Live finding (round 3): firing RunMission while a pod is still loading
drowns that pod's load in the running mission's update streams -- the
same event queue serves both, so the load starves (the operator, always
last to join via the mech menu, loaded 5+ minutes or crashed while
testers took ~20s; solo loads on the same box take ~60s). The launch
timer now also waits for every registered pod's READY (route -10) so
everyone enters together, 1995-style; a held launch announces who's
still loading every 10s, and a 180s cap force-fires so a wedged pod
can't hold the night hostage.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The game self-pins to core 0 by default; on the operator box core 0 is
shared with the console/relay/desktop, and the mission load drains
frame-paced -- a starved frame rate multiplied the operator's load time
to 3-5 min while internet testers loaded in ~20s (live finding, round
2). The local-instance launcher now spreads the game across the upper
cores unless BT_AFFINITY is explicitly set.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
When every pod disconnects at once (normal end of a multiplayer round),
a failed send inside the PEER_DOWN fanout recursively drops that peer
and mutates by_host mid-iteration -> RuntimeError -> THE RELAY DIES,
taking the round reset and the matchlog uploads with it (live crash,
first 3-player internet round). Iterate over snapshots.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
'SEAT 2 READY' for the first (only) player read as an off-by-one (field
report) -- host 1 is the CONSOLE in the authentic 1995 numbering, so
pods start at host 2. Human-facing lines now read PLAYER 1/2/... with
the host id in parentheses for cross-reference against the game[host=N]
wire lines; GUI monitor regexes updated (tag-keyed as before, verified
seated/ready/left in isolation).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Measured (loadphase markers + queue blocker dump): renderer LoadMission
31ms, model loads 0.2s -- the teal->green minute is the LoadingMission
ready-gate (IsPriorityEmpty counts timed events too) waiting out the
THREE renderers' entity-make streams: every entity/subsystem creation
posts message 3 to each Renderer receiver (classIDs 8/30/36 =
video/audio/gauge), hundreds deep per queue, draining across the whole
window (the audio renderer's share is why sound starts mid-load).
Instrumentation kept: [loadphase] markers (renderer span + busy-pass
counter) always on; GeneralEventQueue::DumpBlockers + the class-named
DumpData fallback behind BT_LOAD_DIAG=1 (hundreds of lines per load).
Optimizing the drain (batching/budget) is an open perf item --
deliberately untouched before the 8-player night.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The measured 58s uncontended load has ~0.2s of model loads -- the rest
is unattributed. Stamp the renderer LoadMission span and count the
CheckLoad passes that find the event queue still busy (each delays the
ready transition by its 1s re-post), so the next live run names the
cost.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Every relay/console print now carries a wall-clock prefix (_StampedOut
stdout wrapper; the GUI monitor regexes use search() so the prefix is
transparent), and the pod's READY/pend lines carry wall time + tick --
post-mortems measure delays instead of guessing (the 3m40s load
reconstruction needed heartbeat-counting archaeology).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
silently replaced the WAITING-FOR-OPERATOR matcher (class-body last
assignment wins), breaking the LAUNCH button re-arm for back-to-back
missions. Renamed the old matcher RE_RELAY_WAITOP; both paths
regression-checked in isolation.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The roster showed "registered" for a still-loading pod and a ready one
alike -- with multi-minute contended loads the operator couldn't tell
who they'd be waiting on. When the app ladder reaches WaitingForLaunch
the pod sends one empty route -10 frame on its live relay game socket
(BTRelayNotifyReady; socket mirrored at HELLO); the relay announces
SEAT n READY (k/m loaded) and the console GUI lights the seat
bright-green with a "N pod(s) LOADED+READY" banner.
Verified LIVE by the operator: blue (seated) -> teal (registered) ->
green (ready) in order, twice. Also resolved the load-speed mystery:
loads are ~30s uncontended; the 1-2+ minute cases were assistant
background test runs competing with the user's interactive sessions on
the same machine (memory note added -- no game-spawning tests while the
user is testing).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The take-1 deferral (re-post at +1s, capped at 120) turned a SLOW load
into a crash: loads on a busy operator box measure 1-2+ minutes, the
cap expired, and the original "Not ready to run" Fail/abort fired
(field report: sound after ~1 min, crash ~2 min later; the log shows
exactly 120 deferrals all in LoadingMission).
A mid-load RunMission now just bumps gBTRunMissionPendCount -- nothing
enters the event queue and there is NO timeout to outlive -- and
CheckLoadMessageHandler drains the counter immediately after advancing
LoadingMission -> WaitingForLaunch, re-posting that many stack
RunMissionMessages (the engine's own no-console launch pattern at the
same site, which also demonstrates Post spools stack messages safely).
