control Co-op as BDF`	`Terminal Control Co-op as PALA`
`Confrontation Co-op as BDF`	`Confrontation Co-op as PALA`
`Domination Co-op as BDF`	`Domination Co-op as PALA`
`Altercation Co-op as BDF`	`Altercation Co-op as PALA`

Breakout is a co-op mission too: PALA provokes the BDF navy and has to defend Vigil Cay airbase on Heartland from a naval attack. It is a challenging one for an experienced squadron.

A misspelled name does not stop the server from starting. It fails when the server reaches it in the rotation, with Could not find mission with name in the log, so copy names exactly, including capitals and spaces.

Example rotations

Classic PvP, the game's default:

"MissionRotation": [
    { "Key": { "Group": "BuiltIn", "Name": "Escalation" }, "MaxTime": 7200.0 },
    { "Key": { "Group": "BuiltIn", "Name": "Terminal Control" }, "MaxTime": 7200.0 }
]

Short PvP evenings: Domination, Altercation and Confrontation with a MaxTime of 3600.0 each and RotationType 2, so every night feels different.

Co-op campaign as PALA: the five Co-op as PALA operations followed by Breakout, with RotationType 0 so the squadron works through them in order.

Steam Workshop missions

The server downloads Workshop missions by itself. Use the group Workshop and the item id as the name:

{ "Key": { "Group": "Workshop", "Name": "1234567890" }, "MaxTime": 5400.0 }

The item id is the number at the end of the mission's Workshop page address, after ?id=. When the server starts or reloads its config, it downloads every Workshop mission in the rotation to steamapps/workshop/content/2168680/ inside the server folder, and checks for updates in the background. Public and unlisted items work. If a download fails, the log says Failed to download workshop item and the server skips it.

Players do not need to subscribe to the mission first. The server sends it to them when they join.

Your own missions

Missions you build in the game's mission editor can run on a server through the User group:

Set MissionDirectory to a full path, like /home/steam/NuclearOption-Missions.
Copy the mission into its own folder there, so the file sits at <MissionDirectory>/<name>/<name>.json.
Add { "Key": { "Group": "User", "Name": "<name>" }, "MaxTime": 7200.0 } to the rotation.

The folder name and the .json file name must be exactly the same. NuclearOption-Missions/test1/test1.json loads as test1. NuclearOption-Missions/test1/Test 1.json does not.

Private Workshop missions that the server cannot download can still be used this way: download the item with SteamCMD (+workshop_download_item 2168680 <id>), move the folder into MissionDirectory, rename it to match the .json file inside, and add it as a User mission.

Changing the next mission on the fly

You do not have to restart to change what plays next. The set-next-mission remote command queues a mission after the current one, and clear-next-mission goes back to the rotation. set-time-remaining shortens or lengthens the current mission. All the commands are in Nuclear Option server commands.

On GamezServers

You never have to touch the JSON for a rotation. In Settings > Game settings (or at checkout), the Missions setting has ready made rotations:

Missions setting	Rotation
PvP: Escalation and Terminal Control	The default PvP pair
PvP: every large operation	Escalation, Terminal Control, Confrontation, Domination, Altercation, Carrier Duel
Co-op vs AI, flying for BDF	The five co-op operations as BDF
Co-op vs AI, flying for PALA	The five co-op operations as PALA, plus Breakout
My own list	Whatever you write in Mission list
Keep the rotation in DedicatedServerConfig.json	The panel leaves `MissionRotation` alone so you can edit it in Files

For My own list, write missions separated by commas. Built in missions by name, Workshop missions as Workshop: and the id (or just the number), and uploaded missions as User: and the folder name:

Escalation, Domination Co-op as BDF, Workshop:1234567890, User:test1

Upload your own missions into the NuclearOption-Missions folder in the Files tab, one folder per mission. Mission minutes sets the MaxTime of every mission (120 by default), and Rotation order sets RotationType. Changes apply the next time the server starts. To change what plays next right now, press Set next mission in the control panel and type a name like Terminal Control Co-op as PALA.

Need a server for it? See Nuclear Option server hosting, or the quick start guide.