table re-decoded to the ModeMFD bits + desktop J/K/L page cycle
The preset system was unwired by ONE defect in the message layer: the
SetPresetMode @004d1b24 table @0051dbf0 had been transcribed from the
section dump as BIG-endian dwords ({0x1e,0x01000000} instead of
{0x1e,0x01}), so a preset press set a garbage high bit -- and for group 1
items 3-4 / group 2 items 0-2 stomped the LIVE NonMapping / Intercom /
ModeSecondary* bits -- while the real page bits never moved. Ground
truth (section_dump.txt:72901-72908, little-endian + BTL4MODE.HPP [T0]):
set = ModeMFD{1,2,3}{Quad,Eng1-4} = 1<<(group*5+item), bits 0-14, fully
disjoint from the #6 secondary trio (bits 18-20); group 2 is MFD3, NOT a
duplicate of the secondary views.
What the 15 presets show (l4gauge.cfg): group = the MFD (Mfd1 lower left
/ Mfd2 upper center / Mfd3 lower right), item 0 = the btquad.pcx Quad
overview (up to 4 vehicleSubSystems cluster panels), items 1-4 = the
full-screen engineering-detail pages (bteng.pcx + prepEngr screens
group*4+1..4 + the cluster eng children: GENERATOR SELECT A-D, POWER
graph, COOLING loop, DAMAGE, ammo). Empty screens are authored per mech
(Blackhawk: 3/11/12 empty).
Authentic dispatch (streamed "L4" .CTL EventMappings, BT_CTRLMAP_LOG
dump): each MFD owns the 8-button RIO bank around it, MODE-MASK-gated --
Mfd1 = 0x08-0x0F, Mfd2 = 0x20-0x27, Mfd3 = 0x00-0x07. Quad page ->
direct-select buttons for the POPULATED eng pages (mapper msgs
Aux1Eng1-4 0x4-0x7 / Aux2* 0x9-0xC / Aux3* 0xE-0x11); eng page -> one
back-to-Quad button (0x3/0x8/0xD) + per-subsystem controls. These
records already install and fire on desktop (btinput passes the live
manager mask), so the NUMPAD profile's 0x20-0x27 keys page MFD2
authentically.
Port wiring (the #6 pattern): keys J/K/L -> actions Mfd1/2/3Cycle ->
gBTPresetCycle -> L4MechControlsMapper::CyclePresetModeNow(group) -- a
documented desktop shim (24 mode-dependent pod buttons don't fit a
keyboard) that cycles Quad -> populated Eng pages -> Quad, visiting
exactly the pod-reachable set; the body is the authentic SetPresetMode.
Dev-composite: BTDrawGaugeSurfaces now draws the Eng1-3 planes at their
sibling cells and skips any mono plane whose channel is BlankColor,
honoring the mode-driven reconfigure (RemapGraphicsPort) -- each dev
cell shows the ACTIVE page like the pod monitor. This supersedes and
removes the 2026-07-12 GAUGREND "frozen-dial" scaffold (forced all 15
page bits active under BT_DEV_GAUGES; it pinned the shared Eng plane on
the highest screen and ate the page flips).
Pixel-verified (BT_PRESET_TEST + BT_DEV_GAUGES_DOCK + BT_SHOT,
Blackhawk): all three MFDs page Quad -> SYSTEM NN eng details -> back to
Quad in lockstep with the [mode] preset mask log; group 0 skips the
authored-empty screen 3, group 2 skips 11/12. Un-regressed: N display
cycle (0x450421->0x490421->0x510421, page bits intact), M control mode,
CONTROLS.MAP 52 bindings parse clean.
Diags: BT_MODE_LOG ([mode] preset), BT_PRESET_TEST=<frame>.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
NotifyOfDisplayModeChange override (vtbl+0x4C @4d1ae4) + wire desktop 'N'
The secondary screen's schematic selector was mislabeled: @004d1ae4 (the
bits-18..20 ModeSecondary* mask swap) was reconstructed as a non-virtual
"SetControlMode" that nothing called, so the desktop stayed pinned on the
Damage view. The binary's L4 vtable @0051e440 pins the truth:
+0x48 = @004d1acc <- CycleControlModeMessageHandler (FUN_004afbe0):
forwards to the base RET no-op @004b048c. A BAS/MID/ADV
control-mode change never touches the secondary view
(empirically confirmed: BT_MODECYCLE_TEST cycles the CONTROL
MODE lamp, mask bits 18-20 unchanged, schematic stays ARMOR).
+0x4C = @004d1ae4 <- CycleDisplayModeMessageHandler (FUN_004afcac):
THE Damage/Critical/Heat selector, indexed by displayMode
(table @0051dbe4 = ModeSecondaryDamage/Critical/Heat).