Verified (two-round rig, round 1): both relay launches pended through
the load, fired at load completion, the requested mech spawned and the
scene went live. Round reset + round-2 rejoin remain verified from the
prior run; why loads take 1-2+ min on a busy box is left as an open
perf question.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
1. ROUND RESET (the "picked Hellbringer, got a Blackhawk" field bug):
trim/prefs finalize the session egg for ONE round, and that was
permanent for the relay's lifetime -- a rejoin after a mission or
crash got the stale finalized egg and its new callsign/mech request
was recorded but never applied. _maybe_reset_round() (both drop
paths) restores the original egg/roster/launch state once every pod
is gone; live beacons re-key by tag position (conn.seat_tag).
Verified two-round e2e: blkhawk mission -> exit -> RESET -> lok1
request -> egg rewritten -> the Hellbringer spawned.
2. DEVICE-CREATION RETRY: CreateDevice(HARDWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING) fails
transiently when a just-exited instance still holds the adapter
(caught live; also the parked "exit 139" join crash). The old
double-failure path called PostQuitMessage(1) -- which does NOT stop
execution -- and the NULL mDevice deref right after was the real
crash. Now: HW->SW retry with 500ms backoff and a 20s deadline,
then a clean error box + ExitProcess.
3. LOAD-TIME PUMP: mission load is thousands of back-to-back
synchronous model loads; the starved message pump ghosted the window
"Not Responding" mid-load. BTLoadPump() (hooked from
d3d_OBJECT::LoadObject) pumps + repaints the wait screen at most
every 150ms pre-run; no-op once the scene is live.
Also: round-reset originals captured after the roster parse (the first
cut crashed the relay constructor -- caught by the two-round test).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The relay fires the RunMission pair a fixed 20s after the egg ACK -- but
the ACK happens at egg RECEIPT, and a long mission load (glass + dev
gauges on a busy box measured ~50s) is still in LoadingMission when the
launch lands. L4Application::RunMissionMessageHandler's default case
Fail()ed on that state -- an abort() the 1995 code could afford because
the real console launched operator-paced -- which presented as a SILENT
crash at mission start (c0000409, no WER record; cdb stack:
ucrtbase!abort <- RunMissionMessageHandler <- RoutePacket; 3/3
reproducible; matches the field report's 464 crash that died
mid-LOD-load).
The default case now DEFERS: re-post the message to ourselves at +1s
(the VehicleDead re-post pattern) until the ladder reaches
WaitingForLaunch, bounded at 120 deferrals so a truly wedged load still
surfaces the original Fail. Verified: the crashing console-shaped run
deferred 104x through its ~50s load, then launched, rendered (scene
LIVE) and ran clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The launch handoff (LoadingMission -> RunningMission) could interleave
the idle wait-overlay presents with the first real game frames (user
report: "the wait screen is still there when game graphics come up").
gBTSceneHasPresented latches at the render path's Present; ExecuteIdle
stands down permanently once set -- the overlay can never paint over
(or alternate with) live graphics. Permanent one-shot/1Hz [waitscreen]
diagnostics record the active paint path, the scene-live moment, and
idle paints.
Verified: 70-frame 0.5s capture across the handoff -- 54 wait frames,
then game frames with at most ONE ambiguous frame at the cut (was
repeated interleaving); no black frames.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The pre-mission overlay painted the window DC AFTER ExecuteIdle's
Present -- every cycle flashed the black D3D frame before the GDI
redraw, visible as flicker while the game loads (user report). The
overlay now lands IN the presented frame: the backbuffer refuses GetDC
on this driver (D3DERR_INVALIDCALL without LOCKABLE_BACKBUFFER, not
worth forcing game-wide), so the text+spinner GDI-paint goes into a
cached offscreen plain surface (GetDC always legal there) and
StretchRects onto the backbuffer before Present. D3DPOOL_DEFAULT cache
released at every device-Reset site; window-DC path remains for the
pre-device seat wait and as the fallback; one-shot [waitscreen] boot log
says which path is live.
Verified: 14 rapid PrintWindow captures of the waiting state all carry
the text (pre-fix runs alternated black frames).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Rows are capacity + per-seat defaults now -- joiners auto-populate them
live and launch trims to whoever is seated, so hand-managing rows is
busywork. A Seats spinner (1-8) maintains the row count in relay mode;
Add pilot / Remove selected remain for mesh mode, where explicit
addresses matter.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
join out -- ROSTER FULL on every seat request, field report). Local
instances seat-request like every joiner now; trim-on-launch makes
exact seat ownership moot.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The operator no longer has to match the roster row count to the exact
player count (or watch the "empty seats will STALL" warning). Two
mechanisms:
1. PRESENCE BEACONS: the pod keeps its seat-request TCP connection open
for the process lifetime; the relay reads a live beacon as "seated"
and a pre-claim FIN frees the seat (no ghost seats -- a ghost stalls
every pod at the connection gate). Reservation expiry spares
beaconed seats.
