The aim/pick ray was the active RENDER EYE's view direction, which made a
mech unable to aim at a distant enemy:
(a) it inherited the mech BODY pitch -- on a slope the body tilts ~8 deg to
conform to terrain, so the boresight pointed that far DOWN and the pick
ray hit the ground ~50-100m short of the target (groundPicks, never
mechPicks); and
(b) in CHASE view (the default) it was the elevated behind-the-shoulder
camera, so the ray started over the mech's shoulder and flew high.
Fix (L4VIDRND DPLEyeRenderable::Execute, the BTSetAimCamera publish):
- LEVEL the boresight: drop the view-direction pitch and rebuild an upright
basis (world +Y up) -- the guns fire along the mech's gyro-stabilized
HORIZONTAL heading, not the terrain-pitched body. Reticle X still carries
the torso twist (BTTwistToReticleX); reticle Y any elevation.
- ANCHOR the ray origin at the mech's TORSO (myEntity->localToWorld
translation + ~5) instead of the render eye, so it is correct in BOTH the
chase (default) and cockpit views.
Verified end-to-end: solo, enemy 120m ahead, BOTH chase and cockpit view ->
[target] "MECH under boresight ... mechPicks=59 groundPicks=0" -> beam ->
*** DESTROYED. Also proved PickRayHit resolves a REPLICANT when aimed at it
(hit=1 at 757m, 2-node run).
mech4: BT_GOTO="enemy" test aid now chases the nearest peer of ANY instance
(solo dummy OR replicant), not just replicants.
Still open (locomotion, not aim/MP): BT_GOTO/BT_AUTODRIVE stall short of the
enemy, so an AUTOMATED 2-node kill via the real beam isn't demonstrated yet
(the FORCE_DMG hook still is). A human can now aim correctly in the default
view. Solo un-regressed; build clean; KB validator clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Re-measured interactive -net combat on a 2-node run. The KB's "aim ray dead /
drive dead in -net" was STALE: A's aim ray is live (noRay=0, the active eye
publishes the aim camera) and A drives (BT_AUTODRIVE/BT_GOTO move it). The real
blocker to a human cross-pod kill via the beam path is NOT the netcode:
- Boresight inherits the mech BODY pitch. The aim ray = the active eye's view
dir; on sloped terrain the body pitches to conform and the boresight points
~8 deg down ([EYE] up=(-.03,.99,-.14) == [pick] ldir.y=-0.145 every frame),
so at range the ray hits terrain ~50-100m short of the enemy (mechPicks=0).
- Drive/goto stalls ~700m short before closing to pick/weapon range.
- PickRayHit vs a replicant is thus unconfirmed, but the replicant localToWorld
IS correct (lstart magnitude == true A->B distance; the DeadReckon +
localToWorld=localOrigin block already tracks the replicated position).
Change: add a gated BT_GOTO="enemy" test mode (beeline toward the nearest live
replicant) -- MP spawn coords vary per run so a fixed "x z" can't reliably face
the peer. KB (multiplayer.md) updated with the corrected findings + the real
remaining work (torso-pitch/level-boresight aim ray + drive-to-range).
Solo un-regressed; btl4.exe builds; KB validator clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Full cross-pod KILL now works: instance A (host 2) shoots B's mech (host 3)
dead over the network; B runs the death transition on its own screen. Verified
on a 2-node one-box run (BT_MP_FORCE_DMG on A): B's mech takes ~36 remote hits
of 12 and is DESTROYED, with wreck swap + explosion.
ROOT CAUSE (one bug): B's own MASTER mech was INVALID. Entity::Receive(Event*)
does `if(!IsValid()) event->Defer()` -- so a cross-pod-delivered TakeDamage that
arrived, resolved to B's real mech, and Posted, was DEFERRED forever; the handler
never ran. The reconstructed Mech::Make force-set ValidFlag only for replicants
(the P6 bring-up hack for the partial MakeReady handshake); a locally-created
master never got validated.
FIX (one line): Mech::Make now sets ValidFlag for the master too -- the
reconstructed ctor builds the mech synchronously, so it's safe. Nothing else
changed: targeting, the virtual victim->Dispatch, the replicant reroute, the
wire, receive, and id resolution were ALL already correct.
Two prior root causes were BOTH mis-diagnoses from the WRONG messageID:
Entity::TakeDamageMessageID is 18, not 21. Every earlier probe filtered
msgID==21, never matched a real TakeDamage, and mis-correlated the stray 21
hits' 3:19 / classID-48 against the real 3:22 hit -- inventing (a) a "cross-TU
Entity layout divergence" (disproven: offsetof identical in both TUs, sizeof
444, entityID@0x17C) and (b) a "localID corrupted on the wire". Both FALSE; the
id is correct end-to-end (3:22 = B's master).
- game/reconstructed/mech.cpp: validate master + replicant at Make.
- game/reconstructed/mech4.cpp: BT_MP_FORCE_DMG cleaned to a concise gated
2-node cross-pod reproducer (real virtual Dispatch path).
- context/multiplayer.md, reconstruction-gotchas.md: corrected root cause +
the validity-defers-cross-pod gotcha. Engine diagnostics reverted to clean.
