the knockdown storm self-limits, peers keep the limp
The 'peers see a limping mech skating' report decomposed into a wall-grind
KNOCKDOWN STORM: a gimped mech held against a blocking solid re-crashes each
time its gg cycle rebuilds speed (the gg ceiling is authentically the clip's
natural speed -- bhk1 ~14.9 u/s, ceiling+divisor @0x544/0x548, loader formula
byte-matched -- so iv2 ~222 >> the 40.0 threshold @0x4ab184), and every
type-5 KNOCKDOWN broadcast floors all peers' replicants into knockdown/trn
churn: gliding + leg-lifts = skating. Turning and crushable cars were
A/B-exonerated (grass circling: 198 replicant gimp entries, 17 crunches,
zero broadcasts).
What the binary has that the port lacked -- recovered from the EXPORT GAP by
raw disasm (scratchpad/night6/gap_4a9770.txt, @4aa89f-4aaab4) -- is the crash
branch's tail: fallDirection = worldToLocal(damageForce) (FUN_0040879c, M^T v,
un-normalized), fallScalar = -(fallDirection . localVelocity.linearMotion),
and a self-dispatched TakeDamageMessage{0x64, zone=-1, the engine-computed
collision Damage verbatim}. A wall crash COSTS ARMOR, so the grind degrades
the mech instead of looping forever. That dispatch was the long-standing
'DEFERRED' note in the response policy; now reconstructed.
Falsified en route (comments + KB corrected, do not revive): the stagger's
FUN_004a4c54(1)/(0x20) 'action-request flags' feed NO drive suppressor --
image-wide sweep + full gap disasm show word[this+0x18] is read only by the
net record emitter; the bmp clip applies NO root motion (adv=0 measured); the
'gimp cap 5.8' figure was the BACK-cycle stride printed under a misleading
label (now ggCapL/R; @0x52c has no binary consumer).
Verified (mp_gimpAB rigs): arena1 wall-grind now 4 bounded strikes, limper
dies of its crashes and respawns cleanly twice (START->RESET, no strand);
grass circling unchanged-clean (198 replicant gimp states, 0 knocks).
Rig: pid capture race fixed (a missed winpid left a stale node holding the
-net port -> null runs), per-config sweep added.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Four-config matrix (mp_gimpAB.sh, [animind] replicant-state verdict):
grass straight/circle = clean replicant limp (198 gimp entries; 17 car
crunches during it -- crushable path broadcasts nothing, cars exonerated);
arena1 straight = one wall strike, replicant recovers into the limp;
arena1 circle = wall GRIND -- the bmp stagger clip's ~6.5 u/s root motion
re-strikes the wall (6.5^2 > iv2 threshold 40), each rebind re-broadcasts
the type-5 knockdown (26x in the user's run), and every peer's replicant
lives in knockdown/recovery churn: gliding + trn leg-lifts = "skating".
Turning while gimped is innocent; single strikes are benign.
Authentic fix filed in open-questions: reconstruct the consumer of the
stagger's action-request flags (FUN_004a4c54 bits 1/0x20 -- the drive
suppressor while the bmp clip plays); the rebind guard at mech4.cpp:6861
is already marked bring-up-pending exactly that.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Instruments repaint via the background task pump, which authentically runs
ONLY in the frame's leftover time with a floor of ONE pump per frame; the
gauge renderer is 1 of ~7 round-robin tasks and each turn advances ONE gauge
of ~140 active, with the rate mask advancing once per full sweep. On a busy
MP mission the foreground eats the whole frame budget, the floor becomes the
norm, and the whole instrument stack rotates once in MINUTES at perfect fps:
comms-panel K/D stuck at 0, recharge tickers frozen, while the tallies and
their replication underneath were exactly right. Measured: 4-node bench at
70-90 fps gave the PilotList ~2 Execute turns in six minutes.
Fix, both env-tunable, authentic behavior restorable:
BT_BG_MIN (APPMGR.cpp, default 32, 0=authentic) minimum background
pumps per frame regardless of slack;
BT_GAUGE_BATCH (GAUGREND.cpp, default 32, 1=authentic) gauges advanced per
gauge-renderer turn (a visit is only a rate-mask check
unless the gauge is due).
Verified 4-node self-damage bench: sweeps 0.006/s -> 18-20/s, PilotList ~10
Exec/s, ALL FOUR panels tracked every death live (0->11) within ~1s, bg cost
2-4 ms/frame, respawn ledger clean (40 cycles, 0 swallow / 0 mismatch).
Also: BT_PERF now reports gaugeTurns/sweeps/active alongside bgTasks;
BT_AF_PERIOD now throttles the missile autofire group too (unthrottled spam
trips the documented FailureHeat all-weapons brick, which froze run 1 of the
cross-fire bench).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Two field observations from watching the 4-node stress, both run down:
1. "A respawn happened without the blue vortex" -- REAL. The translocation
effect is ONE global slot shared by the POV lifecycle and the world-anchored
peer sphere (a port extension). A peer's un-wreck arriving while the local
pilot's own collapse/wait/expand was in flight overwrote gWarpPhase/gWarpPOV
and killed the POV vortex. Invisible before the respawn fix only because
overlapping respawns barely existed; now they are routine. Fix: the POV
lifecycle owns the slot -- BTStartWarpEffect self-skips while it is active
([tloc] peer warp SKIPPED). 2-node bench: 20/20 POV collapse+expand pairs,
9 peer spheres played, 11 correctly skipped; solo: 8/8 pairs unchanged.
2. "Comms panel counted no deaths" -- panel machinery CORRECT; the 4-node
zeros were the bench's own CPU crush (4 core-pinned instances starved the
PilotList to <0.6 Hz, so rows redrew minutes-stale). Added the arbiter:
[score] panel DRAW slot/pilot/kills/deaths edge log (BT_SCORE_LOG) -- the
2-node rerun drew 0->9 / 0->11 live on both nodes, local AND replicated
(SBMIRROR rows confirm owner->replicant tally flow on all 4 stress nodes).
Also: the mech3 offline-authoring stubs declared every <Subsystem>::DefaultData
as Entity__SharedData while the real statics are Simulation__SharedData (this
engine derives Entity FROM Simulation) -- ~20 ghost symbols /FORCE silently
resolved to garbage. DefaultData half fixed (SubsystemDefaultData now returns
the true common base Simulation::SharedData); the CreateStreamedSubsystem stub
signatures remain wrong (nested SubsystemResource* + ResourceFile*), are
cold (no callers), and are tracked in open-questions + gotchas §6 stub-typedef
corollary.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The 2026-07-20 audit listed 8 panel buttons dispatching a streamed message with
no reconstructed handler. Only ONE was still missing: generator on/off,
ToggleSeekVoltage, EjectAmmo, ToggleCooling and BalanceCoolant had all landed
between 07-20 and 07-25 while pod-hardware.md and open-questions.md still called
them dead. docs/INPUT_PATH_AUDIT.md had already flagged the census as "stale in
both directions" and was right -- swept both files, and recorded the rule: check
the code, not the census.
DuckRequest @0049fa00 (id 0x1a, RIO 0x13 -- the manual gives crouch a whole
section). The binary's entire body:
if (0 < *(int *)(param_2 + 0xc)) { *(undefined4 *)(param_1 + 0x398) = 1; }
Press-only; sets duckState (mech+0x398, attribute 0x37). A one-shot REQUEST
flag, not a posture toggle -- the handler never clears it and the only other
writer in the whole binary is the mech reset (part_012.c:9439, the same reset
that zeroes incomingLock, which is how that region was already mapped).
WHY THE FLAG HAS NO READER, AND WHY THAT IS CORRECT. duckState has ZERO readers
anywhere in the decomp, because it is published as an ATTRIBUTE and consumed
through DATABINDING: content/GAUGE/L4GAUGE.CFG runs a 3-frame bduck.pcc
oneOfSeveralPixInt bound to DuckState -- "crouch mode: button 4" on the map's
legend column. Verified live by capturing the Secondary/Radar window before and
after a 0x13 press: the crouch icon goes grey -> orange. So the handler is
COMPLETE. A crouch pose invented here would be a stand-in for data we have not
found (no SQUAT clip name survives in the decomp or in content/, only
DuckServo01.wav in AUDIO1.RES).