Authentic pod inputs (streamed type-6 .CTL EventMappings, dumped via the
new BT_CTRLMAP_LOG EVENT records): secondary-panel button 0x15 -> msg
0x15 CycleDisplayMode (manual p13, the "'Mech status Info center" bottom
left of the secondary screen), button 0x18 -> msg 0x14 CycleControlMode
(manual p6, top right), 0x10/0x11 -> ZoomIn/Out. The DOS keyboard
fallbacks (Keypress 0x13d/0x13e = extended F3/F4) are dead under the
WinTesla VK map, hence the desktop pin.
Port wiring (the M/ModeCycle pattern): key N / pad RightThumb -> action
DisplayCycle -> gBTDisplayCycle -> CycleDisplayModeNow() -- the same body
the pod console button message drives. Both .MAP profiles + the
compiled-in default updated.
Verified live (docked gauges + BT_SHOT, BT_VIEWCYCLE_TEST): the sec
panel cycles ARMOR DAMAGE silhouette -> CRITICAL DAMAGE subsystem list
-> HEAT DAMAGE colored list, mask 0x450421 -> 0x490421 -> 0x510421; M
control-mode cycling un-regressed (BAS/MID/ADV lamp cycles, view pinned).
Diags: BT_MODE_LOG, BT_VIEWCYCLE_TEST=<frame>, BT_MODECYCLE_TEST=<frame>,
BT_CTRLMAP_LOG now dumps EVENT records. KB: gauges-hud secondary-view
section rewritten, CLASSMAP +0x48/+0x4C slots, decomp-reference env
gates, GAUGE_COMPOSITE phase-4 entry resolved.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The playtest report (sound plays, no gauge drop, no cloud) traced to the
Reservoir's InjectCoolant chain being dead in three places:
- The handler was never REGISTERED: the binary's Reservoir handler table
@0x50e680 has one entry {4, "InjectCoolant", @4aee70}; added
Reservoir::GetMessageHandlers + the press/release handler (press starts
the flush gated on coolantLevel@0x12C > 0 -- the old body misread +0x12C
as currentTemperature; release stops it; novice lockout via FUN_004ac9c8).
- Reservoir::InjectCoolant (@4aefa4, 1019 bytes) was an empty stub -- the
drain the coolant gauge reads. Reconstructed in full: work list =
condenser/weapon/heatable chains (+0x7cc/+0x7bc/+0x7ac, roster-walk
emulation with the binary's duplicate-visit weighting; HeatSink-filtered
[T2 guarded]) + the linked master sink; per sink with flowScale != 0 move
squirtMass x flowScale x dt (clamped to the tank / sink capacity) and
credit pendingHeat with the negative carried-heat delta capped at
sinkMass x reservoir startingTemperature -- the set%-biased flush of the
manual (p24), riding the existing heat model.
- Two latent ctor decode bugs surfaced and fixed: the master gate @4af408
(and @4aeb40 HeatWatcher, swept) reads the OWNER MECH's simulationFlags
(*(param_2+0x28)), not the resource's subsystemFlags (the misread left
the CoolantSimulation Performance unregistered); and the capacity scale
FILDs the bank's INTEGER HeatSinkCount ((float10)*(int*)(link+0x1d0)) --
the float reinterpret gave ~1e-44 -> a permanently empty tank.
Capacity = 0.05 x heatSinkCount x streamed CoolantCapacity (BLH: 6.0).
Visual: the binary's mode-1 coolant-effect renderable (FUN_00456a68, built
for classID 0xBC0 on "ReservoirState", part_014.c:5439; tick @part_007.c:
8780) starts psfx 19 = FLUSH.PFX ("Coolant flush", BTDPL.INI) when the
state changes to 1 -- BTSpawnFlushCloud (mech4.cpp) spawns it on the same
alarm edge as an attached emitter at torso height.
Input: new CONTROLS.MAP action "Flush" on 'H' (HELD; press+release both
dispatch, the held-button payload). Diags: BT_FLUSH_LOG, BT_FLUSH_TEST.
Verified live (FOGDAY): [flush] Reservoir level 6 -> 0.13 -> 0 over ~0.6 s
held (= the manual's 3-4 punches to empty), the coolant vertBar source
Reservoir/CoolantMass drains, and the bluish condensation cloud rises from
the mech (scratchpad/flush_cloud.png vs flush_before.png).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Menu (btl4fe, modeled on RP412 RP_L4/RPL4FE.cpp): full catalogs as
always-visible clickable LISTS in three columns with friendly names --
8 maps, the canonical 8 certified mechs, colors, times, weather, lengths,
modes -- bright/dim green with a selection chevron, double-buffered paint,
real EDIT controls for pilot name + LAN peers (green-on-black via
WM_CTLCOLOREDIT), framed LAUNCH / HOST STEAM / JOIN STEAM buttons, and the
loadout persisted across the per-mission relaunch (fe_last.ini, gitignored
implicitly by *.ini? no -- plain file beside the eggs). ENTER/ESC kept.
