Chapter 9.5: Vehicle & Dynamic Event Spawning

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Summary: Vehicles and dynamic events (heli crashes, convoys, police cars) do NOT use types.xml. They use a separate three-file system: events.xml defines what spawns and how many, cfgeventspawns.xml defines where, and cfgeventgroups.xml defines grouped formations. This chapter covers all three files with real vanilla values.

How Vehicle Spawning Works
events.xml Vehicle Entries
Vehicle Event Field Reference
cfgeventspawns.xml -- Spawn Positions
Heli Crash Events
Military Convoy
Police Car
cfgeventgroups.xml -- Grouped Spawns
cfgeconomycore.xml Vehicle Root Class
Common Mistakes

How Vehicle Spawning Works

Vehicles are not defined in types.xml. If you add a vehicle class to types.xml, it will not spawn. Vehicles use a dedicated three-file pipeline:

events.xml -- Defines each vehicle event: how many should exist on the map (nominal), which variants can spawn (children), and behavior flags like lifetime and safe radius.
cfgeventspawns.xml -- Defines the physical world positions where vehicle events can place entities. Each event name maps to a list of <pos> entries with x, z coordinates and angle.
cfgeventgroups.xml -- Defines grouped spawns where multiple objects spawn together with relative positional offsets (e.g., train wrecks).

The CE reads events.xml, picks an event that needs spawning, looks up matching positions in cfgeventspawns.xml, selects one at random that satisfies the saferadius and distanceradius constraints, then spawns a randomly selected child entity at that position.

All three files live in mpmissions/<your_mission>/db/.

events.xml Vehicle Entries

Every vanilla vehicle type has its own event entry. Here are all of them with real values:

Civilian Sedan

xml

<event name="VehicleCivilianSedan">
    <nominal>8</nominal>
    <min>5</min>
    <max>11</max>
    <lifetime>300</lifetime>
    <restock>0</restock>
    <saferadius>500</saferadius>
    <distanceradius>500</distanceradius>
    <cleanupradius>200</cleanupradius>
    <flags deletable="0" init_random="0" remove_damaged="1"/>
    <position>fixed</position>
    <limit>mixed</limit>
    <active>1</active>
    <children>
        <child lootmax="0" lootmin="0" max="5" min="3" type="CivilianSedan"/>
        <child lootmax="0" lootmin="0" max="5" min="3" type="CivilianSedan_Black"/>
        <child lootmax="0" lootmin="0" max="5" min="3" type="CivilianSedan_Wine"/>
    </children>
</event>

All Vanilla Vehicle Events

All vehicle events use the same structure as the Sedan above. Only the values differ:

Event Name	Nominal	Min	Max	Lifetime	Children (variants)
`VehicleCivilianSedan`	8	5	11	300	`CivilianSedan`, `_Black`, `_Wine`
`VehicleOffroadHatchback`	8	5	11	300	`OffroadHatchback`, `_Blue`, `_White`
`VehicleHatchback02`	8	5	11	300	Hatchback02 variants
`VehicleSedan02`	8	5	11	300	Sedan02 variants
`VehicleTruck01`	8	5	11	300	V3S truck variants
`VehicleOffroad02`	3	2	3	300	Gunter -- fewer spawn
`VehicleBoat`	22	18	24	600	Boats -- highest count, longer lifetime

VehicleOffroad02 has a lower nominal (3) than other land vehicles (8). VehicleBoat has both the highest nominal (22) and a longer lifetime (600 vs 300).

Vehicle Event Field Reference

Event-Level Fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Event identifier. Must match an entry in `cfgeventspawns.xml` when `position="fixed"`.
`nominal`	int	Target number of active instances of this event on the map.
`min`	int	The CE will attempt to spawn more when the count drops below this.
`max`	int	Hard upper cap. The CE will never exceed this count.
`lifetime`	int	Seconds between respawn checks. For vehicles, this is NOT the vehicle's persistence lifetime -- it is the interval at which the CE re-evaluates whether to spawn or clean up.
`restock`	int	Minimum seconds between respawn attempts. 0 = next cycle.
`saferadius`	int	Minimum distance (meters) from any player for the event to spawn. Prevents vehicles appearing in front of players.
`distanceradius`	int	Minimum distance (meters) between two instances of the same event. Prevents two sedans spawning next to each other.
`cleanupradius`	int	If a player is within this distance (meters), the event entity is protected from cleanup.

Flags

Flag	Values	Description
`deletable`	0, 1	Whether the CE can delete this event entity. Vehicles use 0 (not deletable by CE).
`init_random`	0, 1	Randomize initial positions on first spawn. 0 = use fixed positions from `cfgeventspawns.xml`.
`remove_damaged`	0, 1	Remove the entity when it becomes ruined. Critical for vehicles -- see Common Mistakes.

Other Fields

Field	Values	Description
`position`	`fixed`, `player`	`fixed` = spawn at positions from `cfgeventspawns.xml`. `player` = spawn relative to player positions.
`limit`	`child`, `mixed`, `custom`	`child` = min/max enforced per child type. `mixed` = min/max shared across all children. `custom` = engine-specific behavior.
`active`	0, 1	Enable or disable this event. 0 = the event is skipped entirely.