Bonus: those gauge widgets sit at offsets 537/430/322/215/108 -- a 107 pitch,
independently corroborating the map legend grid measured from pixels.
Still open from that census: MechRIOMapper's own Keypress @004d2514 (id 0x19).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Findings from the #46/#47/#48 work were living only in context/open-questions.md.
Each is a real defect with player-visible or latent-crash impact, so each now has
a tracker item with evidence + fix design; the KB entries point at them by number
so the two stay in sync.
Found while auditing today's vtable change before release. The binary's
HeatSink::GetStatusFlags @004add30 OPENS with `call 0x4ac144` --
MechSubsystem::GetStatusFlags, the damage tier (damageLevel >= 1.0 -> bit 0
Destroyed; > 0 -> bit 1 Damaged). There is no zero-returning
HeatableSubsystem override anywhere in the image.
Our port routed that call through `HeatableSubsystem::GetStatusFlags()
{ return 0; }` -- a "neutral default" that silently dropped bits 0 and 1 for
the ENTIRE heat branch (every weapon, sensor, emitter, PPC, generator,
powered subsystem). Two live consequences:
* Destroyed / Damaged could never reach MechTech's annunciator scan --
gutting half the shipped mechalrm table (Destroyed -> gotoEngineering +
engCooling + engBusMode) hours after #47 shipped the flash;
* PoweredSubsystem's AutoConnect gate (`GetStatusFlags() == 0`,
powersub.cpp:358) read a DAMAGED subsystem as pristine.
One-line fix: chain the real tier, reproducing @004add30 exactly. The call
site's own comment already said `// FUN_004ac144` -- the implementation had
simply never matched it.
Also corrected a stale comment on MechSubsystem::GetStatusFlags that read the
field as a STRUCTURE level ("1.0 = intact, 0 = dead") -- backwards. The
engine member is damageLevel and ACCUMULATES to 1.0 = destroyed (mechdmg's
crit cascade tests `level >= StructureMax` for exactly that), which is what
makes bits 0/1 line up with TechStatusType Destroyed/Damaged. Behaviour was
always right; the comment was a leftover of the same structureLevel misreading
#46 retired.
VERIFIED (3-pod combat sim, BT_LAMP_LOG): the annunciator is genuinely live --
Jammed x7, AmmoBurning x5, BadPower x20, Overheating x207 (Overheating
correctly maps to NO lamp: the shipped table has no entry for it). The lamp
resolution is per-subsystem as designed -- different weapons flash their own
panel buttons (lamps 0xf/0x5/0xb/0x3 under distinct mode masks), 32 flash
writes across a whole battle, no thrash. Zero crashes, zero plane/OOB
tripwire hits across all three pods.
FILED, deliberately NOT fixed tonight (open-questions.md): vtable slot +0x40
is misattributed. The binary calls it `(this, 0)` in AutoConnect's outer gate
and `(this, candidateGenerator)` in the roster walk -- a one-arg voltage query
(HasVoltage(source)), not GetStatusFlags(). Modelling both as the no-arg
GetStatusFlags makes the outer gate demand "no flags" and the inner "some
flag" with nothing between them, so AutoConnect's loop body can never execute.
Pre-existing before and after this change; it is a live power-bus behaviour
change and deserves its own playtest cycle, not a release-eve patch.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The conviction was empirical, not theoretical: a new write-site trap
(BT_PLANE_AUDIT) in the seven L4VB16 drawing primitives logs any draw whose
color carries bits outside its port's plane mask -- the exact cross-display
corruption condition (Replace ORs an unmasked color; Or/Xor ignore the mask
entirely; And clears foreign planes). A quiet solo session produced 15-30
leaks per minute:
[plane] PORT 'sec' pixmap draw at(0,0) idx 217 entry=0xffffff00 mask=0x3f
[plane] LEAK DrawPixelMap8[table] at(639,0) color=0xffffff00 mask=0x3f leak=0xff00
THE DEFECT: L4GraphicsPort::translationTable[256] is never initialized in the
ctor, and BuildSecondaryTranslation fills only the entries its BitWrangler
reaches -- 2^numberOfBits: 64 for the sec plane (mask 0x3F), 4 for the overlay
(0xC0). Entries above that stay heap garbage. Every draw resolves color
through this table, and the PIXMAP path indexes it with raw pixel values
0..255: the 480x640 radar background carries pixel index 217, whose garbage
entry's high bits (0xFF00 = ALL EIGHT MFD planes) were stamped into the shared
640x480 buffer -- invisible on the culprit page (the in-plane bits happened
dark) and visible as bright fragments at the same coordinates on every OTHER
display. That is the operator's screenshot exactly: the same-position blips
on Mfd1+Mfd2 and the Heat-display block.
FIX (engine, both layers):
* zero translationTable in the L4GraphicsPort ctor (plane-neutral default);
* BuildSecondaryTranslation now cycles the in-plane pattern across entries
[2^bits..255] -- high-index art degrades to its (index mod 2^bits) colour
IN-PLANE and can never leak. The 1995 binary ships the SAME 64-entry fill
and survived on 6-bit art discipline; garbage is not a preservable
behaviour, so the cycle-fill is a guarded PORT deviation (documented).
A/B PROOF: same probe, 60s -- 0 leaks after the fix (15-30/min before).
sim3 3-pod regression: zero crashes.
SECOND real defect found + fixed en route: sessions configure the CAMERA seat
first ("cameraInit" -- which includes the MISSION-REVIEW context:
configure(0, sec, 0, 0x00FF, native, rgb, mrpal.pcc), a DirectColor context
whose translation tables legitimately hold full RGB565 values spanning all 16
plane bits), and the viewpoint swap to the mech re-configured WITHOUT tearing
that tree down (btl4app's s_gaugeTreeBuilt latch treats the mech build as the
first). The orphaned review gauges kept executing through stale DirectColor
ports. BTL4GaugeRenderer::ConfigureForModel now overrides (ConfigureForModel
made virtual in L4GREND.h) and tears the prior entity-bound tree down before
every rebuild -- safe on first build, and the review screen rebuilds the same
way when the seat returns to the camera.
Also logged (open-questions): the review-screen PlayerStatus panels read the
compiled player at RAW BINARY OFFSETS (+0x1FC vehicle / +0x1C8 score /
+0x1C4 alive-dead box) -- the databinding trap, dormant until the review
screen runs; bridge before enabling the review.
Ruled out along the way (with evidence): the pilot-list label/erase geometry
(erase box 128x32 covers the 64x16 name rasters), the radar name labels
(view-level ClipImage clips them), PlayerStatus in-game execution ([ps] probe:
never runs in-game), and the PNAME bitmap dimensions (egg generator emits
64x16 exactly).
Why it "started with the comms feature" (#43): that wave registered the new
gauge classes with the config interpreter, letting more of the authored page
furniture parse and draw than before -- the leaking high-index pixmaps rode in
with it. [T3 correlation detail; the leak + fix are T2 live-verified.]
Diagnostics kept (env-gated): BT_PLANE_AUDIT (the leak trap, now a permanent
regression tripwire), BT_PS_LOG, the port-level pixmap identity trap.
KB: gauges-hud.md (#48 section), decomp-reference.md (BT_PLANE_AUDIT),
open-questions.md (PlayerStatus databinding entry). checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The pod behaviour Cyd described -- "on a jam or bay fire the display eng button
for the system flashes" -- is authored data + a five-stage chain, now running:
MechTech::TechnicalAssistance (@004ad33c, per frame)
edge-scans every monitored subsystem's GetStatusFlags() 7-bit condition
mask (TechStatusType: Destroyed 0, Damaged 1, CoolantLeaking 2,
Overheating 3, AmmoBurning 4, Jammed 5, BadPower 6)
-> Start/StopEntityAlarmMessage (@00436688 id 7 size 0x20 / @004366b8 id 8
size 0x1C; broadcast @004364e4; port shape: direct
Start/StopEntityAlarmImplementation calls on the gauge renderer)
-> GaugeAlarmManager::Activate(alarmModel) -- alarmModel = MechTech+0x100 =
the 'mechalrm' ModelList (id 83) -> SearchList(83, type 31) -> the baked
GaugeAlarmStream (id 331, 11 items {condition, lampCode}), decoded:
Destroyed -> gotoEngineering + engCooling + engBusMode
CoolantLeaking -> gotoEngineering + engCooling
AmmoBurning -> gotoEngineering + engEject
Jammed -> gotoEngineering + engEject
BadPower -> gotoEngineering + engBusMode
-> BTL4GaugeAlarmManager::ReadGaugeAlarmStreamItem -- THE REAL BODY, from
@004cc2fc + helpers @004cc108/148/1a0/264/27c + tables @0051cf1c..0x51d084
(gotoEngineering 0x80 = the subsystem's QUAD-SELECT bezel button via
lamp[aux]/mode[aux] tables; 0x81+ descend the eng-page bank; Condenser /
Generator specials on CoolantLeaking; <0x80 = the heat-bank fixed map).
btl4galm.cpp's old bodies were admitted fabrications and its provenance
note ("no override body exists in the image") was wrong -- corrected.