Lobby room (RP412 RPL4LOBBY look): pilot roster with loadouts (mech, color),
framed L A U N C H M I S S I O N (owner) + LEAVE LOBBY buttons, clickable.
Dist: FLAT layout (the RP412 convention) -- ONE btl4.exe entry point at the
folder root beside the content tree (the shape TeslaConsole manages), DLLs +
launchers at root, content flattened from git-tracked files. Verified: the
staged flat tree boots the Mission Console zero-arg from its own root; the
click-driven menu launches a full marshaled mission (row click -> length=60
in the egg, LAUNCH click -> ladder -> 41+ ticks, fe_last.ini written).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
33 master commits in (relay TCP/UDP + PySide6 operator console, CONTROLS.MAP
+XInput binding engine, camera seats, torso pitch aim, sign fixes, the 1995
manual, version stamping, 18-mech certification). Conflicts: .gitignore +
CLAUDE.md router rows (combined).
SEMANTIC RECONCILIATION (the one real overlap): masters btinput binding
engine (ungated, CONTROLS.MAP) and the glass PadRIO (gated, bindings.txt)
would both read the keyboard/pad in a glass+PAD session. btinput now joins
the stand-down convention: BTInputPoll yields (and BTInputSuppressKey claims
NOTHING, so authentic hotkeys flow) when an operational cockpit device owns
the input path -- BTRIODevicePresent, BT_KEY_BRIDGE force-override honored,
forced harness exempt. One input system per mode: btinput on pod/dev
desktops, PadRIO on glass. The mechmppr/mech4 bridge merges composed clean
(masters negate-once sign fix inside our device-gated bridge). The D1 relay
keeps its own raw sockets by design (an alternative LAN wire; Steam and
relay are separate modes).
Verified post-merge: all 3 configs build; glass boots with [input] binding
engine standing down + PadRIO owning input (30 ticks); pod forced-walk
speedDemand=61.501 with btinput ACTIVE; 2-node loopback MP full 31/31
mission, 76/76 ticks.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The mechs could always tilt their aim up/down -- Torso models the full
vertical axis (currentElevation, rate, VerticalLimitTop/Bottom,
recenter) and EVERY 1995 control mode routes stickPosition.y into
Torso::SetAnalogElevationAxis -- but the desktop bridge hard-zeroed
stick Y, so the axis was dead on a keyboard rig. The one pod control
the remap left unwired.
- btinput: JoystickY axis -> elevTarget/elevActive/elevAbsolute
- mech4 shim: sElev integrator (same walk/spring model as the twist;
X recenters pitch too via gBTElevRecenter)
- mechmppr bridge: feeds stickPosition.y every bridged frame (the old
unconditional zero removed); both mode branches covered
- CONTROLS.MAP (+ numpad profile + compiled default): R/F = aim
up/down, pad LeftStickY = elevation (was unused)
- torso.hpp: CurrentElevation()/ElevationVelocity() accessors (diag)
- [mppr] trace gains stickY (note: the trace reads AFTER the next
frame's device push re-zeroes the stick -- input flows regardless)
Verified live: R held -> torso elevation climbs at the authored rate
and clamps at 0.349066 rad = exactly 20.0 deg (the Blackhawk's
VerticalLimitTop); release holds the aim. The eyepoint correctly
stays level -- pitch aims the GUNS and reads on the HUD's vertical
elevation tape, as in the pod.
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>
4 pods, relay-assigned seats, 4-pilot MP4.EGG (eggmodel-generated incl.
callsign bitmaps): 4 distinct seats, full ladder, every node replicates
all 3 foreign mechs (host-qualified [repl] sets are exact complements),
4 distinct spawn positions (no dropzone stacking), UDP at 4-pod fan-out
(relay tx=3x rx, zero drops), all pods alive through the session.
Per-host [net-rx] census symmetric: 36 NewDynamicEntity makes (mech +
subsystem roster) from every host to every node.