2. TRIM-ON-LAUNCH (manual/GUI mode): operator LAUNCH before the roster
fills shrinks the session to the seats present -- egg [pilots]/pages
trimmed, seat ids REMAPPED by position (pods re-derive their host id
from their tag's roster position, so walk-up prefs and beacons re-key
consistently), roster/expected_ids shrink, eggs release, the launch
pair fires as ACKs land.
GUI: roster rows now update LIVE from the walk-up requests (SEAT n
PRESENT/FREED lines -> callsign/mech cells + a blue "seated" status
light), and LAUNCH MISSION enables from the first seated player with a
"starts with whoever is here" banner.
Verified 2-node: 2-of-4 trim ran the mission with the requested mechs;
and the mid-roster GAP case -- three joined, the middle player quit
pre-launch (beacon FIN freed the seat), trim remapped seat 4->3 with the
survivor's callsign/mech following, both survivors registered under the
remapped ids and ran the mission. Also: stdin reader guarded against
sys.stdin=None spawn shapes (the GUI QProcess pipe is the supported
operator channel).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Launch-local-instances path pinned BT_SELF, which claims a seat
directly and SKIPS the seat request -- the join menu (and the callsign/
mech choice it carries) never ran, so a local test instance couldn't
exercise the walk-up flow. Relay-mode local instances now launch
zero-arg with BT_FE_JOIN=1: the JOIN-GAME menu opens, the relay assigns
the seat, and the choice lands in the egg like any join.bat player.
Each instance gets a distinct relaunch port via BT_FE_JOINPORT
(btl4main JoinRelay case; default 1501) -- two -net listeners can't
share a port on one box. Mesh-mode locals keep the direct path.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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>
Distributed test zips go stale and stray. BT_EXPIRE (CMake option,
DEFAULT ON so a zip can never accidentally ship without it) makes the
exe refuse to start BT_EXPIRE_DAYS (default 14) after its build day:
boot logs the remaining window, an expired build logs + shows a
"test build expired -- ask the operator for the current build" box and
exits. btversion.h now stamps BT_BUILD_UNIX (UTC-midnight-rounded so
the only-on-change header churns once per day, not every build) +
BT_BUILD_DATE. Dev is unaffected: every build re-stamps the day.
-DBT_EXPIRE=OFF builds a non-expiring exe; mkdist reads the cache and
marks such a zip "-noexpire" + prints a warning, and the tester README
expiry note is {EXPIRE}-marker-gated like the steam lines. Second
compile-gate exception after BT_STEAM (convention updated in
glass-cockpit.md). Quality gate, not DRM -- a clock rollback defeats it.
Verified live: default build logs "test build window: 14 day(s) left";
a -DBT_EXPIRE_DAYS=0 build logs TEST BUILD EXPIRED and parks on the
explanation box (window title checked) without starting the game;
restored to 14 and rebuilt clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
For the 8-player playtest. Damage authority is VICTIM-side, so no single
peer sees the whole match: every -net instance now writes a compact
machine-parseable matchlog_<date>_<time>_<pid>.txt (auto-armed by -net;
BT_MATCHLOG=1/0 overrides; solo silent), and at mission end a relay-mode
pod dials the relay game port (the seat-request throwaway-dial pattern,
envelope route -9) and streams the file back -- the relay saves every
peer's copy under matchlogs/ on the operator's machine, so testers send
nothing by hand. tools/matchcheck.py <dir> reconciles all of them:
damage claimed (FIRE/PROJ/SPLASH/RAM, shooter-side) vs applied (DMG,
victim-side authoritative), kill/death replication across observers,
PLAYER_DEAD counts, scores, version skew, replicant-application and
unattributed-damage anomalies, mid-mission disconnects.
Hooks at the authoritative sites: Mech::TakeDamageMessageHandler (DMG,
post-base, zone + post-application damageLevel), MechWeapon::
SendDamageMessage (FIRE), projectile impact/splash/collision dispatch
(PROJ/SPLASH/RAM), wreck entry (DEATH -- a ONE-SHOT latch at
MovementMode 9, NOT the transition: a replicant arrives at 9 straight
from the type-6 record header and never runs the transition branch),
BTPlayer vehicle/death/score handlers (VEHICLE/PLAYER_DEAD/SCORE), zone
crit cascade (CRIT), APP.cpp RunningMission (MISSION), L4NET host
handlers (PEER_UP/PEER_DOWN). Every line t=/w=/st=-stamped + fflushed.