-> LampManager::FindLamp (@00444c80) -> Lamp::SetAlertState (@00444e64, a
COUNTER so stacked alarms hold the flash) -> L4Lamp::NotifyOfStateChange
emits RIO flashFast states 0x37/0x13 (== T0 L4LAMP.cpp:234-239) -> the
pod's physical lamps AND the glass panels (PadRIO IS rioPointer there).
FOUR load-bearing defects found and fixed en route -- each independently fatal
to the feature:
1. HeatableSubsystem's Derivation chained Subsystem directly, SKIPPING
MechSubsystem (written before the WAVE-1 re-basing) -- so EVERY subsystem
on both family branches failed IsDerivedFrom(MechSubsystem), which is
exactly MechTech's monitor filter: the status scan watched NOTHING.
2. MechSubsystem::GetStatusFlags was non-virtual (binary: vtable slot 12) --
the scan's MechSubsystem* call bound statically to the base tier and the
weapon bits could never surface.
3. ProjectileWeapon::GetStatusFlags sat in a Ghidra export gap -- raw-disasm
@004bbf88: base | 0x20 (weaponAlarm==5 Jammed) | 0x10 (linked bin
cookOffArmed@0x18C AmmoBurning). The port had "defer to base".
4. Mech::Reset's respawn sweep blanket-cast every roster entry to
MechSubsystem and called RespawnRepair -- wrong for the Subsystem-level
entries (MechTech 0xBDC, SubsystemMessageManager 0xBD3). On MechTech the
recon damageZone slot lands on its subsystemMonitors chain head: NULL
while the scan was broken (fix#1's bug MASKED this one), but the moment
the monitors populated, RespawnRepair virtual-called through a
SubsystemMonitor as if it were a DamageZone -> load-time crash in
StateIndicator::SetState (caught with cdb; call [edx+14h] on code bytes).
The sweep now filters IsDerivedFrom(MechSubsystem) before the cast.
Also: GUID identities pinned -- 0x50f4bc = PoweredSubsystem::ClassDerivations
(via @004b1208 = its TestInstance; btl4gau2's two "Generator" comments were
wrong, swept), 0x50fb60 = Generator's. A shadow-field instance documented for
the deferred de-shadow: MechSubsystem::damageZone re-declares the PUBLIC engine
Subsystem::damageZone (SUBSYSTM.h:159) -- mechtech's naive `sub->damageZone`
read the never-written engine member (0 monitors again); now reads the recon
member via GetDamageZoneProxy(). Logged in open-questions.
Wiring: BTL4GaugeRenderer now constructs + assigns the BTL4GaugeAlarmManager
(the base ctor NULLs it and Activate Check()s it); MechTech's Report*/
StatusMessageSink stubs are real; alarmModel confirmed baked (= 83) at runtime.
VERIFIED LIVE (scratchpad/lampflash.py, BT_LAMP_LOG chain trace):
[techstat] MechTech id 32 monitors 29 subsystems, alarmModel 83
[techstat] LRM15_1 condition 4 SET (alarmModel 83) <- bay fire armed
[galarm] condition 4 code 0x80 -> lamp 0xd mode 0x1 FLASH
[lamp] 0xd <- 0x37 (FLASHING) <- the select button
[galarm] condition 4 code 0x85 -> lamp 0xb mode 0x4 FLASH <- engEject
[techstat] LRM15_1 condition 4 CLEARED <- detonation clears
[techstat] AmmoBinLRM15_1 condition 0 SET <- bin Destroyed
Regressions: baytest PASS (bay fire kills), baypurge PASS (purge extinguishes),
sim3 3-pod brawl PASS with ZERO crashes (6 kills, organic heat-route bay fires,
respawns clean through the new sweep filter).
Env: BT_LAMP_LOG ([techstat]/[galarm]/[lamp]). KB: gauges-hud (the flash
section), decomp-reference (the GaugeAlarm closure + tables + GUIDs),
open-questions (built-note + the de-shadow deferred item), btl4gau2 comment
sweep. checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Field report (night 3): "two ammo bay fires and no death" (Cyd + RajelAran; one
purged, one left burning). Root cause = THREE independent kill-switches stacked
on the same path, all in ammobin.cpp:
1. `GameClock::Now() { return 0; }` -- `cookOffTime < Now()` was `0 < 0`, so
an ARMED bay fire never detonated.
2. `InjectHeat(void*) {}` -- the detonation body was a no-op.
3. The bin's Damage record was never stamped -- 0 damage of type 0 (which the
mech TakeDamage handler drops) even if 1+2 had fired.
THE FUSE (raw disasm, scratchpad/disammo.py): the old "RandomDelay" was a Ghidra
carve artifact -- FUN_004dcd94 is __ftol and the export DROPPED the caller's x87
expression. The real bytes @004bd450: fld 10.0 / fmul [ticksPerSecond] /
fadd 0.5 / __ftol -- a FIXED 10.0-SECOND fuse in clock ticks. New gotcha #19
(reconstruction-gotchas.md) documents the __ftol export blind spot.
THE DAMAGE RECORD: bin+0x1F0..0x21C is a real engine `Damage` (FUN_0041db7c IS
Damage::Damage(), byte-matched to T0 DAMAGE.cpp). The linked ProjectileWeapon's
ctor @004bc3fc stamps it from weapon->damageData @0x3A8 via
owner->roster[0x128][res+0x1C0] -- projweap.cpp's old comment called this "the
bin's HUD display block ... wired in the AmmoBin family"; both halves were wrong
and it was wired nowhere. Now stamped (before MissileLauncher's ctor divides by
missileCount -- a missile bin authentically holds the per-SALVO amount).
THE DETONATION (@004ac274 = MechSubsystem::DistributeCriticalHit -- the old
"HeatableSubsystem::InjectHeat" label was wrong, and the old reconstruction
iterated a stand-in CriticalChain whose First()/Next() returned 0):
statusAlarm pulse Exploding(2)->Destroyed(1) (slot 13 = the printSimulationState
state PRINT @004ac8c0, not an "explosion notify"), own private zone pinned
destroyed, then collect the mech DamageZones whose crit entries plug the bin
(the binary filters plug classID 0x4E = DamageZoneClassID -- VDATA.h idx 78,
cross-checked via idx 28 = AudioStateTrigger), split the amount evenly, and send
the OWNER one full Entity::TakeDamageMessage per zone: inflictingEntity = SELF,
damageZone = the zone index, inflictingSubsystemID = the bin (the message-
manager explosion-bundling key, ENTITY3.h's own NOTE), printing the binary's
exact "ammo explosion damaging <zoneName>" @0050df61.
Port shape: Mech::AmmoExplosionFanOut (mechdmg.cpp) behind a databinding bridge;
guarded deviation: zoneCount==0 warns instead of the binary's unguarded divide.
CriticalChain/CriticalEntry stand-ins DELETED from mechrecon.hpp.
VERIFIED LIVE (BT_BAYTEST hook = message 1, the crit-induced arm channel):
scratchpad/baytest.py : arm -> 10s -> "20 rounds x 35 = 700 (type 2)" ->
"ammo explosion damaging dz_ltorso" -> zone cascade -> mech DESTROYED
(authentic death list).
scratchpad/baypurge.py: arm -> eject-hold purge -> "bay fire EXTINGUISHED
(bin empty)", no detonation.
scratchpad/sim3.py : the HEAT route arms organically in combat (overheated
AFC100), detonates "11 x 25 = 275 (type 1)" split across dz_larm + dz_lgun.