Solo un-regressed (the solo enemy was already force-valid; the change only ADDS
ValidFlag). btl4.exe builds; full mission loop clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The prior commit (c78662a) filed cross-pod damage failure under a
"cross-TU Entity/EntityID layout divergence" (and the P5 base-region
audit). A compile-time offsetof probe injected into BOTH translation
units disproves that: game/reconstructed AND engine/MUNGA compute an
IDENTICAL Entity layout --
sizeof(Entity)=444 offsetof(entityID)=380 (0x17C)
offsetof(ownerID)=388 offsetof(simulationFlags)=32
offsetof(Mech,entityID)=380 (Entity subobject at 0)
So Entity::Dispatch reads this->entityID at the SAME offset mech4's
GetEntityID() does -- there is no per-TU read difference, and the
logged 3:22 (mech4 candidate) vs 3:19 (engine Dispatch) cannot be one
object read two ways. Those lines were different objects/messages,
mis-correlated. The distinct, REAL P5 "base-region layout divergence"
(HARD_PROBLEMS.md) is about raw-offset stomps at this+0x2d4..0x2f0 --
far above entityID -- and is unrelated to #47.
Changes:
- Revert the committed BT_MP_NET engine diagnostics (ENTITY/EVENT/
NTTMGR/RECEIVER/L4NET) to the clean a9c3e96 baseline -- those are
the very instruments that produced the mis-correlated data.
- mech4 BT_MP_FORCE_DMG hook: dispatch via the real m->Dispatch(&td)
path (no false id stamping); comment records the offsetof finding.
- context/multiplayer.md: layout-divergence RULED OUT; 3:22/3:19 marked
unconfirmed; leading hypotheses reframed as H2 (wire host-relative
(de)serialization) vs H3 (replicant id != master's registered key),
to be distinguished by a 2-node run with per-message correlation.
Solo un-regressed (mech walks + targets, 0 faults). Cross-pod delivery
remains open, but the investigation is redirected off the wrong (large,
structural) layout-audit path onto the EntityID wire/id-assignment path.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Traced the dispatched-message delivery end to end with BT_MP_NET /
BT_MP_FORCE_DMG. Everything works except one wire step:
- A's Entity::Dispatch reroutes the replicant's TakeDamage
(application->SendMessage(ownerID=3, EntityManager, msg)); POST-Dispatch
the message carries entityID=3:22 (host:local) -- the replicant's own
ID, matching B's master (GetEntityID()==3:22). VERIFIED sent.
- On B the message ARRIVES, GetEntityPointer finds an entity, Posts it,
the event drains (ProcessEventTask = ProcessOneEvent(0)), Event::Process
runs, Receive finds+calls a handler. VERIFIED the full deliver chain.
- BUG: B receives entityID=3:19, NOT 3:22 -- the localID dropped by
exactly the hostID (3) between A's send and B's receive. So
GetEntityPointer(3:19) returns the WRONG entity (classID 48, not the
mech 0xBB9), whose base handler ignores the unaimed hit -> 0 damage.
Auto-replicated UPDATE records (msgID 18) arrive with the correct 3:22
and find the mech, so the corruption is specific to the dispatched-
message wire path/direction.
Next: the host-relative EntityID (de)serialization on the dispatched-msg
path (RoutePacket / packet EntityID encoding) -- diff vs the update path
which translates correctly. Diagnostics retained (all BT_MP_NET-gated,
off in solo -- verified: solo 22 hits, 0 probe noise).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
STEP 1 -- target any peer mech: DONE + verified. A live-mech registry
(BTRegisterMech/BTDeregisterMech from the Mech ctor/dtor) collects
every mech -- player, dummy, and peer replicants. The boresight
world-pick walks BTGetTargetCandidates (all mechs != shooter, closest
ray hit) and the whole fire/damage block retargets from the solo
gEnemyMech to the picked hotTarget; missile/projectile validation
generalised via BTIsRegisteredMech. Verified one-box: instance A
enumerates B's mech as a live ReplicantInstance (20 zones, ownerID=3).
Solo un-regressed (pick->damage->kill clean, 28 hits + DESTROYED).
STEP 2 -- cross-pod damage: dispatch + engine reroute are CORRECT and
invoked with a valid owner, but the dispatched message doesn't reach
the master. Entity::Dispatch (ENTITY.cpp:244) reroutes a replicant's
msg via application->SendMessage(ownerID,...); BT_MP_FORCE_DMG proves A
dispatches at B's replicant with ownerID=3, yet B takes 0 STEP-6
damage. Corrects the KB's [T3] "Dispatch already reroutes": the reroute
FIRES; the break is downstream in the transport/delivery of a
dispatched entity-message (update records flow fine -- net-rx works).
Next MP task = that wire delivery. Diagnostics BT_MP_LOG /
BT_MP_FORCE_DMG retained.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
One-box smoke test re-run on the current build: console egg -> mesh ->
RunningMission both instances, 174+ x144-byte update records each side,
2 mech trees per instance, 0 crashes (~6 min). The movement-replication
milestone is intact after all the targeting/weapon/death changes.
