KB housekeeping sweep: end-of-arc staleness purge (2026-08-06)

Corrections (wrong claims fixed + swept):
- open-questions: the DuckState 'no CODE consumer, authentic [T1]' verdict
  RETRACTED (consumer = the unexported posture block; squat clips shipped in
  BTL4.RES all along); the searchlight fog swap re-marked DONE (was 'STILL
  DEFERRED'); crouch index pointer updated.
- combat-damage: old task-#60 kill-score section marked SUPERSEDED by the
  report tail (BTPostKillScore retired).
- pod-hardware: crouch census rows -> COMPLETE; gauges-hud: 07-20 note
  (generators 'unreconstructed') re-swept.

New knowledge:
- reconstruction-gotchas #20: EXPORT-GAP BLINDNESS (4 incidents, 2 falsely
  T1; the byte-scan/named-member/RES-TOC/manifest checklist) + the
  verification-viewpoint bullet in #13 (the crouch capture errors).
- decomp-reference: master posture/crouch block offsets (+0x3f8/+0x79c, the
  myomers cluster) + 8 new bench env gates.
- rendering: beam-material decode (btfx brighten) + look-pass acceptance.
- experience-levels: crouch novice lockout in the +0x25c consumer list.
- build-and-run: the stale-link build ritual; test-harness: bench-script
  gotchas (both previously oral tradition).
- glossary: export-gap-blindness; multiplayer: crouch/searchlight ride
  existing records; subsystems: searchlight visuals pointer.

Status refresh: CLAUDE.md front + project-overview current-state -> core
gameplay reconstruction COMPLETE (774->801), polish phase, #60 census next.
Ledger addenda: INPUT_PATH row 6 complete; RESPAWN_REARM VehicleDead-sender
note. .gitignore: content/ bench artifacts (pngs/logs/eggs/exe) out of
status. checkctx CLEAN.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/INPUT_PATH_AUDIT.md