BAYBOOM matchlog record added for MP field forensics.
FIX-OF-THE-FIX (caught by the sim3 regression, would have shipped a crash):
MechSubsystem's ReconDamageZone proxy puts structureLevel at OFFSET 0 -- which
ALIASES THE REAL DamageZone's VTABLE POINTER (the private zone is `new
DamageZone`, mechsub.cpp:154; mechsub.hpp:260 documents the alias). My first
DistributeCriticalHit kept the old body's `damageZone->structureLevel = 1.0f`
and OVERWROTE THE ZONE'S VPTR with 0x3F800000; the respawn sweep's virtual
SetGraphicState (vtable+0xC) then called through it -> AV at 0x3f80000c in
RespawnRepair, one frame after a bay-fire death. ALL EIGHT proxy-view sites in
mechsub.cpp swept to the engine view (((DamageZone*)damageZone)->damageLevel
@0x158) -- including two silently-wrong LIVE readers: GetStatusFlags (vptr as
float -> always "intact") and ApplyDamageAndMeasure (the crit cascade's
measure). Ruled out first by evidence: the weapon->bin stamps were all clean
(six stamps, all classID 0xbcb, logged).
#47 (half 1 -- the FIRE ICON): BallisticWeaponCluster::Execute @004c9a38 reads
bin+0x18C = cookOffArmed into the btefire.pcc TwoState, and while armed computes
(Now - cookOffTime)/ticksPerSecond -- the COOK-OFF COUNTDOWN -- into the numeric
beside it. The old reconstruction misread 0x18C as "the reload state" and
bridged the icon to BTAmmoBinFeeding, so it blinked on every feed and never lit
on a bay fire (RajelAran: "it doesn't"). Now driven by the
BTAmmoBinCookOffArmed/CookOffTime complete-type bridges. [T2 -- the data path
is rig-verified; the pixels await the next live session.]
#47 (half 2 -- the ENG-BUTTON FLASH): fully mapped, deliberately NOT built this
session. The authored data SHIPS (BTL4.RES carries exactly one type-31
GaugeAlarmStream); the chain is alarm SetLevel -> gauge-watcher socket ->
Renderer msg 7 -> GaugeAlarmManager::Activate @00448d00 (T0) -> the BTL4
override @004cc148..@004cc2fc (btl4galm.cpp's provenance note claiming "no
override body exists" is WRONG -- corrected in-file) -> LampManager::FindLamp
@00444c80 -> Lamp::SetAlertState @00444e64 (flash counter) -> the L4 flush
@00474e94 emitting flashFast states 0x37/0x13 (== T0 L4LAMP.cpp:234-239).
Missing: the override bodies, the gauge-watcher sender, the aux-button lamps.
3-piece plan in context/open-questions.md.
Also logged: HandleMessage is vtable slot 8/9 in the binary but NON-virtual
across 10 reconstruction classes (bit the BT_BAYTEST hook; typed call used, gap
documented in open-questions).
KB: combat-damage.md (the full cook-off section), decomp-reference.md (the
cluster addresses + the GaugeAlarm/lamp map + BT_BAYTEST env), gauges-hud.md
(the fire-icon correction), reconstruction-gotchas.md #19 (__ftol),
open-questions.md (2 entries), btl4galm.cpp provenance correction.
checkctx CLEAN. 40 LNK2019 unchanged (the two pre-existing families).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Both classes' Receiver::MessageHandlerSet were default-constructed blackholes
(input-path audit systemic cause #1): entryCount 0, no parent chain, Find()
returns NullHandler for every id, Receive drops silently. The new unhandled-
message trace printed it on the first press:
[btntest] PRESS 0x14 at poll 400
[msg] UNHANDLED: Searchlight has no handler for message id 3
Each class now has a GetMessageHandlers() function-local static chained to
PowerWatcher's (which name-resolves through HeatWatcher/MechSubsystem to
Receiver's empty ROOT set, so id 3 does NOT collide with HeatSink's
ToggleCooling), plus a correctly-typed forwarder -- Receiver::Handler is
void(const Message*) while the decomp shape is Logical(Message&), so a cast
would be UB that merely happens to work on x86 __thiscall. DefaultData
re-pointed off the dead empty sets. MessageArg now reads the NAMED
ReceiverDataMessageOf<int>::dataContents with a static_assert locking it to the
binary's message+0xC (was a raw offset read -- databinding rule).
ROOT CAUSE of a long-standing misattribution: @004b860c is **ThermalSight's**
ToggleLamp (table @0x51120C), NOT Searchlight's. The two TUs emit parallel
shared-data blocks with identical stride (msg entry, +0x5C attrs, +0x84
Performance triple); what pins each entry to its TU is that "ToggleLamp" is NOT
pooled across them -- two copies exist, each emitted immediately before its own
class-name string ("Searchlight"@0x51144B, "ThermalSight"@0x511475).
[T1: reference/decomp/section_dump.txt:69661-69711]
Searchlight's own handler is @004b838c, which sits in a Ghidra EXPORT GAP (#60).
RECOVERED by raw disassembly of content/BTL4OPT.EXE (scratchpad/dis838c.py, the
EjectAmmo technique) -- and it corrected two things I had inferred wrong:
* NO ControlsAllowLights/+0x25C novice gate. Searchlight tests the press
alone; that lock is ThermalSight-only. A NOVICE pilot CAN work the lamp.
* `or word ptr [this+0x18],1` sits AT the jle target -> the graphics-dirty bit
(updateModel == ForceUpdate(), per #59) is raised UNCONDITIONALLY.
Consequence: the "ORIGINAL 1995 LATENT BUG -- the searchlight can never light"
claim is RETRACTED. It compared Searchlight's Performance (@004b841c, reads
requestedOn@0x1E0) against ThermalSight's toggle (0x1DC) -- two different
classes -- and so invented a missing 0x1DC->0x1E0 bridge. Every sibling toggles
the field its own Performance reads. The searchlight DID light in the arcade,
the searchlight->fog swap was NOT inert there, and building PullFogRenderable is
FAITHFUL rather than a designer-intent deviation (the 2026-07-13 "left as-is"
decision is void; the sim needs no repair).
Verified live, real click seam (BT_BTNTEST):
0x14 -> [light] requested ON -> reported lightState 0 -> 1 (lamp lights)
0x12 -> [light] thermal sight requested ON -> thermalActive 0 -> 1
UNHANDLED lines for both classes gone; 40 LNK2019 unchanged (the pre-existing
CreateStreamedSubsystem + Entity__SharedData::DefaultData families only).
Swept the misattribution out of searchlight.cpp/.hpp, thermalsight.cpp/.hpp,
hud.cpp:282 (it had claimed @00511180/@004b838c as HUD's), btplayer.cpp's +0x25C
consumer list, context/{decomp-reference,subsystems,rendering,open-questions,
pod-hardware,experience-levels}.md, docs/{GLASS_COCKPIT,INPUT_PATH_AUDIT}.md.
checkctx.py CLEAN.
Still open (documented, not fixed): ThermalSight has no visible IR effect
(ToggleGlobalThermalVision is a marked no-op, pvision unported, IsLocallyViewed
returns False); ThermalSight publishes "LightState"->0x1D8 where the binary has
"LightOn"->0x1D8 and "LightState"->0x1E0; Searchlight's commandedOn@0x1DC has no
identified role and measured 21 live, hinting our SubsystemResource +0x28 differs
from the binary's.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Reconstructed the last deferred piece of the 1995 reticle, decoded from the
Execute disassembly @004cdcf0 [T1]:
- selection: target_mech+0x190 (owning BTPlayer) -> player+0x1e0
(playerBitmapIndex), 1-based into the mesh table at this+0x2e8
- placement: re-placed every frame the aim moves -- scale 0.12 uniform,
translate (K*retPos.x, K*retPos.y - 0.08, -1.0), K = 1/2.8 (the x87 long
double @0x4cee64) -- so the label TRACKS THE AIM POINT, not screen centre
- visibility: the LOCK attribute (this+0x184, cached +0x188) AND an owning
player; reticle-off / simple-X also hide it
- art: the plate quad UV-addresses a shared 128x64 bitslice texmap whose
texels the pod OVERWROTE each mission with the egg's callsign rasters
(original source commented out at L4VIDEO.cpp:5682-5710) -- the baked
'PLAYER n' art in BMAP.BSL is only the shipped fallback. Material colour
is a neutral (0.5,0.5,0.5): grey-white, not phosphor green.