Gap map to a first playable LAN fight recorded in
context/multiplayer.md (wiring order): (1) generalize the world-pick
from gEnemyMech to all peer mechs; (2) exercise the Dispatch reroute
for cross-pod TakeDamage; (3) victim state visuals on the shooter's
screen (zone replication or a death event); (4) cross-pod beam visuals
via the AUTHENTIC beam-keepalive messages (FUN_0041c350, templates
@0x511e6c/78 -- already stubbed in emitter.cpp); (5) 2-window driving +
DEATHS scoring; respawn deferred to the P5 teardown debt.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
A period pod screenshot from players who know the game flagged the
overlay. Stroke-by-stroke re-read of the ctor (@4546-4587) against it:
- The range caret triangle is GREEN width 1 (ctor @4550-4551 sets
SetLineWidth(1)+SetColor(0,0.75,0) AFTER the yellow bar's CallList) --
my transcription left it yellow/2. Same for the bottom bowtie carets
(@4569-4570). Both fixed; the caret polylines also get the binary's
explicit 4th closing point (@4558).
- The screenshot otherwise CONFIRMS our layout (yellow range bar, green
caret, colored pip dots, tick tape + green bowtie, rotating compass,
mid-ladder range with no lock = the world-pick terrain range).
- Its crosshair is ~2.5x taller with arrowhead arms -- NOT our binary's
+-0.04..0.16 program: a different pod revision. Ours stays [T1] to
BTL4OPT.EXE 4.10.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Interim pod-like grouping ahead of the authentic ConfigureMappables/
ChooseButton mapper channels (decomp-anchored in open-questions):
- Three fire channels like three pod buttons: gBTWeaponTrigger (lasers,
key 1 or SPACE), gBTPPCTrigger (PPCs, key 2), gBTMissileTrigger
(missiles, key 3 or CTRL). Keyboard only per user (mouse buttons
removed).
- EmitterSimulation picks its channel by classID (PPC 3028 vs Emitter
3016); BT_AUTOFIRE holds all three.
- The BT_BEAM_LOG sampler modulus 30 aliased to ONE weapon under the
new synchronized 5-beam volleys (5 | 30) -> 31 (coprime).
Verified: all 5 energy weapons fire (31 samples each), aimed hits land,
kill completes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Answering "do lasers and PPCs fire together?": in the pod, grouping was
a PILOT CHOICE. MechWeapon message handlers id 9 'ConfigureMappables'
(FUN_004b9550) and id 10 'ChooseButton' (FUN_004b95b8), handler table
@0x511860 (names read from the exe): ConfigureMappables binds the
weapon's fireImpulse@0x31C to controls-mapper fire-channel #N (roster
slot 0; vtable +0x38 register / +0x3c unregister / +0x44 choose),
ChooseButton = the in-cockpit re-binding. Weapons sharing a button fire
together. The port's SPACE=energy / CTRL=missiles split is a stand-in
default; the authentic per-button channels are a tracked follow-up.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
[hud] pip diagnostic logs each registered pip's classID/PipPosition/
WeaponRange/PipExtendedRange/PipColor. The live dump corrects the
"everything is 500m" assumption: BLH lasers red @500 (x3, ext=1),
missiles amber @800 (x2), PPCs blue @900 (x2) -- the pips sit at their
weapons' max-range marks on the range ladder (caret below a pip = that
weapon reaches), so 7 weapons read as 3 weapon-system groups. KB +
comments corrected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
User report: enemy takes hits, starts smoking, then beams pass through
-- no more damage, no death. Root cause: the death-effects dispatch
(blhdead explosion chain + wreck swap + KILL score) lived in the
SHOOTER's laser fire block kill check. A missile killing blow lands
frames later in BTUpdateProjectiles -- outside that block -- and after
task #41 the boresight pick skips a dead mech, so the fire block never
ran against it again: the death chain was silently skipped, leaving an
internally-dead, smoking, standing, invulnerable mech.
Fix: the dispatch moved to the VICTIM's own once-per-death transition
(UpdateDeathState's movementMode->9 moment) -- fires exactly once for
ANY kill source (laser, missile, collision). Killer id for the
Explosion message = lastInflictingID (the task-#31 bookkeeping). The
BT_ENABLE_TEARDOWN cdb harness was removed with the old block (findings
preserved in docs/HARD_PROBLEMS.md).
Verified headless (75s soak, missile-heavy kill): destroyed ->
'blhdead' id=22 -> wreck swap 'blhdbr.bgf' -> smoke re-arm -> sink ->
buried INERT; post-death picks fall through to terrain; 0 crashes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
User video evidence (lasers firing at nothing) + the colleague's
torso-locked report + the binary all reconcile into one model:
The boresight pick hits the WORLD, and the target slot mech+0x388 holds
whatever entity is downrange:
- enemy mech under the boresight -> aimed target (hull point -> STEP-6
zone under the boresight, hotbox + lock ring, damage);
- else the TERRAIN downrange (BTGroundRayHit to 1200) -> the beam and
missiles fire at the scenery ("firing at nothing", as in the pod
videos), range caret reads the ground distance (authentic :5639), no
damage;
- else (sky) -> no target, and the weapon's own double 0x388 gate
refuses the discharge.
Binary evidence for non-mech targets: HudSimulation :5620 explicitly
handles a target WITHOUT damage zones (target->0x120 == 0) -- dead code
if only mechs were ever targeted. The pick is automatic every frame
(0x388: 11 reads / 0 direct stores in CODE).
Implementation: gBTTerrainEntity captured in MakeEntityRenderables
(Terrain::GetClassDerivations); mech4 pick = enemy PickRayHit else
ground ray -> terrain entity + ground point; damage/hotbox/lock only
for the mech pick; the task-40 enemy auto-converge REMOVED (facing away
now fires at the scenery, not magically at the enemy -- the user's
complaint). Verified all three states headless (BT_AIM 0,0 / .6,.5 /
0,-.8): aimed zone hits / terrain beams + 0 damage / no discharge.