DIAGNOSTIC TRAP that cost a false bug-hunt: EntityID::operator int()
returns localID ONLY, so the [repl] log's (long)GetEntityID() collapsed
different hosts' mechs onto one number and read as 'missing
replicants'. The log now streams the EntityID object (host:local via
its operator<<).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The pod's controls reach the game through the RIO serial board; on a
desktop that hardware is a keyboard shim of hardcoded GetAsyncKeyState
reads. New binding engine (game/reconstructed/btinput.cpp) maps PC keys
and an XInput pad onto the authentic channels through a user-editable
file (content/CONTROLS.MAP, community-suggested grammar, corrected):
key/pad -> button <addr> real buttonGroup emissions, mirroring the
RIO convention exactly (press a+1 w/ mode
mask saved, release -a-1 w/ saved mask;
L4CTRL.cpp:2470-2520) -- aux/preset banks,
hotbox, panic, reverse thrust all reachable
key/pad -> axis Throttle rate (lever), pedals/JoystickX
deflect (turn/twist) into the existing
virtual-controls integrators (feel, gait
detent, spring-centering all unchanged)
keypad pilot|external <n> keyboardGroup key values ('0'-'F')
pckey <char> any authentic 1995 typed hotkey
action <name> port dev controls (view, all-stop, ...)
Keys claimed by a binding are SUPPRESSED from the legacy WM_CHAR/KEYUP
feed -- ends the historic double-dispatch ('w' drove AND selected pilot
0; F5's key-up value 0x74 aliased to the 't' hotkey; letter key-ups fed
the developer fake-event dispatcher). Unbound keys keep their authentic
meaning. The dual-use 'V' is split: V = view toggle, B = look behind.
Default profile = WASD classic (compiled-in twin; delete the file to
restore). CONTROLS_NUMPAD.MAP ships the corrected community layout
(keypads are NOT buttons 0x50-0x6F -- that space doesn't exist; no
clickable cockpit exists so everything needs a binding; keyboard fire
buttons added; 0x36/0x37 are hotbox not 'config'; missiles moved off
Ctrl). XInput loads dynamically (1_4 -> 9_1_0), disconnected-pad
probing rate-limited; pad sticks write the axes as absolute positions
(the spring is physical), triggers/buttons per the file.
Verified live: bindings load (43), W and NumPad8 drive (speedDemand 0 ->
61.5), X all-stop (spd -> 0), aux-bank emission (D1 -> [input] 0x2f
PRESS/release under the numpad profile), suppression both directions
(posted 'r' reaches [keych], posted 'w' swallowed), full-keyspace
WM_CHAR+WM_KEYUP fuzz x3 survived with sim advancing, XInput graceful
with no pad, 2-node relay session un-regressed (full ladder + UDP).
Pad-in-hand testing still needs a physical controller.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The 1995 console let the operator type player callsigns; the pods render
them from 1bpp BITMAPS streamed in the egg ([largebitmap]/[smallbitmap]
lists + hex raster pages, bitmapindex per pilot; large 128x32 on the
score/ranking display via DPLRenderer name textures, small 64x16 on the
kill-feed and radar/target labels). The textual name= pilot key is dead
in the shipped binary -- its pilot parse reads bitmapindex only (decomp
part_014). Historical bug surfaced by this work: every egg in the repo
listed only ONE name bitmap (Aeolus) while pilot 2 pointed at index 2,
so player 2+'s callsign has never rendered (null-checked, silently
blank).
eggmodel.py: EggDoc.set_callsigns rewrites the lists + one raster page
per callsign per size + per-pilot name=/bitmapindex= (duplicate names
get disambiguated page tags); get_callsign_rows decodes pages back
(exact inverse of the engine's nibble-stream parse, GRAPH2D.cpp:340,
MSB-first bit order :558); rasterize_callsign/make_callsigns render
text via Qt (auto-shrink to fit, NoAntialias, 1bpp threshold) -- the
only PySide6-dependent corner of the module. validate() now catches
dangling bitmapindexes and missing raster pages.
btoperator.py: Callsign column in the roster (free text, PLAYERn
default); every save rasterizes the column into the egg exactly like
the original console did.
MP_BHMC.EGG template repaired: authentic Aeolus raster preserved
bit-exact, Boreas page generated and listed.
Verified: eggmodel self-test 20/20 (bit-exact raster round-trip, dup
disambiguation, dangling-index catch); ASCII-art decode of the
app-generated VIPER/MONGOOSE rasters reads correctly; live 2-node
relay session on the generated egg -- full ladder, launch, zero
name-bitmap load warnings; operator GUI e2e PASS after the column
shift.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The operator station the archive never preserved: build missions with
authoritative dropdowns, run the console/relay, watch pods arrive, launch --
LAN mesh or internet relay -- plus one-click local instances for testing.
tools/eggmodel.py (headless, importable, self-tested 14/14):
- Order-preserving egg parse/emit: the editor manages [mission]/[pilots]/
per-pilot pages; bitmap rasters, ordinals and role pages survive untouched.
- EVERY value set read LIVE from content/BTL4.RES (the resscan parser,
importable): maps = MakeMessageStream(14) INTERSECT ExistanceBoxStream(26)
(the game aborts unless both exist); colors/badges/patches from the
VehicleTable resource (type 25, NUL-line NotationFile text with ;-comments);
vehicles = ModelList names, known-good mechs (bhk1, madcat) surfaced first.
