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>
The in-process console that replaces the operator for solo play: it owns
the mission clock and ends the race at the chosen length, then relaunches
to the setup menu -- the arcade launcher behavior in one binary.
- engine/APPMGR: gPerFrameHook -- a per-frame observer called on the game
thread in RunMissions (the marshal's engine-safe tick site).
- btl4console.{hpp,cpp}: BTLocalConsole_Install/MissionCompleted -- the
marshal watches for RunningMission, starts the clock, and dispatches
Application::StopMissionMessage at expiry (BT_MISSION_SECONDS overrides
for testing). Confirmed: StopMission cleanly ends the mission and
RunMissions returns.
- btl4fe: expose BTFrontEnd_LastMissionSeconds; Enter=LAUNCH / Esc=quit in
the menu loop; BT_FE_AUTOLAUNCH quick-launch (skips the menu).
- btl4main WinMain: front-end mode runs menu -> arms marshal -> mission;
when the marshal ends it, RELAUNCH a fresh instance (arcade launcher
model) -> lands back on the menu. This sidesteps BT's in-process
re-init fragility: a second mission in-process AV'd on stale gBT*
per-mission entity globals (gBTTerrainEntity et al., cdb-traced to
MakeEntityRenderables); a fresh process has none.
Verified: menu LAUNCH -> mission runs -> marshal stops it at the set
length -> RunMissions returns -> relaunch (3 distinct PIDs across a
multi-cycle run, no crash).
Remaining in Phase 5: the results screen (kills/deaths at stop).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The wire moves behind NetTransport (L4NETTRANSPORT): L4NET.CPP taken
from RP412 post-seam -- all ~24 Winsock call sites route through
NetTransport_Get() -- with BT's 3 BT_NET_TRACE blocks re-sited onto
their code anchors (they read message/packet metadata, not sockets, so
no collision). Default WinsockNetTransport = the arcade/LAN TCP wire.
SteamNetTransport (L4STEAMTRANSPORT, ISteamNetworkingSockets + FakeIP/
SDR) compiles under option(BT412_STEAM) (default OFF); Steamworks SDK
1.64 vendored at extern/steamworks_sdk_164. steam_appid.txt gitignored
(Spacewar 480 by hand until a real AppID). Ported gConsoleLossEndsMission
from RP412's APPMGR (default False = arcade re-listen).
Verified: default TCP build passes full loopback MP through the seam
(console -> egg msgID-3 chunks -> mesh complete -> both instances tick,
net-tx/net-rx traces fire through NetTransport_Get()); BT412_STEAM=ON
compiles + links against the SDK + boots solo. Live Steam session
deferred to Phase 6. (Phase 4 of docs/BT412-ROADMAP.md)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <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