Fourth (and evidence-complete) targeting model iteration; KB updated.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Colleague: you fire without a lock, at "nothing." Double-checked the
binary:
- The weapon fire path is DOUBLY gated on mech+0x388 != 0:
EmitterSimulation (FUN_004baa88:7689) only calls FireWeapon with a
target, and FireWeapon (FUN_004bace8:7727) wraps its whole body --
including beamFlag(+0x46c)=1 -- in the same check. So no target => no
beam, literally (cannot fire into truly empty space). [T1]
- BUT a capstone scan of the entire CODE section finds 11 READS of
+0x388 and ZERO direct stores: the target is written INDIRECTLY (a
message/selector), i.e. AUTO-acquired -- there is no manual lock to
fire. The spinning-ring LOCK (HudSimulation 5619-5634) is a separate,
stricter state.
So the colleague is right that no lock is needed; my port was wrong to
gate firing on a pinpoint boresight-on-hull pick. Fix: mech+0x388 = the
enemy whenever it is ALIVE (auto-target); firing needs only that. A
pinpoint hull hit upgrades the shot to aimed-zone damage + the lock
ring; off-hull with the enemy present, the beam converges on centre
mass (body hits). Third correction from over-reading the RP-shared
Reticle struct (after sticky-lock and mouse-cursor).
Verified: BT_AIM="0.5 0.2" (off-hull) -> fires + lands damage (was 0
before); BT_AIM="0 0" (centred) -> HOT-aimed zone hits. KB swept;
checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Colleague flagged that targeting is torso-locked with no fine cursor.
Correct: the pod stick's yaw drove the TORSO TWIST
(MechControlsMapper -> HUD::SetFreeAimSlew(stick_x) @cockpit+0x28C,
gated on torso-horizontal-enabled; hud.hpp:167) and reticlePosition
@HUD+0x1FC is COMPUTED by HudSimulation from the mech pose quaternion +
target geometry, zeroed to centre with no target (part_013.c:5680) --
never a free-floating cursor. The engine Reticle struct is general
(shared with Red Planet); BT drives it from the torso boresight.
Fix:
- Removed the mouse-cursor slew (a mis-sourced stand-in from the
RP-shared struct). The crosshair is now the torso boresight:
BTTwistToReticleX(torsoTwist) = tan(twist) projected through the live
per-axis projection. Dead-centre on the fixed-torso BLH
(TorsoHorizontalEnabled=0); you aim by steering the whole mech.
- BT_AIM="x y" retained as the headless test harness.
Verified: face-to-face spawn -> HOT lock + aimed zone hits (36);
BT_FORCE_TURN circling -> 31 no-target vs 1 HOT (steering off-target
drops the lock, as it must). KB swept (combat-damage / gauges-hud /
open-questions); checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- LOCK rules transcribed from the exported HudSimulation
(part_013.c:5619-5634): lock requires a target AND your own HUD host
zone damage < 0.75 (_DAT_004b7ec4 -- a shot-up targeting computer
drops lock) AND the targeted zone damage < 1.0 (_DAT_004b7ec8;
whole-mech target checks zone 0 -- a wreck's dead zone can't
re-lock). Box and ring are now separate signals like the binary:
gBTHudLockState 1 = target held (hotbox draws), 2 = LOCKED (+ the
spinning ring).
- SIMPLE-X mode: the ctor's [0x99] minimal-reticle list transcribed
(@4689-4705: green +-0.02..0.08 cross on the aim translate); Draw
switches master <-> simple X on the PrimaryHudOn element bit (0x20),
completing the recovered Execute's state-list logic.
- Canopy diagnosis sharpened (open-questions): blx_cop is the torso
segment's inside-skeleton mesh enclosing the eye; the black box =
the skeleton render branch missing its texture + PUNCH cutout (the
canopy windows are punch texels). A rendering-branch task; stays
hidden by default.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The one un-exported gap in the reticle chain, read via capstone
(tools/disas2.py; the annotated disasm preserved at
reference/decomp/reticle_execute_004cdcf0.disasm.txt). Draw() is now a
transcription of the real per-frame logic, and the HUD attr-table names
(hud.hpp ids 4/5/6/8/A/B/C/D) are CONFIRMED by their Execute usage:
- Range ladder: BAR from ladder-top to the caret + caret translate.
- The bottom 21-tick tape is the TORSO-TWIST indicator (NOT heading):
deflection = -/+(span/2) x (RotationOfTorsoHorizontal / twist limit),
attrs 4/5/6. Fixed-torso BLH reads centred -- authentic static.
- The circle-with-stem is the COMPASS (attr 0xD, rad->deg rotation) at
(botX, botY - 3*tickMajor - 0.03), with the THREAT trail (attr 0xC)
in its rotated frame: 0.05-unit attack-direction marks, fresh < 2s
red, expiring at 6s. Port feed: player TakeDamage pushes the impact
direction (dormant vs the passive test dummy).
- Pips (composed into subB6): hidden when destroyed (attr 1 == 1), LIT
when the fire cycle is LOADED (attr 0x1c == 2; port source
rechargeLevel >= 1) else the dark charging ring; filtered by the
weapon-GROUP bits (weaponMode & elementMask&0xF). Range plays NO part
(the stored TargetWithinRange slots are never read by Execute).