- validate(): the full required-key ruleset from MISSION.cpp/btl4mssn.cpp
(missing map/time/weather/scenario, per-pilot hostType/vehicle/dropzone/
color/patch/badge/experience/role, role page model=, illegal values,
duplicate addresses) -- kills the hand-edited-egg crash class, incl. the
color=Red-vs-Crimson gotcha that bit the dev eggs.
tools/btoperator.py (PySide6, dark Fusion theme):
- Mission form + pilot roster table (all dropdowns from eggmodel), relay-tag
auto-numbering, add/remove pilots, egg New/Open/Save/Validate.
- Mode switch: Relay (internet; runs btconsole --relay) / Mesh (LAN legacy;
dial-out console at address-port minus 1 per the +1 rule).
- Session panel: QProcess drives btconsole.py; stdout parsed live into
per-pilot state lights (waiting/egg/registered/LAUNCHED) + relay stats.
- Local launcher: spawns btl4.exe per roster row with BT_RELAY/BT_SELF (or
mesh -net port), BT_DEV_GAUGES/BT_START_INSIDE toggles.
- Export player scripts: per-pilot join_as_playerN.bat with the public
relay hostname (a remote player's whole setup = run one .bat).
- Wire/protocol code stays in btconsole.py/eggmodel.py -- the GUI is only
UI + process management; CLI + test harnesses share the same tested core.
Verified: eggmodel self-test 14/14; scripted end-to-end
(scratchpad/operator_e2e.py) drives the real window through its own methods --
start relay session -> launch 2 local instances -> monitor observes the
mission LAUNCH (user-confirmed live on screen: both pods in-mission).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The pod can now run entirely over the relay: one outbound TCP connection
carries both the console protocol (egg/launch) and all game traffic
(envelope-multiplexed), so internet play works behind NAT with no port
forwarding. All new code is behind 'if (relayMode)' (BT_RELAY unset => mesh
mode byte-for-byte untouched; verified un-regressed).
Env gates (parsed once in the ctor, after WSAStartup so gethostbyname works):
- BT_RELAY=<host>:<consolePort> (host may be a DNS name; game port = +1)
- BT_SELF=<exact [pilots] entry> (NIC matching can't identify us across NAT)
L4NET changes:
- CreateConsoleHost: relay branch dials OUT to the relay console port
(bounded retry; console-less continue on a re-dial) instead of listening.
- StartConnecting: relay self-match by BT_SELF string; peers become VIRTUAL
hosts (INVALID_SOCKET, NoNetworkConnectionStatus) flipped online by the
relay's PEER_UP; then ConnectRelayGame dials the game port + HELLOs. HostID
assignment / remoteHostCount / the connection gate / app ladder unchanged.
- CheckRelay (new): the receive seam -- drains {route,length} envelopes,
synthesizes HostConnected/Disconnected from PEER_UP/DOWN (same messages the
mesh accept path routes), returns game frames envelope-stripped (they
self-identify via NetworkPacketHeader.fromHost; consumers route by payload).
- Send: game-host traffic -> relay unicast envelope (console host excluded --
its legacy protocol is relay-TERMINATED, not routed).
- ExclusiveBroadcast: build ONCE, send ONCE with the broadcast route -- the
relay fans out, killing the mesh's (N-1)x upload duplication.
- RelaySendAll (new): partial-send-safe transmit (required on the multiplexed
socket -- a partial write would desync framing for all peers).
- CheckBuffers: polls CheckRelay first; skips recv on virtual game hosts.
- RelayGameDown: relay-loss synthesizes all-peers-disconnected (match
continues peer-less; pod never exits mid-match).
- Mode(): now STORES the reliable/unreliable mode (was ignored) for the UDP
phase's authentic mode+flag routing.
Verified 2-node localhost relay (MP_RELAY.EGG, tagged [pilots]):
- both pods reach 'All connections completed!' via PEER_UP, then
RunningMission; both mechs' MakeMessages cross the relay (paint x2 each) and
bidirectional 148-byte update records flow (net-tx/net-rx traces; relay
stats tcp rx==tx, registered [2,3]); cockpit/HUD render; no crashes.
- driving one node transmits pose/damage/death frames through the relay.
- mesh smoke (no BT_RELAY): 2-node session still forms + simulates unchanged.