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Ranked by impact. **Reverse thrust `0x3F` (key LALT / pad B) is FIXED** and conf
 | 3 | **pad LT / RT (turn pedals)** — and every pad-only session | Steer the legs | Not a wiring gap: the pedals are live (`L4PADRIO.cpp:710-715` → `L4CTRL.cpp:1438-1446` → `btl4mppr.cpp:1337-1340` → `:1399 pedalsPosition`) but only *Standard/Veteran* read them (`mechmppr.cpp:1034`, `:1061`); the mapper boots in **Basic** (`mechmppr.cpp:361`) — and **the pad has no binding for `0x18` CycleControlMode**. Verified: `content/bindings.txt:74-89` binds only `0x40 0x3F 0x47 0x42 0x44 0x43 0x41`; no `0x18`, no `0x15` | **S** | `BT_MPPR_TRACE=1`, squeeze LT on a pad-only launch: `pedals=` moves, `turn=0`. Add `pad BACK button 0x18`, press it → `[mode] control mode -> 1`, then LT yaws |
 | 4 | **Fire dropout: releasing one alias of a held fire button** (`1`+`SPACE` on `0x40`; `3`+`LCTRL`+`RCTRL` on `0x47`; pad A/X on the same) | Two keys on one address = two wires to one button | Edge state is per **binding**, not per **address**: `previousKeyHeld[k]` is indexed by binding index and `EmitButton(addr, held)` fires on every per-binding edge (`engine/MUNGA_L4/L4PADRIO.cpp:580-595`; same shape in the pad loop `:665-685`). The release writes `-(addr+1)` (`L4CTRL.cpp:2635-2647`) and `ControlsUpdateManager::Update` then suppresses the redundant press, so fire stays **off** until the held key is released and re-pressed | **M** (shared plumbing — **defer**) | `BT_FIRE_LOG=1`: hold LCTRL (missiles firing), tap `3`, release `3` → fire stops with LCTRL still down |
 | 5 | **`0x1A`-`0x1D`** Generator A-D ON/OFF (4 radar-rail buttons) | Take a generator off line (heat/power management) | `Generator : HeatSink` (`powersub.hpp:320-322`) and **no `Generator::GetMessageHandlers()` exists** — `powersub.cpp:1014` resolves to HeatSink's set `{id 3 ToggleCooling}`, so streamed `msg 4` (`ctrlmap.log:44-47`) finds nothing. `ToggleGeneratorOnOff` @`004b1ed0` is unreconstructed (0 hits in `game/`) | **M** | Click `0x1A`: today zero log. After: generator output voltage → 0 and its ENG-page bar follows |
-| 6 | **`0x13`** CROUCH (manual p8, a full section) | Duck to present a smaller target | Streamed `subsys -1 msg 0x1a` (`ctrlmap.log:40`) resolves to the Mech (`ENTITY.cpp:608-615`), but `Mech::MessageHandlerEntries` has exactly three entries — `TakeDamage`, `PlayerLink`, `BalanceCoolant` (`mech.cpp:463-467`). No id `0x1a`. Assets exist (`Mech::duckState` attr 0x37 `mech.cpp:861`, SQUAT clips, `DuckServo01.wav`) | **M** (reconstruct @`0049fa00`) | Click `0x13` on a stationary mech: expect the squat clip + `duckState 0→1` |
+| 6 | **`0x13`** CROUCH (manual p8, a full section) | Duck to present a smaller target | Streamed `subsys -1 msg 0x1a` (`ctrlmap.log:40`) resolves to the Mech (`ENTITY.cpp:608-615`), but `Mech::MessageHandlerEntries` has exactly three entries — `TakeDamage`, `PlayerLink`, `BalanceCoolant` (`mech.cpp:463-467`). No id `0x1a`. Assets exist (`Mech::duckState` attr 0x37 `mech.cpp:861`, SQUAT clips, `DuckServo01.wav`) | ~~M~~ ✅ **COMPLETE** (handler 07-26; consumer + clips + MP 2026-08-06 — [[locomotion]] §CROUCH) | Verified: squat clip plays, holds, rises; peers replicate it |
 | 7 | **Torso recenter from the keyboard** (`0x42` is pad/mouse only) | Center a twisted torso — the manual's anti-disorientation control (p9) | `0x42` itself is **LIVE** (streamed `subsys 17 attr 14 -> +0x208` = `Torso::centerCommand`, consumed `torso.cpp:636-640`) but `content/bindings.txt:83,86` bind it only on `pad Y`/`DPAD_UP`. The port's keyboard path (`gBTTorsoRecenter`, `mech4.cpp:2875`) is fed from the zeroed `gBTInput` and its consumer sits inside the stood-down bridge (`mechmppr.cpp:854-863`, gate `:655-660`) | **S** | Twist with `E`, press `X`: `currentTwist` does not return to 0. Add `key X button 0x42` (two rows on one VK both fire — `L4PADRIO.cpp:580-629` iterates all bindings) |
 | 8 | **Any clickable button latches if the mouse-up is lost** (worst on `0x3F` reverse, `0x40` trigger) | A momentary click always releases | Neither WndProc handles `WM_CAPTURECHANGED` or `WM_KILLFOCUS` — grep over `engine/` + `game/` returns **zero** hits. Alt-tab or a system dialog between press and release leaves `gCkPressed` set and `SetScreenButton(a,0)` never runs | **M** — trap: `btl4main.cpp:137` calls `ReleaseCapture()` itself, which re-enters `WM_CAPTURECHANGED`; guard on `gCkPressed != -1` (it is cleared before `ReleaseCapture`) | Click-hold `0x3F`, alt-tab, release outside the window: `BT_PAD_LOG=1` shows no release line and `rev` stays 1 |
 | 9 | **Every HOTAS / flight stick / rudder** (whole `joydev/joyaxis/joybutton/joyhat` grammar) | Drive the pod channels from a DirectInput device | `content/bindings.txt` is 89 lines and has **zero** joy rows; the joy poll is gated on `joyAxisBindingCount>0 \|\| …` (`L4PADRIO.cpp:775-777`) so `BTJoyInit/BTJoyPoll` are never called. `PadBindingProfile::Load` writes the default only when the file is **absent** (`L4PADBINDINGS.cpp:708-713`), and the file is gitignored (`.gitignore:23`) — so the zip ships **this machine's stale file** | **S** now (ship without it / refresh it) · **M** later (version marker + additive merge) | `content/jstest.log`: `bindings loaded: 40 keys, 10 pad buttons, 5 pad axes, 0 joy axes…`; no `[joy]` line exists in any log in `content/` |

docs/RESPAWN_REARM_PLAN.md

@@ -271,3 +271,10 @@ Four operator/field reports were then grounded and dispositioned:
 
 Bench: `scratchpad/night11/respawnreset.sh` (BT_VALVE_TEST press -> BT_MP_FORCE_DMG
 kill -> read `[valve]`/`[respawn]` on A, plume/un-wreck ordering on B).
+
+## Addendum 2026-08-05 (#45 report tail): the VehicleDead SENDER moved
+The death-transition dispatch site (mech4) is retired: the decoded sender is the TakeDamage
+handler's death tail (@0x4a07d4-0x4a0890), now BTMechPostVehicleDead (btplayer.cpp) with the
+BT 0x38-byte extension {killed-by player, kill zone}. The #55 NULL-playerLink fallback + the
+DEAD_NOTIFY forensics moved into it intact; the #81 single-dispatch rule is unchanged. The
+flow diagram above predates this -- read BTPostKillScore rows as historical (retired 08-05).