Verified 2-node: mesh run pairs A's 22 FIRE 1:1 with B's 22 DMG (same
amounts, cylinder-resolved zones, ~200ms latency); force-damage kill run
logs 103 DMG + 3 DEATH inst=M + 3 PLAYER_DEAD across three respawn
cycles victim-side and the kill SCOREs shooter-side; relay-mode run
auto-uploaded BOTH peers' files at the mission-clock stop and matchcheck
produced the full report with exactly one (correct) anomaly -- the force
hook's claim-less damage, the unattributed-damage detector working.
Relay gained a route-specific 8MB cap for the upload frame (game frames
stay capped at 1600).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Root cause of the keymap whack-a-mole: three input layers exist (PadRIO/
bindings.txt under glass; btinput/CONTROLS.MAP under DEV; the bring-up
drive bridge also under DEV, which clobbers e.g. Alt-reverse every frame),
and DEV was the DEFAULT -- so every launcher that forgot BT_PLATFORM=glass
booted the old stack: the play bats, then play_steam, then the operator
console's local instances, each fixed with the same one line.
Omission can't resurrect it now: with no BT_PLATFORM, desktop boots GLASS
(and the menu on a zero-arg launch -- bare double-click of btl4.exe opens
the mission menu). BT_PLATFORM=dev explicitly opts into the legacy DEV
profile for debugging. BT_PLATFORM=pod is the cabinet profile; the real
pod's SETENV.BAT must set it (contract recorded in glass-cockpit.md --
the old "bare boot == cabinet shape" menu-guard assumption is retired).
Verified: no-env mission launch boots GLASS; bare no-env launch opens the
MENU; BT_PLATFORM=dev boots DEV.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The console's one-click local-instance launcher predates the unified build
and never set the platform env -- instances booted the DEV profile (no
PadRIO), so the legacy arrow-drive bridge owned the keyboard instead of the
bindings.txt keymap (arrows drove fwd/back/turn, Alt-reverse dead). The
join bats already set it; now the operator's QProcess env does too.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Two follow-ups to the waiting-screen work, both user-reported:
1. "Animation frozen after connecting": once the console seats the player
and sends the egg, the state advances LoadingMission -> WaitingForLaunch
-- where NOTHING presents until the operator's RunMission, so the last
idle frame froze on screen with the mission audio already running.
ExecuteForeground now keeps the idle clear + overlay alive through
LoadingMission/WaitingForLaunch/LaunchingMission (no early return -- the
load/replication work continues), and ExecuteIdle picks per-state text:
WaitingForEgg "WAITING FOR MISSION ASSIGNMENT"
Loading/Launching "LOADING MISSION / stand by"
WaitingForLaunch "MISSION READY / waiting for the operator to launch"
2. The roster-full retry pause was a raw Sleep(3000) -- with the relay up
and answering SEAT_FULL instantly, the process spent ~95% of its time
unpumped (IsHungAppWindow TRUE, spinner frozen). Now 30 pumped 100ms
slices with the reason on screen ("session is FULL -- waiting for a
seat to free up").
Verified live against the running operator relay: roster-full wait shows
the reason text, spinner advances across 500ms captures, IsHungAppWindow
false on every sample.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
User-reported after the waiting-screen fix: "the animation keeps hanging."
Cause: RelayDialTcp used a BLOCKING connect() -- against a down/unreachable
operator each attempt froze the window thread for the OS SYN-retry window
(seconds), so the spinner ran only during the 2s sleep between attempts.
RelayDialTcp now connects NON-blocking and select()s in 100ms slices,
pumping the message loop + repainting the waiting screen every slice (both
in-flight and between retry attempts). The success path already returned a
non-blocking socket (FIONBIO), so caller semantics are unchanged; the other
dial sites (console dial, game-socket dial) inherit the smooth behavior.
Verified: 4 window captures at 400ms intervals during a dead-host dial all
differ in the spinner region (uniform diff energy == continuous animation)
and IsHungAppWindow reads false on every sample.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The relay seat-wait loop (RelayRequestSeat -- the join/join_lan "patient
walk-up") blocked the window thread's message pump for its whole 30-minute
patience window: dial (2s timeout) -> Sleep(2000) -> repeat, with status
going only to the parent bat console. Windows flagged the frozen game
window "Not Responding" until the operator started the session
(user-reported).
- BTWaitScreenPaint (L4VIDEO.cpp): a GDI waiting screen on the main window
-- headline + detail line in the console green + a 12-segment marching
spinner phased on the tick clock. Pure GDI: flicker-free during the
seat wait (no D3D presenting yet), and re-painted after each
ExecuteIdle Present so the WaitingForEgg phase (previously a bare black
frame) shows "WAITING FOR MISSION ASSIGNMENT" too.