Plan: ~/.claude/plans/partitioned-snuggling-piglet.md. Next: UDP channel.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
docs/GLASS_COCKPIT.md gains the step-4 ledger (seam/transport/lobby + THE
FAKEIP LESSON); NEW context/steam-networking.md topic (+ router row) and
docs/STEAM_TEST.md (the 2-machine live procedure = the step-4 exit criterion
on user hardware). context/glass-cockpit.md: steps 3+4 status. Final purity
re-check: pod build clean, forced-walk mission runs, ZERO glass/steam tags in
the pod log.
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 (BT_STEAM) TU L4STEAMNET: ISteamNetworkingSockets with FakeIP --
pseudo-SOCKET handles (0x5EA0xxxx) behind the L4NET BTNet* seam; the engine
TCP byte stream rides reliable-NoNagle Steam messages re-assembled into
per-connection rings (nonblocking recv semantics preserved: empty ->
WSAEWOULDBLOCK, peer-closed -> 0); two FakeIP ports mirror the arcade
console/game channel convention; listen sockets + accept queues via the
global status-changed callback; graceful degrade to Winsock at every step.
Seam completions in L4NET.CPP: CheckSocket reports a pseudo-socket peer as
its FAKE ipv4:port (the lobby egg roster matches unchanged); OpenConnection
TCP_OPEN delegates FakeIP targets to BTSteamNet_Connect. WinMain installs
on BT_STEAM_NET=1 (lobby launch path / by hand). CMake: gated SDK include/
lib/dll-copy. Both pumps (SteamAPI_RunCallbacks + sockets RunCallbacks)
drive it -- the FakeIP result rides the GENERAL dispatch (first attempt with
only the sockets pump timed out).
Verified live (ON/ON build, Steam client running): SteamAPI_Init OK,
steam_appid.txt(480) auto-written, FakeIP allocated
(169.254.36.58, console 54464 / game 54465); without BT_STEAM_NET or
without Steam the game stays pure Winsock.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
docs/GLASS_COCKPIT.md gains the 2b-2e detail + the full verification matrix
(purity build + seam audit, pod forced-walk, 2-node loopback MP via btconsole
relay on the POD build -- both nodes reach the running mission, PadRIO
authentic-path input, panel-click survival). context/glass-cockpit.md status
updated: step 2 DONE [T2]; steps 3-4 pending.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The streamed L4 mapping resource carries the binary's positional attribute ids
(stick=3, throttle=4) but MechControlsMapper chained from Subsystem::NextAttributeID
== 2 -- every streamed record resolved ONE MEMBER LATE (attr 4 -> pedalsPosition,
verified via the new permanent BT_CTRLMAP_LOG diagnostic in CreateStreamedMappings).
A latent real-pod bug: the serial RIO throttle would drive the pedals member; the
dev keyboard bridge masked it. Fix per the mechweap/mech attrPad idiom: ids pinned
to the binary numbering, id-2 gap padded, static_assert-locked. Torso + weapon
chains verified already aligned. Regression: BT_FORCE_THROTTLE headless walk clean
(speedDemand=61.501 through authentic InterpretControls, gait cycles, no faults).
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>
low-pass into the zone WAVs
232 zones author initialFilterFc(8)/initialFilterQ(9) (SBK 0..127) -- the
fixed resonant low-pass the EMU8000 applied in hardware; the port played
them unfiltered (flagship: the LaserLoaded charge hum, fc=57 Q=87, much
brighter/harsher than the arcade). The extractor now applies an RBJ 2-pole
low-pass per zone: cutoff = the AWE NRPN curve (100 + fc*7900/127 Hz),
resonance = SBK Q -> 0..+12 dB peak [T3 curve, endpoints exact], designed at
the zone's baked rate so note-60 playback reproduces the hardware's absolute
cutoff (pitch-shifted notes carry the filter -- same limitation as the
rate-baked tuning). Synthetic sweep verified: flat lows, +5.4 dB at the
authored 3.6 kHz cutoff, -22 dB @10 kHz, -46 dB @14 kHz.
Whole bake pipeline (filter -> attenuation) now runs in float with ONE int16
conversion + peak normalization: an int-per-stage draft hard-clipped 165 of
232 zones (resonance overshoot, worst 3% of samples); now only pre-existing
source-material clipping remains (14 files). 160 WAVs re-baked; the preset
table is unchanged (no engine rebuild).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Root cause of "no sound, ever": the two audio backend DLLs shipped in the repo
are fakes. libsndfile-1.dll exports 15 funcs BY ORDINAL ONLY (no names) and
sf_open() always returns NULL; OpenAL32.dll (72KB) imports only KERNEL32 -- no
dsound/wasapi/winmm -- so it is a pure no-op that returns fake handles
(ctx=0x00000001, alGenSources->0) and never touches the hardware. The whole
render->device->buffer->source->play chain ran clean and silent.