- Lock ring: subB9 at frame centre SPINNING 4 deg/frame while locked
([0x9d] is the spin matrix, not a heading list).
- Target HOTBOX: a rectangle hugging the projected extents (x+-4 around
the top-centre hotbox point, +1/-11.5 vertical; baked K=2.8145 -- the
port projects through the live per-axis projection), switching to the
edge arrows past +-1.6 or behind (BTProjectHotBox, L4VIDEO).
- Reticle state Off/On + PrimaryHudOn full-HUD/simple-X switch, aim
translate on slew move, 3D marker + PNAME player-name mesh identified
(chain still deferred).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The sticky lock made aim irrelevant after the first acquisition (the
crosshair starts on the face-to-face enemy, so it locked at spawn and
never let go -- played as auto-targeting). The binary treats no-target
as a frequent live state (fire path re-checks 0x388!=0 at every step,
part_013.c:7689/7727; HUD range feed has a permanent no-target default,
:5636), so the target slots now mirror the reticle pick each frame:
locked while the crosshair is ON the mech, no lock otherwise. Keeping
the crosshair on the enemy is the gunnery.
Verified headless: BT_AIM="0 0" -> HOT + aimed zone hits; BT_AIM="0.6
0.4" -> no lock, zero damage.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The engine Reticle model (MUNGA/RETICLE.h [T0]) reconstructed end to end:
- Mech::targetReticle is a real Reticle member bound to the TargetReticle
attribute (0x1d), per the RP VTV analog (VTV.h targetReticle).
- Crosshair slew: mouse -> client rect -> reticle coords (the pod stick
free-aim channel's dev-box stand-in); BT_AIM="x y" pins it headless.
LMB fires lasers / RMB missiles (alongside SPACE/CTRL).
- Pick ray: the ACTIVE eye publishes pos + LookAtRH basis (BTSetAimCamera,
L4VIDRND view-write site) + the render loop publishes proj._22;
BTGetAimRay builds the world ray, Mech::PickRayHit slab-tests it against
the collision template's ExtentBox via the engine's BoundingBox::HitBy
(local frame; clips the Line at entry) -> world hull point.
- Designation: the mech under the crosshair designates (sticky; re-hover
refreshes; cleared when the target leaves the roster at burial); the
entity target slots 0x37c/0x388/0x38c feed the whole weapon path.
- Aimed fire: while HOT the impact point is the PICKED hull point -> the
STEP-6 cylinder lookup resolves the zone under the crosshair (verified:
center-aim -> head-band zone 13 dominant). Off-crosshair the sticky
designation converges on center mass.
- HUD: the aim group draws at the slewed position ([0x9a] translate,
contained by push/pop); the designator ring tracks the target's
projected point (subB9 hot / subB8 designated, BTProjectToReticle);
edge arrows when off-screen/behind.
- AUTHENTIC gating: no fire arc exists in the binary (FireWeapon fires
whenever HasActiveTarget, part_013.c:7758) -> BT_FIRE_ARC is now an
explicit OPT-IN presentation clamp; the hardwired gEnemyMech lock and
the projectile path's gEnemyMech fallback are removed.
- Fixed en route: every renderable rebuild stomped mCamera back to the
chase eye (start-inside silently lost the cockpit camera; the aim feed
exposed it). BTL4VideoRenderer::mViewInside persists the chosen view.
Verified headless: BT_AIM="0 0" -> HOT lock, pick hits the hull face at
exact range, aimed zones resolve; BT_AIM="0.8 0.3" -> no lock, zero
damage, zero missile launches; kill chain completes to wreck + smoke.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The engine Reticle struct (the mech's "TargetReticle" attribute) is the
acquisition chain: slewable screen-space crosshair -> pick-ray -> the
entity + damage zone under it become mech+0x388/0x38c, the intersection
point mech+0x37c. Convergence-on-lock is authentic (FireWeapon has no
aim test); targetWithinRange = dist < (1-damage) x weaponRange
(FUN_004b9bdc). Port acquisition is a bring-up stand-in (hardwired lock
+ BT_FIRE_ARC cone) -> tracked as the next combat-fidelity step.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- dpl2d API fully recovered from the binary recorders (@487f34-488630):
opcode model (points/lines/polyline/circle/color/width/matrix/push-pop),
CallList = INLINE include (state persists to caller), centered coordinate
frame (unit = half viewport height). game/reconstructed/dpl2d.cpp rework.
- BTReticleRenderable ctor @004cc40c transcribed with the authentic
calibration (originX .35, originY .25, scaleY .5, 0..1200m right range
ladder, bottom heading tape, FUN_004cd938 tick ladders, lock rings,
turn arrows); range caret slides from the live target range fed by the
mech4 targeting step (BTSetHudTargetRange).
- Weapon pips: the binary gate is IsDerivedFrom(0x511830 =
MechWeapon::ClassDerivations) [T1: part_014.c:5386 hard-aborts on missing
weapon attrs; part_012 counts + roster ORs capabilityFlags@+0x334] so ALL
7 BLH weapons register (3 lasers + 2 PPCs + 2 MissileLaunchers). Pip A
(lit, authored PipColor) on TargetWithinRange, else dark ring B.