Port: same geometry in reticle units (0.224 below the aim point, 0.336x0.084)
drawn as the target's egg callsign texture through the reticle's own MapX/MapY
mapping, so it follows the world view in every layout and BT_SHOT captures it.
New: dpl2d_DrawTexturedRect, BTReticleTargetPlate, BTGetPlayerNameTexture.
Also: kRetCaret corrected 0.02f -> 0.025f (_DAT_004cd7f4 read from the binary;
the old value was a T3 guess, 20% small).
KB: gauges-hud + open-questions corrected (the chain was filed as deferred and
mis-attributed to 'the 3D marker'); TWO PNAME consumers now distinguished (this
plate, and CameraShipHUDRenderable's ranking window which shipped 2026-07-18);
new bgf-format section on the plate atlas.
Rig-verified: 2-node relay, BT_GOTO=enemy -> '[hud] name plate: bmp=2 tex=1'
and 'Boreas' rendered under the crosshair on the locked target. Solo clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0166KTsC7ADm7VXEi1HF1jNg
The 1995 engine tolerates late HOST attach but never finished late ENTITY
sync (NotifyOfReplacementEntityCreation = Fail stub, makes broadcast-once).
Routes to docs/REVOLVING_DOOR_PLAN.md.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0166KTsC7ADm7VXEi1HF1jNg
Old-timer testimony (tap = eject one round, hold = eject the bay, eject
clears a jam) checked against the binary: raw disasm of the export-gap
handler @004bb9b8 confirms it byte-for-byte. PRESS arms the ~3s
UpdateEject countdown (hold-to-completion = DumpAmmo whole bay ->
NoAmmo); RELEASE before completion (TAP) ejects ONE round (@004bd4f4)
and, with ammo remaining, sets weaponAlarm 3 + restarts the reload --
the weapon returns to service. A tap even recovers a FailureHeat
level-7 launcher while rounds remain (empty-bin gate 2 re-pins 7 only
when the bay is dry).
The earlier 'jams are mission-permanent / no unjam exists' claim read
only the HOLD path -- corrected + swept: projweap.cpp case-5/jam-log/
CheckForJam comments, players/README.txt, decomp-reference.md
(message-tables entry), open-questions.md (state-7 recovery note).
Gitea #31 updated; wiring the handler now restores the pod's actual
jam-recovery mechanic.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The weapon panel's btjoy trigger-config display (ConfigMapGauge) never rendered
because the reconstruction labelled @004c6ee0 as "SetColor(int)" and, finding no
caller, concluded the gauge was authentically dormant (task #6), gating it
behind a BT_CONFIGMAP dev env.
The user challenged this (the PROGRAM/TRIGGER CONFIG button implies the display
visualizes your config). Re-verification found the old analysis failed twice:
the "no caller" search looked for direct calls to a VIRTUAL, and its slot math
used the wrong vtable copy. The real ConfigMapGauge vtable @0051a1b8, matched
against the T0 GaugeBase virtual roster (GAUGE.h), pins @004c6ee0 at slot 9
(+0x24) == GaugeBase::LinkToEntity, and @0x94 is the linkedEntity -- the
Execute gate is "not yet linked", not "disabled". The engine broadcasts
LinkToEntity(viewpointEntity) to every gauge at viewpoint bind (APP.cpp:1277 ->
GaugeRenderer::LinkToEntity GAUGREND.cpp:3011), arming the gate -- the joystick
DOES render in the shipped game, showing per-trigger mapping state (solid =
mapped, matching the DOSBox reference).
Port fix: SetColor(int color) -> LinkToEntity(Entity*), color -> linkedEntity,
BT_CONFIGMAP dev enable deleted (the authentic path lights it). Render-verified
with no env override: the joystick + mapped-trigger lamp draw on weapon panels.
KB swept per the correction mandate: gauges-hud.md, decomp-reference.md,
open-questions.md, GAUGE_COMPOSITE.md, VEHICLE_SUBSYSTEMS.md.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Playtest: "lost missiles mid-fight, no pips, sad noise -- out of ammo?" The default
build didn't trace ammo, so it couldn't be answered from the log. Added a [ammo]
trace (env BT_AMMO_LOG) at the four ProjectileWeaponSimulation decision points --
FIRED+rounds-left, gate1/gate2 dry-transition edge, dry-fire blip, and denial -- plus
a public AmmoBin::GetAmmoCount() const getter.
Reproduced the actual cause: NOT ammo depletion. The SRM6 trips gate 1 FailureHeat
(heatLvl=2) after ~5 volleys and latches into the permanent NoAmmo roach-motel with
19 rounds still in the bin:
[ammo] SRM6_2 FIRED, rounds left=19
[ammo] SRM6_2 -> NoAmmo (gate1): destroyed=0 failHeat=1 heatLvl=2 mechDisabled=0
Logged as the concrete instance of the heat-economy open question (open-questions.md).
Trace-only; no behavior change (all output gated on BT_AMMO_LOG).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
BTPlayer's master ctor now seeds the flag block from
btMission->ExperienceLevel() + AdvancedDamageOn() (accessors from the
SURVIVED 1995 BTMSSN.HPP [T0]) instead of the NULL-stubbed scenario
role -- the egg experience knob works for the first time. Both switch
slot errors fixed vs the binary @4c0bc8; phantom btMission duplicate
member removed (+0x1f8 IS Player::playerMission).
SEVEN gate stubs unified onto the real flags (two found empirically):
HeatModelActive, OwnerAdvancedDamage, LiveFireEnabled,
ControlsAllowLights, powersub @4b0efc, emitter's file-local FUN_004ad7d4
+ FUN_004ac9c8 stubs. FUN_004ac9c8 family swept (incl. a live raw-offset
databinding trap in MechSubsystem::IsDamaged). Flag block renamed to its
true semantics (simLive/heatModelOn/...), scoring-era names kept as
comments. Includes the #5 [aud-tail] diag in emitter.cpp.
ALL 19 shipped eggs say experience=expert -> default behavior UNCHANGED
(per-tier verified: novice/standard = no heat/jams, authentic; veteran/
expert = today's exact behavior). Real delta: egg advancedDamage=1 now
reaches player+0x264/0x268 (was hardwired 0). Follow-up flagged: the
glass FE defaults empty experience to veteran (one tier below shipped).
Awaiting human verification.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The pre-launch host drop/rejoin re-stream re-creates every mech at mission
launch; the LOBBY-built gauge tree kept attribute pointers into the freed
first-stream mechs, every widget Execute AV'd, and the BT_DEV_GAUGES SEH
guard (Gauge::GuardedExecute, GAUGE.cpp:618) disabled each one PERMANENTLY
(rate=0, no rebind) -- the frozen dev-gauges window of incident #12. The
authentic engine flow only tears the tree down at mission transitions
(Application::Shutdown -> gaugeRenderer->Shutdown() -> ShutdownImplementation
-> Remove(0), APP.cpp:787 / GAUGREND.cpp:3264); the re-stream bypassed it.
Fix: BTL4GaugeRenderer::TearDownForViewpointRestream() performs the
ENTITY-BOUND half of that same ShutdownImplementation sequence, in order
(gaugeAlarmManager->RemoveAllAlarms() -> Remove(0) -> moving/static entity
grid Clear), keeping the mission-scoped state (warehouse, graphics ports,
interpreter, controls-owned L4Lamps -- RemoveAllLamps would delete them
behind the buttonGroup's &lamp->automaticValue registrations). Called from
BTL4Application::MakeViewpointEntity before ConfigureForModel("Init") on any
viewpoint RE-make -- that handler runs once per stream (the incident log's
[ctrlmap] installing x2) -- so the tree rebuilds bound to the NEW mech via
the renderer's existing lazy build. Sentinel: "[gauge] viewpoint re-stream:
tearing the gauge tree down for rebuild".