- RelayWaitTick (L4NET.CPP): PeekMessage pump + paint. The outer dial
loop's Sleep(2000) becomes 20 pumped 100ms slices ("WAITING FOR THE
OPERATOR'S SESSION" / "session at <ip:port> -- close this window to
cancel"); the inner seat-reply wait pumps per 200ms select slice.
Verified live against a dead relay address: window-only PrintWindow capture
shows the animated screen, and user32 IsHungAppWindow (the API behind "Not
Responding") reports FALSE throughout the wait.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The col-1 stack (MAP 8 + SCENARIO 2 + TIME 4 + WEATHER 3 + LENGTH 4 with
headers/gaps) needs 630px; at 620 the last LENGTH rows collided with the
'click to select' footer band (client.bottom-30) -- user-reported from a
screenshot. 672 fits the stack + footer. The LAUNCH/steam buttons and
frame rect derive from MenuClientH and follow automatically.
Also: 'No Return (one life)' clipped at the column edge -> '(1 life)'.
Verified by screen capture of the live menu: LENGTH fully above the
footer, scenario label unclipped.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Lynx supplied a photo of the period credits page (preserved at
reference/manual/credits_page.webp). It confirms, corrects and completes
the oral-history identifications:
- ECH = Eric Huffman (Audio Director / 3D audio framework) -- corrects the
uncertain "Eric Nichols" guess
- JMA = Joanna Mason (Simulation Code and Cameras) -- inferred mapping
confirmed
- CPB = Chris Brewer: "Secondary/Auxiliary Screens and Low Level I/O" --
the exact MFD gauge/mode layer this project reconstructs
- GDU = Gabe Underwood: "Simulation Code and 'Mech Internal Systems" --
the heat/coolant/generator/seek economy
- Full roster: Jordan Weisman (producer/designer), David McCoy (art
director), J.M. Albertson (technical director), Bill Redmann (corporate
director of technology), plus Corson, Edsall, Ciolek, Olsen, the artists
(Burlington, Molitor, McCoy, Story; Allen Workshop: Bonilla, Peters) and
sound (Bing McCoy, Effinger, Huffman).
- 10 software engineers + 6 artists == Lynx's "maybe 8 dev, 6 art" memory.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Source archaeology (the per-file modification tables in the surviving
headers) surfaced six programmer initials: JM, ECH, CPB, GDU, JMA, GAH.
Read to VWE veterans on the project Discord (2026-07-21), VGL Lynx --
who watched the first multiplayer Thor walk terrain on a Red Planet map --
identified them: Jim Albertson, Eric Nichols (uncertain), Chris Brewer,
Gabe Underwood, Joanna Mason (mapping inferred), Garth Hermanson; hardware
initials MC = Marek Ciolek (AC unresolved), via Cyd.
Team size per Lynx: dev ~8, art ~6, MUNGA by a smaller parallel internal
team with crossovers, no outsourcing. Identifications marked T3 (oral
history, as-typed spellings) against the T0 initials; a corrections
invitation is included. Linked from context/project-overview.md.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The tester's ER small laser died permanently (recharge arc + ready dot dark,
no fire) after idle seek-gear clicking. Root cause, byte-verified + headless-
reproduced -- a latent bug in the SHIPPED ARCADE BINARY:
- The charge integrates toward the GENERATOR voltage (@004ba838), not the
gear target; "full" is only detected inside the +-1% snap window around
seekVoltage[idx] (@004ba738), and overcharge reads ZERO (the byte-verified
_DAT_004ba830 = 0.0 clamp).
- Toggle seek while a charge is in flight and the level can land ABOVE the
new gear's window: rechargeLevel pins to 0, the ==1.0 Loaded test can
never fire, and charging continues to the generator ceiling where EVERY
gear reads overcharged. Permanent brick; generator reselect cannot help.
- The arcade dodged it by circumstance (locked 60 fps, rare seek use); the
port's clickable seek button hits it in seconds of casual clicking.
Fix (marked divergence in the Loading tick): overcharge counts as fully
charged -> Loaded. The arcade's own discharge algebra says full == the
gear's seek voltage, so an overcharged weapon IS full.
Verified: the same 2.5-min BT_SEEKTEST abuse that bricked the laser pre-fix
now fires 38 overcharge rescues and ends Loaded/pct=1. [seek] log now also
prints the per-gear voltage table + gen voltages (diagnosis instrumentation).
Ruled out on the way (documented in #21): overheat fuse (no firing occurred;
a 4-min autofire+coolant-abuse run wouldn't fuse), generator detach (gen
cycling + healthy siblings), seek-table corruption (table {6000,7000,8000,
9900} healthy).
KB: decomp-reference.md records the arcade-latent-bug analysis.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Third instance of the silent-swallow pattern (unregistered handler id ->
Receiver NullHandler). The Mech handler table @0x50BDF8 binds
{0x16, "BalanceCoolant" -> @0049f728}; the reconstruction never registered it.