- AddWeapon @004cdac0 store map corrected to the verified order
(part_014.c:4827-4837); both state attrs are literally named
"SimulationState" (strings @51d526/51d577) -> weapon simulationState.
- Mech roster this[0x1ef] renamed poweredSubsystems -> weaponRoster
(0x511830 is MechWeapon, not PoweredSubsystem=0x50f4bc); derivation-tag
table added to context/decomp-reference.md.
- Draw hook BTDrawReticle after the 3D scene, cockpit view only. Binary
Execute @004cdcf0 is an un-exported gap -> Draw dynamics [T3], tracked
in context/open-questions.md with the blx_cop canopy + PNAME pip meshes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Answers "it's still there but invisible": not normal -- the real game removes
the dead entity (death row). Full entity teardown needs the mech render tree
unhooked from the renderer first (the remaining P5 follow-through), so until
then the burial transition makes the wreck behaviorally gone:
- collisionVolumeCount = 0 (the collision gather skips volume-less movers;
MoveCollisionVolume early-outs) -> no phantom blocking
- the player's target lock drops -> beams stop converging on / hitting the
empty spot, no phantom impact smoke
Verified: zero [damage] hits after burial; INERT fires one-shot at
"wreck buried".
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The user was right: a dead mech turns into a pile of wreckage. The authentic
1995 chain, recovered end-to-end:
kill -> the victim's per-mech DEATH ModelList ('blhdead'/'lokdead'/'owndead'/
'thrdead', .RES ids 22-25) -> its authored effects: 104 (the WRECK script) +
1007 (dnboom big explosion) + 1001 (ddthsmk rubble smoke plume) + a damage-
smoke burst (3/4/5/15).
Effect 104 = ExplosionScripts case 4 (part_008.c:2663, LIVE in the 1996 binary;
the "disabled" warning is case 6): loads the destroyed hulk + flamesml/flamebig
flame meshes with sweep flicker. Every mech ships its hulk (BLHDBR/MADDBR/
LOKDBR/... + GENDBR generic); the 1996 script hardcoded thrdbr.bgf (dev
shortcut) -- we use the victim's own.
Reconstructed as BTL4VideoRenderer::SwapToWreck: hide every segment mesh, hang
"<prefix>dbr.bgf" on the tree root (pending-swap if death precedes tree build);
routed from the engine's ExplosionClassID dispatch (effect 104 ->
BTSwapMechToWreck(explosion->GetEntityHit())). The kill now fires the
authentic 'blhdead' resource (manual 7+1 pfx calls removed -- the list carries
1007/1001 itself). Verified live:
[death] firing authentic death list 'blhdead' id=22
** effect_number = 104
[BTrender] wreck swap: victim -> 'blhdbr.bgf'
Follow-ups noted: mesh flames + hulk settle (cosmetic), DeathSplash.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Task #32 (death collapse animation) resolved by decomp evidence -- BT 4.11 has
NO collapse animation; the movementMode 5-8 fall latch (clips 0x1c-0x1f) is an
engine-lineage vestige:
(1) the clip-table loader FUN_004a80d4 fills slots 0x00-0x1b + 0x20 (bmp
knockdown) and returns -- slots 0x1c-0x1f are never written;
(2) mech+0x63c..0x648 appear in NO exported function;
(3) no fall clip exists in the shipped 27-clip set;
(4) firing the latch would bind resource id 0 -- a StaticAudioStream -- as
keyframes.
Authentic death modes are the FREEZE modes (IsDestroyed == mode 2||9), so
UpdateDeathState now settles straight to 9 (was a [T3] mode-5 guess that would
trip the garbage latch in the binary). The death READ = freeze + dnboom +
ddthsmk smoke plume + destroyed skins + shutdown; the wreck stands.
Also: damage-band effects orient toward the ATTACKER (impact frame) via
lastInflictingID -- which was declared but never written (recon gap); now
maintained by Mech::TakeDamageMessageHandler, unblocking the DamageZone LOD
same-attacker redirect too.
KB corrected + proofs recorded (combat-damage "Death SEQUENCE", open-questions).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The 'can't kill the enemy / no visible damage' cluster, root-caused and fixed
faithfully:
- STEP-6 unaimed path was INERT: the cylinder table was 'cached' at Wword(0x111)
-- the recon ABSORBER bank (stores nothing, reads 0) -- so every unaimed hit
silently no-op'd. Promoted to the named member Mech::damageLookupTable
(binary this[0x111], was mislabeled ammoExpended). New gotcha class recorded
(reconstruction-gotchas §2) + sweep; 2 dead multiplayer branches logged.
- Fire path migrated off the stale vital-zone aim onto the completed STEP-6
unaimed dispatch (zone=-1 + beam entry point -> cylinder resolves the
exterior zone). No more invisible 1-shot kills; death via the authentic
cascade (~14 center-mass hits). Wreck stays TARGETED on kill (beams stop on
it); scoring latches off.
- SendSubsystemDamage AV fixed: unbound critical-subsystem plug guard (43
unbound plugs/mech logged as an open question -- the binding itself is a gap).
- RemakeEntity (render damage swap): the 1996 render state machine's missing
Remake state, reconstructed as an in-place SetDrawObj mesh swap keyed by each
segment's damage-zone graphic state (tree dtor doesn't cascade -> never
rebuild). Destroyed arms/guns visibly wreck (the only variants the RES
registers).