Fixes:
- OpenAL32.dll: replace the stub with the real OpenAL Soft 1.25.2 Win32 build
(imports AVRT/ole32/WINMM, real WASAPI backend). The exe imports the 25 AL
funcs by NAME so it is a drop-in; alGenSources now yields a live source and
alSourcePlay reaches AL_PLAYING.
- libsndfile: DROPPED entirely. It is replaced by LoadWavPCM() in L4AUDRES --
a tiny RIFF/WAVE fmt+data reader that loads our soundbank WAVs (16-bit PCM)
straight into the AL buffer. Removed the .lib/.dll from the link + copy and
git-rm'd the stub. (This also kills the "ordinal 50 could not be located in
libsndfile-1.dll" load-failure popup: adding an sf_strerror import bound to
an ordinal the 2..16-only stub could not satisfy.)
- Soundbank: 241 samples cracked from AUDIO1/2.RES (SF2 v1.0) by
tools/sf2extract.py into content/AUDIO/*.wav + the allPresets[2][128] table
(audiopresets.cpp), replacing the zero-init btstubs stub. All 241 now load
(alErr=0). BT_AUDIO_TEST plays buffer0 as proof-of-life; BT_AUDIO_LOG traces
the chain.
Remaining: in-game triggering (AudioEntities on fire/step/engine/explosion)
so PlayNote fires during play -- next audio wave.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Session-in-progress peer-motion work, checkpointed before bisecting the
07-13/07-14 gait regression. Contains: TCP_NODELAY on game sockets (L4NET),
every-frame dense position send while moving + came-to-rest/REST send +
per-frame BT_JIT/BT_ANIM smoothness probes (mech4). bodyTargetSpeed feed
reverted to derived-velocity default. MOVER.cpp spline experiment already
reverted. NOT a fix -- a checkpoint.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The interactive 2-node playtest wave -- every fix decomp-grounded and live-verified:
COLLISION ECONOMY (the ram one-shot): StaticBounce mutates worldLinearVelocity
per contact and ProcessCollisionList walks EVERY touched solid per frame; with
2007 terrain-as-solids the reflections compounded x4-x40 within one frame and a
walking bump one-shot a pristine mech for 112,375 pts (62-pt authentic economy).
Fix: frameEntryWorldVelocity restore per contact (damage always priced at the
real approach speed -- all the binary's physics ever saw); Mech::Reset zeroes
the mover motion (respawn = teleport); [collide-tx]/[mp-hdlr] telemetry.
Gotcha #16 (engine-facility drift class).
MISSILES: peer-visible salvos (the launcher record extension carries a salvo
counter + aim point; ForceUpdate actually enqueues it -- the dirty flag alone
never serialized), the authentic arc (authored MuzzleVelocity vector + the
Seeker's 200m/0.1/300 loft + gain-4 steering, decoded from @004beae4/@004bef78),
world-impact bursts (rounds detonate on cave geometry instead of phasing
through), contact-only damage (flight-cap expiry = fizzle, no more teleport
damage), live re-lead, and ballistic (unguided) shells for autocannons.
projweap's stale BTPushProjectile extern (the /FORCE signature trap, gotcha #6
corollary) crashed the Avatar's first AFC100 shot -- fixed + sweep rule recorded.
RADAR: two transcription bugs made the scope permanently empty -- FUN_0040b244
is the affine INVERSE (not a copy) and FUN_0040adec writes ONLY the 3x3 rotation
(never the translation); worldToView now Invert(view) built rotation-first.
CulturalIcons sorted out of the moving grid (the phantom red pips were map
props), visible-radius culls on all three draw passes, live pip verified at
|delta| x ppm px. Gotcha #17 (verify the FUN_ body, not its call shape).
WEAPON PANELS (the frozen-dial hunt): the binary's *(subsystem+0x40) means
FAILED -- the recon's 'operating' name was backwards, inverting the destroyed-X
lamps, the panel look, the children enable and the ready-lamp gate (which had
NEVER executed). Polarity chain corrected end-to-end (failedState, fed by real
damage saturation). Root cause of the freezes: MFD page-mode gating -- the dev
composite shows ALL pages at once, so off-page dials legitimately stopped; under
BT_DEV_GAUGES the 15 page-plane bits stay active (the exclusive secondary trio
untouched). The SEH gauge guard now names its kills; repaint-heal resets the
incremental arc after panel repaints; [panel]/[arc] probes added.
COMM/SCORE: MessageBoard LIVE (the engine already shipped the whole
Player__StatusMessage queue; wired the binary's one producer -- the kill branch,
victim's name, 6s -- plus the consumer bridge and a lazy source bind); MP DEATHS
counted via the observed-death tally (each node scores every pilot from locally
observed events, the same model as the KILLS credit) and the -2/-1 engine seed
clamped for display.