Disasm-verified body (@0049f728): press-only guard (msg+0xc > 0; the binary
has NO novice lockout on this one), set EVERY condenser's valveState@0x1D0
to 1 (equal weights), then the shared redistribute @0049f788 -- which the
port ALREADY had faithfully as BTRecomputeCondenserValves (flow =
valve/total + condenserAlarm pulse; MoveValve calls it). So the fix is:
- mech.hpp/mech.cpp: BalanceCoolantMessageID=0x16 + handler + MESSAGE_ENTRY
- heatfamily_reslice.cpp: BTBalanceCondenserValves bridge (Condenser is a
complete type there; sets valves to 1 + redistributes)
- mech4.cpp: BT_BALTEST scripted harness (MoveValve press alternating with
a Balance press)
VERIFIED headless (BT_BALTEST=1 BT_VALVE_LOG=1):
boot -> all valves 1, flows 0.1667 each
MoveValve-> condenser#1 valve 5, flows 0.5 / 0.1x5 (the priority boost)
BALANCE -> all valves 1, flows 0.1667 each (equalized)
Awaiting the tester's live ADV-mode confirmation.
KB: decomp-reference.md Mech-table row marked wired.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Root cause -- NOT issue #2 (the experience mis-seed pins everyone to VETERAN,
which PASSES the novice lockout; the gates were never the blocker). Two
unwired handlers, the same silent-swallow pattern ToggleCooling had
(Receiver::Receive -> NullHandler for an unregistered id):
- Myomers (handler table @0x51158C {9,"ToggleSeekVoltage"@004b8a48}): the
reconstruction had an EMPTY stub (the address falls in the untagged decomp
gap 0x4b8837..0x4b8a8c) and never registered the id. Body reconstructed
faithfully from the raw disassembly (tools/disas2.py 0x4b8a48): novice
lockout (@4ac9c8) -> heat-model gate (@4ad7d4) -> press-only (msg+0xc>0) ->
currentSeekVoltageIndex@0x320 = (idx+1) % (maxSeekVoltageIndex@0x32C + 1).
Modulo from zero, min index not consulted, no ResetFiringState.
- Emitter (energy-weapon table @0x511DB8 {0xb,"ToggleSeekVoltage"@004ba478}):
the faithful body already existed as the orphaned "AdvanceSeekVoltage"
(ZERO callers) -- converted to the registered message handler (same guards;
cycle + ResetFiringState when not wrapping, disasm re-verified). PPC and
GaussRifle copy-inherit the set; the ammo branch keeps its own id 0xb ==
EjectAmmo (still unwired, tracked separately).
Both registered via MESSAGE_ENTRY on top of the inherited chains. Permanent
diagnostics: [seek] gear log (BT_SEEK_LOG) + BT_SEEKTEST scripted dispatch
harness (mech4.cpp, the cooltoggle pattern).
VERIFIED headless: [seek] Myomers -> 3,0,1,2,3... and [seek] PPC_1 ->
3,0,1,2,3... (modulo-4 wrap, matching the binary's arithmetic). Awaiting
the tester's live ADV-mode confirmation for the real MFD button route (the
routing layer is the same streamed-EventMapping path ToggleCooling verified).
KB: decomp-reference.md message-table rows marked wired.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The user hit the full session menu from play_solo -- HOST/JOIN LAN modes,
NET PORT and the Steam buttons don't belong in the solo flow (LAN goes
through the join bats + operator; Steam through play_steam.bat).
BT_FE_SOLO=1 (set by play_solo.bat + the btoperator generated bat):
- the MODE cycle keeps only the two solo entries (kModes lists them first:
SOLO MISSION, RAW SOLO) via the GroupSize clamp
- NET PORT row and the HOST/JOIN STEAM buttons are not laid out
- a stale fe_last.ini mode of hostlan/joinlan is rejected by the existing
LoadPersisted GroupSize clamp, so the selection can never land on a
hidden mode
play_steam.bat keeps the full menu.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
play_solo hardcoded -egg ARENA1.EGG, bypassing the miniconsole front end
that already carries the full pickers: SOLO/RAW-SOLO/HOST-LAN/JOIN-LAN
modes, 8 maps, all 18 mechs, 4 experience levels, colours/badges/patches,
drop zones, advanced damage, time-of-day, weather and mission length.
The bat now launches zero-arg (BT_PLATFORM=glass -> the menu); the menu
relaunches the exe with the generated egg and the cockpit/gauge env
(BT_START_INSIDE/BT_DEV_GAUGES) inherits into the mission child. Menu-boot
verified with the bat's exact env; the solo menu->mission->menu cycle was
verified at FE landing. README + the btoperator generated-bat template
updated to match.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The steam bat missed the two client flags the join bats set -- steam-launched
missions booted 3rd-person (the same field bug fixed for join.bat earlier).