Child Fields

Attribute	Description
`type`	Class name of the entity to spawn.
`min`	Minimum instances of this variant.
`max`	Maximum instances of this variant.
`lootmin`	Minimum number of loot items spawned inside/around the entity. 0 for vehicles (parts come from `cfgspawnabletypes.xml`).
`lootmax`	Maximum loot items. Used by heli crashes and dynamic events, not vehicles.

cfgeventspawns.xml -- Spawn Positions

This file maps event names to world coordinates. Each <event> block contains a list of valid spawn positions for that event type. When the CE needs to spawn a vehicle, it picks a random position from this list that satisfies the saferadius and distanceradius constraints.

xml

<event name="VehicleCivilianSedan">
    <pos x="4509.1" z="9321.5" a="172"/>
    <pos x="6283.7" z="2468.3" a="90"/>
    <pos x="11447.2" z="11203.8" a="45"/>
    <pos x="2961.4" z="5107.6" a="0"/>
    <!-- ... more positions ... -->
</event>

Each <pos> has three attributes:

Attribute	Description
`x`	World X coordinate (east-west position on the map).
`z`	World Z coordinate (north-south position on the map).
`a`	Angle in degrees (0-360). The direction the vehicle faces when spawned.

Key rules:

If an event has no matching <event> block in cfgeventspawns.xml, it will not spawn regardless of the events.xml configuration.
You need at least as many <pos> entries as your nominal value. If you set nominal=8 but only have 3 positions, only 3 can spawn.
Positions should be on roads or flat ground. A position inside a building or on steep terrain will cause the vehicle to spawn buried or flipped.
The a (angle) value determines the vehicle's facing direction. Align it with the road direction for natural-looking spawns.

Heli Crash Events

Helicopter crashes are dynamic events that spawn a wreck with military loot and surrounding infected. They use the <secondary> tag to define ambient zombie spawns around the crash site.

xml

<event name="StaticHeliCrash">
    <nominal>3</nominal>
    <min>1</min>
    <max>3</max>
    <lifetime>2100</lifetime>
    <restock>0</restock>
    <saferadius>1000</saferadius>
    <distanceradius>500</distanceradius>
    <cleanupradius>200</cleanupradius>
    <secondary>InfectedArmy</secondary>
    <flags deletable="1" init_random="0" remove_damaged="0"/>
    <position>fixed</position>
    <limit>mixed</limit>
    <active>1</active>
    <children>
        <child lootmax="15" lootmin="10" max="3" min="1" type="Wreck_UH1Y"/>
    </children>
</event>

Key differences from vehicle events

<secondary>InfectedArmy</secondary> -- spawns military zombies around the crash site. This tag references an infected spawn group that the CE places in the vicinity.
lootmin="10" / lootmax="15" -- the wreck spawns with 10-15 dynamic event loot items. These are items flagged with deloot="1" in types.xml (military gear, rare weapons).
lifetime=2100 -- the crash persists for 35 minutes before the CE cleans it up and spawns a new one elsewhere.
saferadius=1000 -- crashes never appear within 1 km of a player.
remove_damaged=0 -- the wreck is already "damaged" by definition, so this must be 0 or it would be immediately cleaned up.

Military Convoy

Military convoys are static wrecked vehicle groups that spawn with military loot and infected guards.

xml

<event name="StaticMilitaryConvoy">
    <nominal>5</nominal>
    <min>3</min>
    <max>5</max>
    <lifetime>1800</lifetime>
    <restock>0</restock>
    <saferadius>1000</saferadius>
    <distanceradius>500</distanceradius>
    <cleanupradius>200</cleanupradius>
    <secondary>InfectedArmy</secondary>
    <flags deletable="1" init_random="0" remove_damaged="0"/>
    <position>fixed</position>
    <limit>mixed</limit>
    <active>1</active>
    <children>
        <child lootmax="10" lootmin="5" max="5" min="3" type="Wreck_V3S"/>
    </children>
</event>

Convoys work identically to heli crashes: the <secondary> tag spawns InfectedArmy around the site, and loot items with deloot="1" appear on the wrecks. With nominal=5, up to 5 convoy sites exist on the map simultaneously. Each lasts 1800 seconds (30 minutes) before cycling to a new location.

Police Car

Police car events spawn wrecked police vehicles with police-type infected nearby. They are disabled by default.

xml

<event name="StaticPoliceCar">
    <nominal>10</nominal>
    <min>5</min>
    <max>10</max>
    <lifetime>2500</lifetime>
    <restock>0</restock>
    <saferadius>500</saferadius>
    <distanceradius>200</distanceradius>
    <cleanupradius>100</cleanupradius>
    <secondary>InfectedPoliceHard</secondary>
    <flags deletable="1" init_random="0" remove_damaged="0"/>
    <position>fixed</position>
    <limit>mixed</limit>
    <active>0</active>
    <children>
        <child lootmax="5" lootmin="3" max="10" min="5" type="Wreck_PoliceCar"/>
    </children>
</event>

active=0 means this event is disabled by default -- change to 1 to enable it. The <secondary>InfectedPoliceHard</secondary> tag spawns hard-variant police zombies (tougher than standard infected). With nominal=10 and saferadius=500, police cars are more numerous but less valuable than heli crashes.