DEV UX: node-tagged window titles (-net port), gauge panel reworked (1320x480,
true 4:3 MFD cells, the portrait secondary UNROTATED upright, linear filtering,
BT_GAUGE_SCALE), fixed close spawns via BT_SPAWN_XZ, Boreas flies an Avatar
(first second-chassis live outing).
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>
The 0xBBE heat-sink BANK was built as a plain HeatSink, so the numeric-R
cockpit gauge binding HeatSink/AmbientTemperature (L4GAUGE.CFG:4552) had
no publisher -> the LAST unresolved config attribute.
Reconstruct AggregateHeatSink : HeatSink (ctor @4ae8d0, own GUID 0x50e590),
byte-exact + static_assert-locked (heatSinkCount@0x1D0, ambientTemperature
@0x1D4=300, helper@0x1D8 0xC link node, sizeof 0x1E4 == factory alloc @9993).
Publish HeatSinkCount + AmbientTemperature via a dense-prefix attribute table
chained to HeatSink::NextAttributeID (shared HeatSink table unchanged, so
CoolantMass/CoolantCapacity keep resolving). Move CreateHeatSinkBankSubsystem
into heatfamily_reslice.cpp (needs the class def) and build the real class at
factory case 0xBBE; mech.cpp unchanged.
DELIBERATE DEVIATION (documented in the class): keep the base HeatSinkSimulation
the HeatSink ctor installs; do NOT reimplement the authentic Performance @4ae73c
-- it derefs a raw self+0xE0 -> [+0x158] that does not map in our compiled layout
(AV/NaN, and runs for EVERY mech), and ambientTemperature is a frozen constant so
the gauge reads 300 either way. Authentic relaxation model deferred.
Verified: [attr] HeatSink/AmbientTemperature OK; all 50 config attribute
bindings resolve (0 NULL); no every-mech crash; combat TARGET DESTROYED,
FIRED #41+, un-regressed.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The byte-exact WORLD-ENTITY reconstruction (Projectile @4be1bc 0x340 / Missile @4bf5b4 0x368)
is infeasible on the 2007 engine: measured sizeof(engine Entity)=0x1BC vs the 1995 binary's
0x300, so the reconstruction's raw base-offset reads (velocity@0x1dc, roster@0x124, motion@0x250)
read GARBAGE on the engine (the Mech 0x638-vs-0x854 gap, but the entity integrator DEPENDS on
those offsets). So -- like the mech drive and the beam renderer -- flying projectiles are a PORT
reconstruction (BTPushProjectile/BTUpdateProjectiles in mech4.cpp, a static array + stack
messages, ZERO heap ops): seeded from the launcher's fire with the decomp's real muzzle
(GetMuzzlePoint) / launch speed (|launchVelocity|) / per-shot damage (damageData, split across
missileCount), they fly to the target (tracer via BTPushBeam) and deliver the weapon's damage on
impact through the SAME Entity::TakeDamage path as the beam (aim Mech::FirstVitalZone()).
THREE bring-up fixes were needed to make a projectile weapon fire at all (found by tracing):
1. TRIGGER: fireImpulse was only driven for the Emitter; ProjectileWeaponSimulation now sets
fireImpulse = gBTWeaponTrigger too (else CheckFireEdge never sees an edge).
2. AMMO BIN: OwnerSubsystemCount/OwnerSubsystem were stubbed ->0, so ammoBinLink never resolved
and ConsumeRound always failed; redirected to the real roster (owner->GetSubsystemCount()/
GetSubsystem(i) -- the AmmoBin 0xBCB constructs before the weapons 0xBCD/0xBD0).
3. JAM ROLL: UniformRandom() was stubbed `return 0.0f`, so CheckForJam's `0 < jamChance` ALWAYS
jammed (a projectile weapon could NEVER fire); replaced with a real LCG [0,1) (fires
~1-jamChance of the time -- authentic occasional jams).
Also: the mech's own target slot (owner+0x388) isn't populated in bring-up (the visible fire
targets the gEnemyMech global), so BTPushProjectile falls back to gEnemyMech.
Verified: Mad Cat PUSH=62 / IMPACT=31 (LRM missiles 3.33 dmg each split across the salvo + AFC100
autocannon 25 dmg), TARGET DESTROYED, 0 crashes, construction heapcheck-clean; BLH un-regressed
(also fires its ballistic weapon now). Diagnostics BT_PROJ_LOG ([projectile] PUSH/IMPACT).
REMAINING (deferred): the byte-exact world-entity Missile (Projectile : Mover, MP-replicable via
Registry::MakeEntity) -- the port projectile is master-local only (no MP replication); the real
per-weapon fire-rate/heat wiring off the subsystem sim (mech4 beam path is still the bring-up harness).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <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 Fable 5