The lobby could stage a room but the launched mission never fed the members.
BTLocalConsole_InstallNetworkMission (btl4console.cpp) makes the host play the
arcade console in-process over the NetTransport seam (Winsock TCP or Steam SDR):
- connect to each member's console channel (ip[:port] from BT412HOSTPODS);
- feed each the chunked egg (NetworkManager::ReceiveEggFileMessage, \n->NUL
wire image like tools/btconsole.py), resending until it ACKs;
- poll member state (StateQueryMessage); when the whole mesh is staged at
WaitingForLaunch, dispatch RunMission to every member + locally at once;
- StopMission at expiry (members first, then self after a short grace);
- scores are BT's kills/deaths snapshotted from the *meshed* roster at the
stop -- no EndMission wire intake (that flow is a BT stub; the mesh already
put every pilot in the host's roster). The owner's own pod is fed locally
via L4NetworkManager::FeedLocalEgg.
Engine change (ported 1:1 from RP412): gConsoleMarshalsLaunch (APPMGR.h/.cpp) +
the `!gConsoleMarshalsLaunch &&` guard in APP.cpp's WaitingForLaunch self-launch.
The owner has no console connection to itself, so without this it would
self-launch before the mesh staged and never send the coordinated RunMission.
Default False = stock behavior; solo boot un-regressed.
WinMain host path (btl4main.cpp) now honors BT412HOSTPODS (+BT412HOSTPORT) for
the lobby host AND a classic-LAN host: SetNetworkCommonFlatAddress +
InstallNetworkMission, falling back to a solo marshal if no member is reachable.
Verified (loopback): two `btl4.exe -net` pods fed by tools/btconsole.py reach
"All connections completed!" and run after the engine change -- the exact
protocol + launch handshake the marshal uses. Both gates build+link; the
Release dist boots and the Steam transport comes up. The live multi-machine
Steam mission (FakeIP mesh + pilot-slot matching) is untestable here -- see the
new docs/STEAM-3-MACHINE-TEST.md. Dist README updated: multiplayer is now
"newly implemented, please test" rather than deferred.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Clean, self-contained extraction of the BattleTech-specific work from the
reverse-engineering workspace -- engine + game + content + build, with nothing
from Red Planet or the raw archive dumps. Builds green (Win32) and runs the
single-player drive->animate->target->fire->damage->destroy loop out of the box.
Layout:
engine/ MUNGA + MUNGA_L4 shared 2007 engine, carrying our BT render/loader
work (bgfload/L4D3D/L4VIDEO: BSL bit-slice decode, LOD/ground/shadow
models) + image codec; the minimal rp/ headers the audio HAL needs
game/ reconstructed BT logic + surviving-original BT source + fwd shims
+ WinMain launcher
content/ full runtime tree (BTL4.RES, VIDEO/, GAUGE/, AUDIO/, eggs, BTDPL.INI)
docs/ format specs + reconstruction ledgers
reference/ raw Ghidra pseudocode (recon source-of-truth) + decomp exporter
tools/ MP console emulator + map/resource scanners
One top-level CMake builds munga_engine lib + bt410_l4 game lib + btl4.exe.
All paths relativized (186 fwd shims + ~437 CMake abs paths -> repo-relative);
DXSDK is the one external, overridable via -DDXSDK. Verified: builds to a
byte-identical 2.27MB exe and runs combat (TARGET DESTROYED, 0 crashes) against
the bundled content.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
CydandClaude Opus 4.8