cfgeventgroups.xml -- Grouped Spawns

This file defines events where multiple objects spawn together with relative positional offsets. The most common use is abandoned trains.

xml

<event name="Train_Abandoned_Cherno">
    <children>
        <child type="Land_Train_Wagon_Tanker_Blue" x="0" z="0" a="0"/>
        <child type="Land_Train_Wagon_Box_Brown" x="0" z="15" a="0"/>
        <child type="Land_Train_Wagon_Flatbed_Green" x="0" z="30" a="0"/>
        <child type="Land_Train_Engine_Blue" x="0" z="45" a="0"/>
    </children>
</event>

The first child is placed at the position from cfgeventspawns.xml. Subsequent children are offset by their x, z, a values relative to that origin. In this example, train cars are spaced 15 meters apart along the z-axis.

Each <child> in a group has:

Attribute	Description
`type`	Class name of the object to spawn.
`x`	X offset in meters from the group origin.
`z`	Z offset in meters from the group origin.
`a`	Angle offset in degrees from the group origin.

The group event itself still needs a matching entry in events.xml to control nominal counts, lifetime, and active state.

cfgeconomycore.xml Vehicle Root Class

For the CE to recognize vehicles as trackable entities, they must have a root class declaration in cfgeconomycore.xml:

xml

<economycore>
    <classes>
        <rootclass name="CarScript" act="car"/>
        <rootclass name="BoatScript" act="car"/>
    </classes>
</economycore>

CarScript is the base class for all land vehicles in DayZ.
BoatScript is the base class for all boats.
The act="car" attribute tells the CE to treat these entities with vehicle-specific behavior (persistence, event-based spawning).

Without these root class entries, the CE would not track or manage vehicle instances. If you add a modded vehicle that inherits from a different base class, you may need to add its root class here.

Common Mistakes

These are the most frequent vehicle spawning issues encountered by server admins.

Putting vehicles in types.xml

Problem: You add CivilianSedan to types.xml with a nominal of 10. No sedans spawn.

Fix: Remove the vehicle from types.xml. Add or edit the vehicle event in events.xml with the appropriate children, and ensure matching spawn positions exist in cfgeventspawns.xml. Vehicles use the event system, not the item spawn system.

No matching spawn positions in cfgeventspawns.xml

Problem: You create a new vehicle event in events.xml but the vehicle never appears.

Fix: Add a matching <event name="YourEventName"> block in cfgeventspawns.xml with enough <pos> entries. The event name in both files must match exactly. You need at least as many positions as your nominal value.

Setting remove_damaged=0 for drivable vehicles

Problem: You set remove_damaged="0" on a vehicle event. Over time, the server fills with wrecked vehicles that never despawn, blocking spawn positions and tanking performance.

Fix: Keep remove_damaged="1" for all drivable vehicles (sedans, trucks, hatchbacks, boats). This ensures that when a vehicle is destroyed, the CE removes it and spawns a fresh one. Only set remove_damaged="0" for wreck objects (heli crashes, convoys) that are already damaged by design.

Forgetting to set active=1

Problem: You configure a vehicle event but it never spawns.

Fix: Check the <active> tag. If it is set to 0, the event is disabled. Some vanilla events like StaticPoliceCar ship with active=0. Set it to 1 to enable spawning.

Not enough spawn positions for the nominal count

Problem: You set nominal=15 for a vehicle event but only 6 positions exist in cfgeventspawns.xml. Only 6 vehicles ever spawn.

Fix: Add more <pos> entries. As a rule, include at least 2-3x your nominal value in positions to give the CE enough options to satisfy saferadius and distanceradius constraints.

Vehicle spawns inside buildings or underground

Problem: A vehicle spawns clipped into a building or buried in terrain.

Fix: Review the <pos> coordinates in cfgeventspawns.xml. Test positions in-game using admin teleport before adding them to the file. Positions should be on flat roads or open ground, and the angle (a) should align with the road direction.

Home | << Previous: Loot Economy | Next: Player Spawning >>

Chapter 9.5: Vehicle & Dynamic Event Spawning ​

Table of Contents ​

How Vehicle Spawning Works ​

events.xml Vehicle Entries ​

Civilian Sedan ​

All Vanilla Vehicle Events ​

Vehicle Event Field Reference ​

Event-Level Fields ​

Flags ​

Other Fields ​

Child Fields ​

cfgeventspawns.xml -- Spawn Positions ​

Heli Crash Events ​

Key differences from vehicle events ​

Military Convoy ​

Police Car ​

cfgeventgroups.xml -- Grouped Spawns ​

cfgeconomycore.xml Vehicle Root Class ​

Common Mistakes ​

Putting vehicles in types.xml ​

No matching spawn positions in cfgeventspawns.xml ​

Setting remove_damaged=0 for drivable vehicles ​

Forgetting to set active=1 ​

Not enough spawn positions for the nominal count ​

Vehicle spawns inside buildings or underground ​