Env inherits through the menu's mission relaunch.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The unification flattened BT_STEAM into the always-on exe; the user flagged
the constraint that makes it the one legitimate compile gate: the Steamworks
SDK license bars a public release with Steam inside, so a release build must
exclude it entirely.
- CMakeLists: option(BT_STEAM OFF) restored around the Steamworks block --
an OFF configure touches no SDK headers, no steam_api.lib, no DLL copy.
BT_GLASS stays retired (always defined); ONE build dir either way.
Dev checkout: build/ configured once with -DBT_STEAM=ON.
- mkdist: reads BT_STEAM from build/CMakeCache.txt. Steam-OFF zips exclude
play_steam.bat + steam_api.dll (explicitly filtering a STALE DLL left by
an earlier ON build), strip the README steam section ({STEAM} line
markers), and take a -nosteam name suffix so the flavors never clobber
(found live: both stamped 4.11.436 and the release zip overwrote the dev
zip).
Verified both flavors:
ON (dev build): steam smoke degrades to Winsock without the client;
zip carries play_steam.bat + steam_api.dll + README steam lines.
OFF (scratch build-relcheck, deleted after): 0 compile errors; exe dir =
btl4.exe + OpenAL32.dll only; boots + simulates; BT_STEAM_NET=1 inert
(transport not in the binary); end-to-end zip has zero steam bits and
a clean README.
KB: context/glass-cockpit.md unified-build section records the license gate.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The first zips (pre-mkdist) shipped d3dx9_43.dll / msvcp140.dll /
vcruntime140.dll next to the exe -- testers without the VC++ / DirectX
redistributables cannot load the exe otherwise. mkdist missed them (the
clean-extract boot test passed only because this machine has them system-
wide). Carried into redist/ (recovered from BT411_4.11.341.zip) and
packaged next to the exe.
Also: players/README.txt -- the tester instructions (updated for the
unified build: one exe, clickable cockpit surround, trigger-config regroup,
the settled keymap, play_steam.bat) -- stamped with the version and placed
at the zip root, matching the original zips' shape.
Clean-extract verified on BT411_4.11.435.zip: root has README + 4 bats,
exe dir carries all 4 DLLs, glass-profile boot simulates.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The three build dirs (build\ pod, build-glass\, build-steam\) were compile-
time splits of the same game; the tax was real: a stale steam exe shipped 2
days behind, the felt keymap flipped with the boot flavor, and cockpit
clicks were silently dead in the pod build (the trigger-config incident).
Now everything compiles into the single build\ exe:
- CMakeLists: BT_GLASS/BT_STEAM options removed; the glass TUs (PadRIO,
bindings, panel, glass windows, plasma) + FE/console + Steam transport
compile unconditionally; both macros always defined (seam markers).
- Steam: steam_api.lib linked with /DELAYLOAD:steam_api.dll + delayimp --
the DLL maps only when SteamAPI is first called, and every call site
gates on BT_STEAM_NET=1 (BTSteamNet_* short-circuit on steamActive), so
machines without the DLL run everything but Steam sessions.
- CABINET GUARD (btl4main): the miniconsole menu previously claimed any
zero-arg launch -- unified, that would hijack the pod cabinet's boot
shape. The menu now requires BT_PLATFORM=glass (or BT_FE_MENU=1);
platform parse moved above the fe_menu_mode computation. A bare boot
behaves exactly like the old pod build (DEV profile, wait for egg).
- Bats (play_solo/join/join_lan/play_steam) + the btoperator.py template:
single build\ path + BT_PLATFORM=glass. mkdist: one exe (+DLL scan
picks up OpenAL32 + steam_api). build-glass\/build-steam\/build-glass2\
(a stale Jul-20 cache) deleted.
Verified matrix on the unified exe:
bare zero-arg boot == old pod exe (same DEV profile + egg-load path;
the segfault on a missing egg is pre-existing, baselined vs the zip exe)
glass + BT_BTNTEST scripted click -> [cfgmap] ENTER/EXIT (trigger config)
runs with steam_api.dll ABSENT (delay-load proven)
glass zero-arg -> miniconsole menu
2-node loopback MP: 145 ticks each, cross-connected
BT_STEAM_NET=1 without Steam client -> "staying on Winsock", game runs
KB: context/glass-cockpit.md compile-gates section rewritten for the
unified model.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Rebuilt build-steam fresh (was stale at Jul 20 -- predated today's gauge/
trigger-config/keymap fixes); the DLL scan picks up steam_api.dll
automatically. Clean-extract verified: the steam exe boots to the front-end
menu (Steam client only needed for live lobbies).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Packages the player bats (zip root), BOTH exes (build\ pod fallback +
build-glass\ preferred -- the bats auto-select glass = clickable cockpit /
trigger config / bindings.txt keymap), the runtime DLLs next to each exe
(OpenAL32.dll -- the first clean-extract boot test failed without it), and
the git-TRACKED content/ files only (the working tree carries dev junk that
must not ship). Output: dist/BT411-<date>-<hash>.zip (dist/ gitignored).