Verified with the 2-instance relay harness (port 15600, MP_RELAY.EGG,
the incident sequence): join A (dev gauges) + B, kill B by exact PID at
WAITING FOR OPERATOR LAUNCH, rejoin B, operator launch. Pod A re-streamed
(2x ctrlmap install, 4x zonebuild), logged the sentinel, and post-launch the
docked composite is fully live (mission clock/heading/radar advancing between
BT_SHOT frames) with ZERO [gauge-fault] DISABLED lines (the incident had 11).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- manifest410.py: monotone-DP TU labeling (data-cluster affinity + CLASSMAP
seeds + recon @addr soft votes) replaces naive fill; BT region = 917 fn /
~230 KB, extents match every independently-known TU boundary.
- source-completeness: ROUTE A CLOSED (Nick holds no further assets);
toolchain = BC++ 4.52 PROVEN by CW32.LIB byte-match, archived at
TeslaRel410/BORLAND; OPT.MAK = the shipped binary's exact recipe; extender
corrected to Borland PowerPack DPMI32 (was "Phar Lap TNT"); "all BT headers
survive" corrected (17/36 bt-side; mech.hpp etc. reconstruction-only);
engine gaps enumerated (vdata.hpp first, back-dated from BT412).
- phases/phase-03: rounds 1-3 of the source410 campaign - 6/10 surviving
originals compile clean under BC4.52; console wire IDs recovered from the
binary ctors (Killed=9 Damaged=10 ScoreUpdate=13 DWH=15 [T1], TeamScore
guessed 12 [T4] - answers the TeslaSuite console-port spec's open item);
round-3 finding: MECH.HPP is the capstone grown with the mech TU
reconstructions, BTREG.CPP green = the header-family milestone.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Brings Cyd's experience-level / simulation-mode research onto master (the
KB-decode portion of glass-cockpit 4e01e83; the bundled BT410 source
manifest is left for the full glass-cockpit merge).
- context/experience-levels.md (NEW): the egg per-pilot 'experience' field
(novice/standard/veteran/expert) is the pod's SIMULATION-FIDELITY tier,
decoded end-to-end. FUN_004c0bc8 reads btMission->experienceLevel(+0xe4)
and fans it into the +0x25c/+0x260/+0x26c/+0x270/+0x274 flag block:
+0x25c 'sim live' (novice lockout: jams/searchlight/powersub), +0x260 the
HEAT-MODEL master switch (veteran+expert; FUN_004ad7d4), +0x274 raw level
(FUN_004ac9c8 = ==0 novice predicate; the valve/advanced-cockpit lockout).
4.0->4.10 drift: the viewscreen hunting-aid gate is GONE in 4.10 (HUD reads
none of these flags), and movement heat is veteran+expert not expert-only.
- btplayer.cpp/.hpp: CORRECTED comments/labels -- the +0x25c..+0x274 block is
seeded from btMission experienceLevel/advancedDamageOn, NOT the scenario
role's returnFromDeath; the 'roleClassIndex/showKills' names are scoring-era
mislabels. Code logic UNCHANGED (comment-only): the ctor still reads
scenarioRole (STAND-IN, defaults 2 = veteran) pending the wiring task.
- Corrections swept into gauges-hud.md (ROOKIE->novice lockout),
open-questions.md (player+0x260/0x274 semantics now PINNED),
pod-hardware.md, subsystems.md, decomp-reference.md; CLAUDE.md router row.
No code-logic change -> no rebuild needed (comment + markdown only). The
runtime wiring (seed from BTMission::ExperienceLevel()) remains TODO.
Co-Authored-By: Cyd <cyd@falloutshelterarcade.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The egg's per-pilot 'experience' (novice/standard/veteran/expert) is the
pod's simulation-fidelity tier -- stored at BTMission+0xe4 and seeded into
the BTPlayer ctor's flag block @4c0bc8 [T1]. The old 'per-role display
toggles / returnFromDeath' reading was WRONG: the source is
mission->experienceLevel, and the neighboring pair copies
mission->advancedDamageOn (the egg's technician splash/collision switch),
not role floats. Known consumers: 0x260 = the HEAT-MODEL master switch
(FUN_004ad7d4), 0x25c = the novice sim-lockout (jams/searchlight/powersub),
0x274 = the raw level (FUN_004ac9c8 ==0 novice predicate).
NEW established topic context/experience-levels.md (data path, binary flag
rows per level, manual cross-refs, corrections log) + router row; sweeps in
decomp-reference/gauges-hud/open-questions/pod-hardware/subsystems.
btplayer.cpp/.hpp re-annotated with the corrected semantics; the guarded
role-based seeding stays as a marked [T3] stand-in (slot drift vs the
binary switch documented inline) until the wiring task points it at
BTMission::ExperienceLevel().
(Research by the parallel context session; committed from the glass line.)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The stubbed dpl-instance ranking display is reborn as screen-space
quads in CameraShipHUDRenderable::Render:
- followed-player callsign banner (bottom center; the old direct
index was correct -- Execute already converts to the 0-based
texture slot)
- the RANKING WINDOW: one row per scoring player, [ordinal][callsign]
in rank order right of center; visibility = the Director's
authentic flash logic (10s on / 15s off, solid final 30s); rows
follow LIVE playerRank pointers so they re-sort as scores change
- discovery: each 128x32 ordinal bitmap packs TWO ordinals side by
side ('1st|2nd', '3rd|4th' -- why 4 bitmaps serve 8 players);
draw = texture rank/2 with a u-half selected by rank parity
- alpha-blended A4R4G4B4 white-on-transparent textures x green
diffuse = the authentic green look
BT_SHOT moved AFTER the 2D pass -- it captured the backbuffer pre-HUD,
so overlays were on screen but invisible to screenshots (cost one
false debugging round). GetOrdinalTexture accessor added.
Screenshot-verified: '1st MAVERICK' standings + MAVERICK banner over
live auto-directed coverage; 2-node mech smoke PASS (un-regressed;
the new render path only executes when a CameraDirector HUD exists).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The spectator/broadcast seat works end-to-end: a hostType=1 +
vehicle=camera pilot page boots a CameraShip whose 62-camera arena1
network loads from the BTL4.RES type-27 resource (the engine's
CreateStreamedCameraInstances existed all along -- the file probe falls
back to it), the BTCameraDirector locks onto the first live mech, and
the ship TRACKS it (sees=1, goal advancing) and CUTS between authored
camera positions (screenshot-verified: wide arena shot -> close
tracking shot).
The missing piece was the Mech override of PlayerLinkMessageHandler
(@0049f624), which the reconstruction never filled. The engine base
resolves mech->player; BT's override adds:
1. the REVERSE link player->playerVehicle = this on EVERY node
(replicants included) -- how the camera director and scoreboard
find a REMOTE player's mech; without it a spectator parks forever
('NO goal entity')
2. clears NonScoringPlayerFlag (0x4000 = bit 14): a pilot with a
vehicle is a SCORING player -- this admits REPLICATED players to
the ranking pass, so cross-node rank/score displays work
3. master only: seeds the heat bank's ambientTemperature (bank
@0x1d4) from the mission [mission] temperature= (BTMission+0xf4)
-- correcting the heat family's 'frozen 300' deviation note (it
was never frozen; THIS is the writer)
Bridge BTSetBankAmbientTemperature lives in heatfamily_reslice.cpp
(mech.cpp cannot include subsystem headers -- local-stub collision).
BT_CAM_LOG diagnostics: camera-network count, director pick + Players
group census, ship follow state, link dispatch/receive.
Verified live: 2-seat (mech + camera) relay session -- replicated
player shows +veh, director goal locked w/ 30s timer, ship tracking a
moving mech through camera cuts; standard 2-node mech smoke PASS
(un-regressed). Lesson re-learned: a 'clean' build filtered on 'error
C' missed a linker file-lock failure -- one whole test cycle ran
against a stale exe (the /FORCE gotcha's cousin; grep -i error, not
error C).