- BT .PFX particle layer (L4VIDEO.cpp): the 1995 explosion/damage effect layer,
unported since 2007 (DPLIndependantEffect/ReadPSFX/ExplosionScripts all
stubs). Parses the authentic VIDEO/*.PFX definitions via the [pfx_day]
psfxN mapping; premultiplied blending renders BOTH families from the same
data (additive-style fire + occluding smoke -- DDAM2 is 30% grey, DDTHSMK
ramps negative: impossible additively); depth-sorted billboards with a
radial-masked grit sprite; impact-frame orientation (.PFX offsets are
authored mech-local, -Z = out of the struck armor toward the shooter) for
weapon hits AND damage bands (via lastInflictingID, now maintained -- was
declared but never written). Both effect-number encodings route (raw dpl
<100 + WinTesla 1000+slot carried by the band resources). Death fires the
authentic dnboom (7) + ddthsmk smoke plume (1).
- Effects anchor at the impact point / damaged zone's segment, not the mech
origin (no more fire at the feet).
- Dev force-input gates BT_AUTOFIRE / BT_AUTODRIVE for headless fire-chain
verification; BT_PFX_ADD=1 flips the particle blend for A/B.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Reconstructs the mech DEATH state machine — the un-exported master-perf death
branch (region 0x4a9770-0x4ab188) — from its EXPORTED consumers + the RP
VTV::DeathShutdown analog, wired into the active path (the bring-up drive
override bypasses the authentic Simulate where this normally lives).
Mech::UpdateDeathState() + IsMechDestroyed() (mech4.cpp), called for every mech
early in PerformAndWatch: on a vital kill (graphicAlarm >= 9, raised by the
damage side) it
1. sets movementMode = 5 -> the collapse clip's one-shot latch in
AdvanceBodyAnimation (fall direction 5-8 is un-exported -> 5 [T3]);
2. loops the roster calling Subsystem::DeathShutdown(1) (RP VTV::DeathShutdown
analog; the base is a no-op virtual, overrides act -- a SHUTDOWN not a
teardown, so it frees nothing and never removes the entity: the wreck STAYS);
3. next frame settles to movementMode = 9 -> IsDisabled -> locomotion frozen.
The drive's lone `movementMode = 1` write (mech4.cpp ~1309) is guarded on
!IsMechDestroyed so the death state is not clobbered back to a live gait.
Runtime-verified (forced kill, BT_DEATH_LOG=1):
[death] mech destroyed -> collapse + subsystem shutdown (wreck stays)
[death] mech settled -> disabled (IsDisabled=1, frozen wreck)
mech frozen in place, subsystem tick + renderer keep running, no crash, wreck
stays.
Also records the full death-sequence decomp map in combat-damage.md (the
exported consumers: AdvanceLeg/BodyAnimation collapse latch, IsDestroyed, the
MechDeathHandler effect engine; and the un-exported orchestration gap).
Deferred (honest): the visible collapse ANIMATION latch through the active path
(gait SM shows state=0 post-death; spawned mechs don't advance body anim);
MechDeathHandler (FUN_0042a984/FUN_0042aa2c -- the exported per-subsystem
destroyed-skin + explosion engine, still a stub) for death explosions; the
whole-mech DeathSplash radius damage (un-exported).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The two deferred TakeDamage dispatches in Mech::ProcessCollision now fire,
unblocked by STEP 6 (the cylinder hit-location override that resolves zone==-1):
- Mover branch (:15324-15358): on a collision with another Mech, dispatch the
collision damage to it.
- CulturalIcon branch (:15369-15401): crunch dispatch to a building/tree/prop,
before the walk-through sentinel overwrites the amount.
Both go through a new file-scope helper BTDispatchCollisionDamage, which builds
an Entity::TakeDamageMessage{zone==-1} (the engine ctor -- same idiom as the
weapon-impact path) with the world centre of the overlap slice as the impact
point and this mech as the inflictor, then Dispatch()es it to the victim. The
receiver turns the world impact point into a damage zone: a Mech via its cylinder
table (STEP 6), an icon via its base handler (crushable props have no zones -> a
harmless no-op). Terrain (walls/hills) matches neither branch, so it still
BLOCKS without damage (faithful to the binary).
Faithful to the binary's raw DamageMessage dispatch (:15324-15401) but via the
engine's named TakeDamageMessage API (no databinding-trap field-by-field build);
the binary's inflictor global DAT_0050b9ac is a sentinel EntityID (only ever
read, never set -> a collision has no "shooter"), so this mech is the inflictor.
Verify: builds clean; reachability GUARANTEED (Mover::ProcessCollisionList calls
the VIRTUAL ProcessCollision -> Mech::ProcessCollision, on the active
AuthenticGroundAndCollide path); stable across runs; both mechs build their
cylinder tables. The live dispatch was not captured headlessly (the solo
auto-walker never rammed a tree/mech), but the path is proven reachable and
composed of runtime-verified pieces (the weapon TakeDamage path + STEP 6).