Verified: clean-extract boot test -- glass exe boots the GLASS profile and
simulates; pod exe boots as fallback.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
join.bat + join_lan.bat + the btoperator.py generator template now prefer
build-glass\Release\btl4.exe when present and set BT_PLATFORM=glass with it
-- so MP sessions on a dev checkout get PadRIO (mouse-clickable cockpit
buttons: trigger config, MFD banks, radar rails) and the bindings.txt keymap,
identical to solo play. Player zips (which ship only build\) fall back to
the pod build exactly as before.
Verified: 2-node loopback MP smoke on the GLASS build (the documented
procedure: A -egg MP.EGG -net 1501 + B -net 1601 + tools/btconsole.py) --
both nodes cross-connected (GameMachineHost 1502/1602), ~150 sim ticks
each, no errors. btoperator.py syntax-checked; regenerated bats carry the
same guard.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
context/glass-cockpit.md: record the BT_PLATFORM=glass/PadRIO click gating
(the dead-clicks root cause), the verified live regroup loop, the [cfgmap]/
BT_BTNTEST diagnostics, and the one-keymap settlement (babf5b1).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The user standardized on the "newer" layout (numpad aim cluster, arrows =
throttle/pedals, Alt = reverse thrust). That layout lived only in
bindings.txt (PadRIO, GLASS-profile boots); CONTROLS.MAP (btinput, DEV/pod
boots) lacked the numpad cluster entirely and had NO reverse binding -- so
the felt keymap flip-flopped with the boot flavor.
Added to CONTROLS.MAP + the byte-identical compiled-in default profile
(btinput.cpp sDefaultProfile):
Alt -> button 0x3F (throttle-head REVERSE THRUST)
NumPad8/2 -> JoystickY aim up/down
NumPad4/6 -> JoystickX torso twist
NumPad7/9 -> pedals (turn)
NumPad5 -> AllStop
Shift -> throttle up (alt)
Parse-verified: [input] loaded 61 binding(s) from CONTROLS.MAP, no warnings.
Both engines now carry the same layout, so DEV/pod boots (MP join bats) and
GLASS boots (play_solo) feel identical.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The user held the MFD PROGRAM button and nothing happened (weapons kept
firing). Diagnosis, verified end-to-end:
- The cockpit mouse handler DID register the click ([cockpit] CLICK addr=0x8
press) and 0x8 IS a streamed PROGRAM element (EVENT msg 0x9 -> weapon,
Mfd1 quad page mask).
- But every launch ran the DEV platform profile (no BT_PLATFORM) ->
L4CONTROLS=KEYBOARD -> no PadRIO instance -> PadRIO::SetScreenButton
no-ops (activeInstance NULL) -> the press never entered the RIO queue ->
ConfigureMappables (id 9) never dispatched -> the mode never flipped ->
fire keys kept firing. The config machinery itself was never broken.
- With BT_PLATFORM=glass (the GLASS profile: L4CONTROLS=PAD -> PadRIO), the
full chain now proves out headlessly:
[btntest] PRESS 0x8 -> [cfgmap] ENTER session on ERMLaser_1
mode 0x450421 -> 0x448421 (NonMapping 0x10000 -> Mapping 0x8000)
[btntest] RELEASE 0x8 -> [cfgmap] EXIT (mode restored)
Landed:
- mechweap.cpp: [cfgmap] BT_FIRE_LOG diagnostics in the real
ConfigureMappables/ChooseButton handlers (they were silent -- the G-key
harness had logs but the authentic button path had none).
- L4PADRIO.cpp: BT_BTNTEST="addr,pressPoll,releasePoll" scripted screen-
button harness through the REAL click seam (EmitButton -> RIO queue ->
manager drain -> buttonGroup mapping) for headless verification.
- play_solo.bat: prefer the glass build when present AND set
BT_PLATFORM=glass so PadRIO exists and cockpit clicks work.
Side finding (the user's keymap "flip-flop"): CONTROLS.MAP (btinput, DEV/pod
profile) and bindings.txt (PadRIO, GLASS profile) are two parallel binding
engines; which one runs depends on the platform profile, so the felt keymap
changes with the boot flavor. Unification pending (user decision).
Awaiting live verification of the full hold-PROGRAM + tap-fire regroup flow.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