Remaining (task open): ranking-window overlay draw (L4VIDRND stubs),
operator-app camera-seat row, shot polish.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The 'cameras\ directory missing, ask Nick' entry (a03b16f, same day)
was WRONG: the file path is only the DEV OVERRIDE (the RP-style loose
.CAM files -- present for RP in the nick-games 410SRC archive, which
prompted the re-check). The shipped binary falls back to a BTL4.RES
resource TYPE 27 (0x1b) named after the map (FUN_0042be3c probe ->
FUN_0042c078 res loader; per-cam binary records, parsers @0042ad54/
@0042b9f8) -- and our res has ALL 8 maps' networks (arena1 = 62
cameras; cavern/dbase/grass ~57KB each). First arena1 record parses
clean (pos+quat, type 2).
The spectator/broadcast seat needs no external data: remaining work is
the type-27 loader in the WinTesla CAMMGR (file flavor only today),
the stubbed ranking-window draw, and a camera-vehicle boot test.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The CameraShip spectator system is engine-complete (CameraDirector
auto-follows the score leader, CAMSHIP cuts between fixed map camera
positions like TV coverage, ranking window flashes 10s/15s + final
30s), but the per-map cameras\<mapname> notation files are absent from
the archive -- added to the get-from-Nick list with the reconstruction
alternatives (author our own / chase-cam fallback) and the two code
gaps (stubbed ranking-window draw, camera vehicle never boot-tested).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Mech::resourceNameA/B/C -> real CString members (the binary's 16-byte
CStringRepresentation; deep-copy bind from the MakeMessage = FUN_00402a98,
implicit member dtors) + paint-name accessors
- SetupMaterialSubstitutionList reads the real egg names ([paint] log);
TearDown clears the callback first (FUN_004d11e8)
- dpl_SetMaterialNameCallback is real now (L4VIDEO registry); bgfload
MaterialResolver::resolve() applies it to every material name -- the
port analogue of the dpl board rewriting names at load
- MP_BHMC.EGG: color=Red -> Crimson (vehicletable has no Red; binary Fail()ed)
Verified live 2-node MP: crimson MadCat with hip hazard stripes + yellow VGL
leg emblems; white Blackhawk + emblems; replicants painted on both nodes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
What's carried + plausibly functional vs what will need real work on modern
hardware: RIO serial chain / RGB-splitter channel packing / multi-output
selection / plasma driver all EXIST but are pod-untested; expected work =
multi-head D3D9 fullscreen modernization, the folded-away rear sound card
(4-speaker split), RIO protocol timing, and the undocumented pod bring-up.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
- decomp-reference.md: the binary ATTRIBUTE-TABLE section -- 16-byte
{id,name,off+1,0} row format (alignment warning), the walker technique,
and the three recovered tables (Mech ids 21-56 incl the corrected
EyepointRotation@0x360 / RearFiring@0x410 / DistanceToMissile@0x400
labels; HeatSink 3-12; Torso 3-15; the weapon RearFiring 'b' marker).
- combat-damage.md: the REAR-FIRE + look-view system (roster survey: the
Blackhawk's ERMLaser_2/3 are the game's only rear weapons; every missile
rack forward), the missile mount-frame launch truth, and the BANKED
full Missile flight-model decode (three performances, proximity fuse).
- wintesla-port.md: post-Phase-4 closures (instability model live, F14
static filter baked, the footstep warm-up bug + its trace-cap lesson);
deferred list trimmed to F21/HRTF.
- AUDIO_FIDELITY.md: status block -- F14 FIXED, warm-up bug noted.
- open-questions.md: "which mechs used rear fire" answered from data;
remaining look-view key bindings noted.
checkctx: CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Byte-decoded finding [T1]: the gait SM has no stable state for a demand in
(walkStrideLength@0x534, reverseSpeedMax@0x538). Cap semantics settled from
LoadLocomotionClips @0x4a80d4: 0x538 is the walk->run TRANSITION CLIP's exit
speed (the run ENGAGE threshold -- not a reverse max) and 0x34c (run-cycle avg
root speed) is the mapper's continuous demand multiplier (FUN_004afd10). The
finished-callbacks up-shift when tgt > 0x534 but enter/sustain run only when
tgt >= 0x538, so a demand parked between them (Blackhawk: 22.02-30.87 =
throttle 36-50%) hunts walk -> shift-up -> shift-down forever, firing the
authored EngineShiftFwd/Rev sounds each swing -- the user's repro, faithfully
reproduced by all-authentic logic + data. Likely masked on the pod by
MECHANICAL throttle-quadrant detents ("5 speeds" lore; the software path is
notch-free) [T4] -- added to get-from-Nick.
Accommodation (keyboard = our stand-in lever): at key REST, snap the lever to
the nearer dead-band edge (walk cap, or run engage + margin since the cont
check is >=). Sweeping THROUGH the band while held stays continuous -- an
authentic moving lever; the single shift it fires is the authentic shift.
BT_GAIT_TRACE logs [gaitdetent] snaps.
KB: locomotion.md gait-dead-band section, pod-hardware.md mechanical-notch
hypothesis, open-questions.md Nick item.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Went after the flagged ~2.9u peer-motion snap. Added a BT_SNAPLOG diagnostic
(mech4.cpp: logs the re-anchor drift eMag = |authority - dead-reckon| absorbed per
frame) and ran a controlled accel/decel soak: node B BT_AUTODRIVE + BT_DRIVE_SWEEP0
sweeping the throttle through STOP, node A observing, affinity-pinned.
Result: peer drift maxes at ~0.64u (median 0.54u, 18 events >0.5u over 48s), gently
absorbed at k~0.24/frame -- SUB-UNIT, at the noise floor. The ~2.9u figure was stale:
it predated the peer body-channel swap (96a896a, which put the peer on the same
channel the master's mirror predicts) AND was measured without the CPU-affinity fix
(packet-jitter-sparse records inflate the drift). The old "run the master mirror on a
leg-channel prediction" plan is moot now the peer is on the body channel.
No motion-code change -- just the measurement + the BT_SNAPLOG diagnostic (retained).
KB (multiplayer.md, open-questions.md) corrected to the measured value. checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Investigated the "console death froze peer replication" open question (2026-07-14)
with a direct 2-node repro (BT_REPL_LOG on a circling peer, affinity-pinned):
- Clean relay kill -> replicant kept circling smoothly through the kill, NO
disconnect logged, node survived. Replication did NOT freeze.
- Deliberately STUCK console (scratchpad/btconsole_stuck.py: connect, start
mission, then stop recv() while holding the socket OPEN = the exact
"receive pad full -> close never seen" mode hypothesized) -> replicant kept
moving the whole run. Replication did NOT freeze.
Conclusion: peer replication is INDEPENDENT of the console (pods replicate
peer-to-peer over the GAME socket; the console is a separate egg/mission/status
channel). The original freeze was a transient -- plausibly the same single-box
packet-jitter/CPU-contention artifact root-caused in 49d73dc -- or was fixed by
later MP work.
FIX (the one real bug found): L4NetworkManager::HostDisconnectedMessageHandler's
ConsoleHostType branch closed gameListenerSocket (the GAME listener) on a CONSOLE
disconnect -- a naming bug (the comment + commented-out OpenConnection intended a
CONSOLE re-listen, which CreateConsoleHost already does). Removed. Harmless to
established peer sockets (why a live match survives console loss) but it would
have blocked a NEW peer from joining after a console cycle. Verified: 2-node
still connects (All connections completed!) + the peer circles.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The open-questions.md block was the old completion PLAN (ea39af1) and was never
updated after the work actually landed + the residual was root-caused. It
contradicted multiplayer.md (which correctly documents both "Authentic coupled
peer motion -- DONE" and the packet-jitter resolution). Reconciled to DONE:
coupled single-source gait pipeline default-on (c52a1ad/b013742/96a896a/f094d78/
23f1532); the "needs master half" conclusion superseded by 49d73dc (residual
shakiness = single-box packet jitter, a test-rig artifact, fixed with CPU
affinity, user-confirmed -- NOT a game bug). Minor follow-ups (2.9u channel-snap,
decay constant) tracked in multiplayer.md. No code change -- KB currency only.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The boresight's non-mech pick only sampled the VISUAL heightfield (BTGroundRayHit),
which on arena1 is a single flat 'sky'-named ground mesh (and class-42 BuildTables
likewise holds only 'sky') -- so shots passed THROUGH the garages/walls and only mechs
moved the HUD range axis (user-reported regression: "buildings used to move the range
axis; now only mechs do, and you can only fire at a peer").
