The 1995 front-desk conversation, over the internet. join.bat/
join_lan.bat now open a JOIN-GAME menu (the FE in BT_FE_JOIN trim:
CALLSIGN edit + the 18-mech list + JOIN); the choice relaunches into the
normal join with BT_CALLSIGN/BT_MECH env, rides the relay SEAT_REQUEST
as {callsign NUL mech NUL} (empty payload = roster defaults, wire-
compatible), and the relay validates the mech tag, HOLDS egg delivery
until every pod's console pad is connected, rewrites the egg via
eggmodel (vehicle= + rasterized callsign bitmaps, graceful no-PySide6
fallback) and streams it to all pads -- so every player's egg copy
carries every player's callsign.
The hold is gated on CONSOLE-PAD count, not game-side registration: a
pod HELLOs only after parsing the egg's roster, so a registration gate
deadlocks (hit live in the first run; pods animate in WAITING FOR
MISSION ASSIGNMENT during the hold).
Verified 2-node e2e (env-injected requests): thor/vulture requested over
roster defaults bhk1/ava1 -> relay held 1/2, released at 2/2, rewrote
both seats (relay log), the delivered egg carries vehicle=thor/vulture +
name=VIPER/MONGOOSE, both pods launched and built [cyl] tables for both
requested mechs. Join-menu layout screenshot-verified; the menu's
click-through relaunch awaits live human verification.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The mission-control menu was missing player experience + many options. Added
the complete set recovered from the Mac 4.10 operator console's BT:: adventure
tree (TeslaSuite/410console/.../Console.ini) -- the tag= values are the egg
fields; cross-checked vs the port spec + reference/cavern.egg:
NEW groups: SCENARIO (Free For All / No Return respawn role), EXPERIENCE
(novice/standard/veteran/expert), BADGE (7 team emblems), PATCH (8 badge
colours), DROP ZONE (one..five), ADV. DAMAGE (on/off).
CORRECTED: TIME (evening, not 'dusk'); COLOR (full 7: +Brown/Green/Grey/Tan,
Red->Crimson, Gray->Grey); MECH (full 18 with console friendly names ->
tags, was 8).
btl4fe.hpp: BTFePilot gains experience/badge/patch/dropzone/advancedDamage;
BTFeMission gains roleKey/roleModel. The egg writer emits the selected values
(were hardcoded expert/VGL/Yellow/one/advancedDamage=1); No-Return role model
= the game's 8.3 resource 'noretun'. 5-column layout (mission | mech | pilot |
emblem/patch | session+controls); loadout persists across the relaunch
(fe_last.ini, all 14 groups).
Verified: menu drives (click Expert+Davion -> egg experience=expert
badge=Davion, persisted), and the generated egg parses + runs a full mission
(no egg errors, drive 61.501).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
NEW gated (BT_STEAM) game/glass/btl4lobby: an ISteamMatchmaking room replacing
the arcade Site-Management screen -- host creates (lobby data btl4=1), members
join by filter, pilots publish name/mech/color, the host ENTER mints the
roster and signals GO.
THE FAKEIP LESSON (live-verified, prior-art assumption DISPROVEN): a fresh
process gets a DIFFERENT FakeIP, so menu-time fake addresses go stale by
mission time -- the first cycle timed out connecting to its own stale address.
Redesign: roster addresses are opaque ipv4-shaped TOKENS (169.254.77.N with
ports 1501/1502) minted by the host at GO, mapped to Steam IDENTITIES;
connections ride ConnectP2P(identity, channel) with console=0/game=1 virtual
ports; the map reaches mission processes via env (BT_FE_MYFAKE +
BT_FE_STEAMMAP); the GetMyAddress seam feeds the pod its own token for roster
self-match; CheckSocket reports peers by token. L4STEAMNET reworked (no
FakeIP allocation at all); the marshal gained the Steam-wire branch.
Verified single-machine (ON/ON, live Steam): menu -> HOST STEAM LOBBY ->
room -> GO -> token map minted -> egg roster carries the token -> mission
process up with 1 roster token incl. self -> pod self-matches -> stock
console ladder -> mission RUNS (46 ticks). Remaining: the live 2-account
cross-machine session (docs/STEAM_TEST.md).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
NEW gated dir game/glass/: btl4fe (green-on-black GDI catalog menu -- map/
time/weather/length/mech/color/pilot/mode/port/peers; egg writer emitting the
FULL console egg shape, golden-tested vs MP.EGG: identical section sequence
at identical line offsets, the 4 static ordinal pages verbatim, GDI-rendered
128x32/64x16 pilot-name plasma bitmaps in MP.EGG framing) and btl4console
(the marshal: a worker-thread console CLIENT speaking the btconsole.py wire
protocol verbatim -- 1040-byte chunked egg, 20s settle, RunMission x2,
STAY CONNECTED, own the clock, StopMission at expiry; logs marshal.log).
The engine sees a real connected console and runs the 100% stock ladder --
NO engine hooks (less invasive than planned: the L4APP.H setters proved
unnecessary; launches go through real argv on relaunch).
WinMain (one gated block): zero-mission-arg glass launch -> menu -> relaunch
self with the mission argv (per-mission process relaunch; BT_FE_* env arms
the marshal); post-RunMissions BT_FE_LOOP tail returns to the menu. Menu
relaunches CLEAR the BT_FE_* handoff (found live: the inherited env re-armed
a marshal instead of showing the menu).
Verified end-to-end (synthetic menu drive): menu -> frontend.egg -> relaunch
-> marshal feeds self over loopback -> stock console ladder -> mission RUNS
(58+ ticks) -> 60s clock -> StopMission -> clean menu return, no env leak.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
CydandClaude Fable 5