Also validated STEP 6's height ref: collisionTemplate->maxY ~= 7.1 (a real mech
height), confirming CylinderReferenceHeight reads a height (not the heat value
the mech+0x2ec dual-labeling hinted at).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Mech per-impact hit-location resolver (the cylinder damage table) is now
functional, wired, and runtime-verified [T2]. Unaimed (zone==-1) hits — the
collision-damage path — now resolve an impact point to a damage zone via the
authentic height x angle grid + weighted dice roll, instead of dropping.
dmgtable.cpp/.hpp was a non-functional skeleton on no-op ReconTable/stream
shims; backed it with real std::vector storage and fixed 5 latent runtime bugs:
- ReadEntries now consumes the leading cell name-string ([i32 len][len+1])
- PieSlice ctor reads rotateWithTorso into the correct member
- SelectSlice direct-indexes (was int lookup on a float-keyed table)
- ResolveHit returns the zone (chains SelectSlice -> SelectZone)
- real MemoryStream::ReadBytes (was a variadic no-op)
mech.cpp ctor: replaced the empty-name StandingAnimation stub with the real
load — FindResourceDescription(dzRes->resourceName, type 0x1d) -> stream ->
new DamageLookupTable, cached at mech[0x111]; ~Mech deletes it.
Mech::TakeDamageMessageHandler override registered (MESSAGE_ENTRY overlays
Entity's by ID): on invalidDamageZone, resolve via the table then base-route;
aimed reticle hits pass through unchanged.
Three named accessors (no databinding-trap raw reads): WorldToLocal
(localToWorld.MultiplyByInverse), CylinderReferenceHeight (standingTemplateMaxY
== collisionTemplate->maxY == binary mech+0x2ec[+0xc]), TorsoHeading via a
BTGetTorsoTwist bridge in torso.cpp (Torso::CurrentTwist == torso+0x1d8;
torso.hpp cannot be included into mech.cpp — subsystem-stub collision).
Stream format + geometry + roll + handler were all byte-verified against the
shipped BTL4.RES type-29 resources (18 tables, exact consumption) and the
disassembly (FUN_0049eb54/e678/de14, glue 0x49ed0c, handler @0x4a037a).
Runtime: boots clean, "[cyl] table 'bhk1' layers=7" (exact byte-verified layer
count, found by name), mech spawns + walks, no asserts/AV/0xCDCDCDCD. Env gate
BT_CYL_LOG=1. Unblocks collision-damage application.
KB updated (combat-damage.md STEP 6 COMPLETE, open-questions.md marked done).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The cylinder table resource = type 29 DamageLookupTableStream, 18 in BTL4.RES (one per mech) ->
STEP 6 is FEASIBLE, not content-blocked. Name copied from a sibling resource (local_130+0xc).
RE phase complete; build (containers + handler + load + wire) is the next phase.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
De-risk + format-reversal pass complete. The CylinderDamageZoneTable is a passive nested-list
height x angle grid: TABLE (FUN_0049ea48) -> ROWS-by-height (FUN_0049e740, cell key i*2pi/count,
_DAT_0049e810=6.2831855) -> CELLS-by-angle (FUN_0049deb0) -> zone. All 3 vtables minimal (dtor +
2 Node slots, NO lookup method) -> the lookup is entirely in the unexported
Mech::TakeDamageMessageHandler (handler-set entry, not virtual) = the disassembly target.
Full ctor/dtor/vtable address map + the 4-step build plan recorded in combat-damage.md.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Per the 'correct errors' convention: the cited FUN_004a0230/FUN_0049ed0c don't exist. The real
CylinderDamageZoneTable = a list of 0x30-byte entries (FUN_0049e740) from resource 0x1d; the recon
builds the table (FUN_0049ea48, mislabeled StandingAnimation @Mech[0x111]) with an EMPTY name -> 0
entries -> no-op. The lookup + Mech::TakeDamageMessageHandler override are NOT in the exported decomp
(need disassembly). Recorded in combat-damage + open-questions.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Propagate the verified finding (0xBD3 = damage/explosion hub @0x434, NOT the valve/message
gate; the valve/Myomers gates read the owning BTPlayer @mech+0x190) into the topic files that
still carried the old claim: decomp-reference (ClassID row + both offset rows), gauges-hud,
subsystems, open-questions (Myomers coupling), + frontmatter. Graph validates clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The valve/Myomers 'gates' (FUN_004ac9c8 / FUN_004ad7d4) read the owning BTPlayer's
+0x274 / +0x260 (mech+0x190 = the player, bound by FUN_0049f624). So there's no new
subsystem to build -- the wiring is 2 gate accessors -> GetPlayerLink() named members.
Open: the true semantics of player+0x260/0x274 (scoring names showKills/roleClassIndex
may not match the gate use) + the FUN_004ad7d4 HeatModelActive-vs-OwnerAdvancedDamage
label conflict + these are likely MODE flags authentically-off in the basic mission.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Risk-4 investigation (before wiring WAVE 8) found my earlier 'keystone unblocks 4 things'
claim was wrong. Verified from the binary:
- 0xBD3 SubsystemMessageManager = a damage/explosion consolidation hub (ConsolidateAndSendDamage,
weaponExplosions), cached to Mech[0x10d]=0x434, mislabeled 'controlsMapper' in our recon (the
live drive squats there; the real mapper is roster slot 0 via SetMappingSubsystem).
- The valve MoveValve guard (FUN_004ac9c8 ->owner+0x190+0x274) AND the Myomers gate
(FUN_004ad7d4 ->owner+0x190+0x260) read a DIFFERENT object at mech+0x190 (!= 0x434). So 0xBD3
does NOT gate the valve/Myomers/MessageBoard; mech+0x190 (unidentified, no decompiled writer yet)
is the real keystone for those gauge-adjacent routes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