Real fix: the boresight now ALSO ray-tests the ZONE'S STATIC COLLISION SOLID TREE --
the same geometry that already blocks the mech's walk. Authentic engine mechanism:
Mover::FindBoxedSolidHitBy already tests the static world via
zone->GetCollisionRoot()->FindBoundingBoxHitBy(line). Factored its "static world" tail
into Mover::FindStaticSolidHitBy(Line*) (static solids only, no movers), wrapped by
Mech::WorldStructurePick(start,dir,range,&hit) (builds the world-space Line, reads the
entry point back via line->FindEnd since HitByBounded clips line->length=enter).
Boresight pick order is now: closest MECH (PickRayHit, damage zones + lock) -> closest
STRUCTURE (WorldStructurePick; occludes a mech BEHIND it; designates the gBTTerrainEntity
sentinel + entry point, so the range caret reads the structure distance and NO lock ring
draws, mech4.cpp:4529) -> flat ground (BTGroundRayHit) -> sky (fire-at-nothing). Also
un-skips arena1's misnamed-'sky' flat ground so the ground tier works (btvisgnd
geometry-aware skip + [mapent]/[rendent] census).
Verified headless: a BT_WSWEEP horizontal ray-fan on arena1 tracks position (3/24 hits
near the boundary -> 17-21/24 inside the interior garage cluster -> 3/24 past it =
DISCRETE interior solids, not an enclosing box), no crash/assert/AV. Interactive aim
(BTGetAimRay) can't run headless (no window -> noRay), so the sweep is the headless proof;
interactive aim is user-verified.
Note: FindBoundingBoxUnder (the ground/containedByNode BoundingBoxTree) is DOWNWARD-only
(gravity/ground-snap: *height = FindDistanceBelowBounded), useless for a horizontal
boresight; the static SOLID tree's FindBoundingBoxHitBy is the only ray-vs-world query.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Reproduced the QA report end-to-end from the decomp + raw-binary-verified constants.
The coolant-priority effect is real but fire-rate-dependent: at the ~11s combat
cadence, not-boosted jams (T=1058>1000) while boosting the AFC's condenser keeps it
below the line (T=953, no jam) -- exactly as the QA described. Max-spam (8s) overheats
regardless (why the earlier 'weak boost' read was wrong); 16s never jams. All AFC100
constants verified authentic vs BTL4.RES raw bytes (afc_dump.py). No bug, no stand-in.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Two-agent decomp hunt on the QA report ('AFCs jam on 3rd shot if coolant priority
not boosted'). Conclusion: the whole coolant->jam chain is reconstructed end-to-end
and FAITHFUL -- the weapon's constant coolantFlowScale=1.0 is authentic (only
condensers' 0x15C is written from the valve, via RecomputeCondenserValves over the
condenser chain mech+0x7cc). Authentic mechanism is second-order-in-equation but
first-order-in-outcome: weapon -> its condenser -> bank; boosting a condenser's valve
share (~5x conductance swing) keeps its weapon below degradationTemp -> no jam.
Distinguished the sticky probabilistic jam (degrad 1000, JammedState 5) from the
self-clearing overheat lockout (failure 2000, weaponAlarm 7). Empirically the port is
directionally correct (~4th-shot probabilistic) but not the QA's deterministic 3rd
shot -- a calibration/scenario question pending QA clarification, NOT a stubbed path.
Do not tune the heat economy to force it without ground-truth.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Closed the loop: BT_CRIT_PROBE=8 on solo DEV.EGG drove the full per-zone FX chain
end-to-end -- [zonefx] entity 1:321 seg 12 psfx 12/13 -- proving TakeDamage ->
mechdmg effect loop -> BTStartZoneEffect -> StartEntityEffectImplementation (segment
world-pos resolve) -> BTStartPfxAttached fires live. The 2-node fight harness didn't
engage (mechPicks=0, an MP-harness spawn/connect issue, not FX); BT_CRIT_PROBE is the
reliable solo liveness path.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Reverting a wrong 'correction' I just made: I claimed the six L4VIDRND explosion
renderables were STUBBED and 'never draw'. WRONG -- ScalingExplosionRenderable has a
real ctor/Execute body, and the impact/fire/detonation FX were reconstructed in the
Fire VISUALS (48c9c84) + Impact-FX FORENSICS (065c114) waves. The '//STUBBED: DPL RB'
markers I grepped are benign 2007 empty ctor/dtor notes on unrelated renderables
(InnerProjectile/DPLObjectWrapper/ChildLight), not the explosion FX. Only genuine
open item: the chain is not yet liveness-verified headlessly (no solo enemy).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The per-zone effect dispatcher was reconstructed + wired the same day the audit
flagged it as 'RECOMMENDED NEXT TARGET' -- the entry was never updated. Correct it:
dispatcher done (btl4vid.cpp:889, wired at mechdmg.cpp:1120); the real remaining
FX gap is the six still-STUBBED L4VIDRND scaling-explosion renderable bodies.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Investigation (workflow) found the searchlight-driven fog swap never worked in the
ORIGINAL 1995 binary either -- it's a latent bug, not a port regression:
SearchlightSimulation (@004b841c) reads requestedOn@0x1E0 (never written) while
ToggleLamp (@004b860c) toggles commandedOn@0x1DC; no bridge exists, so lightState
@0x1D8 is perpetually 0 (lamp never lights). The self-consistent sibling
ThermalSight reads the field it toggles (0x1DC) -- the tell. The port reproduces
the bug faithfully (searchlight.cpp:189). Additionally the port never constructs
PullFogRenderable, so even absent the bug the swap wouldn't fire.
Decision: LEAVE AS-IS + document (faithful to the buggy original); the port keeps
the static lights-ON fog= values. A working swap would DEVIATE from the shipped
binary (repair the sim to read commandedOn + construct PullFogRenderable at the
btl4vid MakeMechRenderables inside pass + a toggle input) -- fully scoped in the KB
if ever wanted. No code change this commit.
Documented in rendering.md (fog section), open-questions.md (deferred subsystems),
subsystems.md (Searchlight). Core per-map/time/weather fog (task #63) is unaffected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Area-of-effect blast on missile detonation, from the T0 source EXPLODE.cpp:50-254
(@0042fad0) + the arcade decomp. Fires on ANY missile impact (world or mech) --
the +0x360 gate sits in the Missile::Perform collision branch (part_013.c:10097).
Only missiles splash; the AC's tracer is not a Missile.
Radius source CORRECTED: it is the ROUND's own GameModel (type-0xf) +0x50, seeded
from the launcher's linked AmmoBin ammoModelFile @0x1e8 (part_013.c:8778) -- NOT
the launcher's ExplosionModelFile (which resolved to 0). Live-resolved radius = 30
for both MP missile launchers; 0 for AC/Emitters.
Burst falloff = baseBurst / dist^exp floored at 1 (arcade 1.25 = decomp 0x3ff40000;
WinTesla EXPLODE.cpp:209 drifted to 1.2f). damageType/amount pass through unchanged;
only burstCount, radial damageForce, and impactPoint are set. Excludes shooter +
direct victim; dist>radius gated; delivered via msgmgr (cross-pod) or Dispatch.
New: BTResolveSplashRadius / BTApplySplashDamage (mech4.cpp), hooked at both the
world-impact and contact detonation paths; BTAmmoRoundModelResource bridge
(ammobin). Env: BT_SPLASH_LOG, BT_SPLASH_TEST (synthetic near-miss), BT_AF_MISSILE
(missile autofire). Verified: near-miss dist=15 -> 1 burst to a bystander; live
missiles detonate + exclude the direct victim; AC does not splash; no crash.
Deferred (T3): per-player enable sub-gate missile+0x360 = BTPlayer+0x264 (writers
read as a per-frame toggle, not a config flag) -- port treats SplashRadius>0 as the
enable. KB: combat-damage.md + open-questions.md updated.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
CydandClaude Opus 5