---
id: experience-levels
title: "Experience levels / simulation modes — novice, standard, veteran, expert"
status: established
source_sections: "decomp part_013.c:10816-10871 (@4c0bc8), part_014.c:7830-7900 (@4d2f3e), FUN_004ad7d4/FUN_004ac9c8/FUN_004bbfcc; BTMSSN.HPP (survived); Tesla40_BT_manual.pdf pp.7,11-14,21,22,24"
related_topics: [subsystems, combat-damage, gauges-hud, pod-hardware, multiplayer, decomp-reference, open-questions]
key_terms: [master, replicant]
open_questions:
  - "player+0x26c (std+vet only) and +0x270 (all but novice) consumers not located — 0x26c hypothesis: myomer supercharge clamp (manual p22) [T4]"
  - "does a remote pilot's experience matter cross-pod? flags are computed only on the master branch of the BTPlayer ctor [T4]"
  - "movement-heat magnitude veteran vs expert (4.0 manual says expert-only; 4.10 gate is vet+expert) [T4]"
---

# Experience levels / simulation modes

The egg's per-pilot `experience` field is the pod's **simulation-fidelity tier** — the thing the
1995 site operator set per player at sign-up. It is NOT the BAS/MID/ADV control mode (a free
in-cockpit choice, [[locomotion]]/[[pod-hardware]]) and NOT the scenario role (scoring modifiers).
Researched end-to-end 2026-07-18; this file supersedes the older "role display toggles" /
"ROOKIE-role lockout" readings (see Corrections below).

## The data path [T1]

1. **Egg**: pilot page key `experience` ∈ {`novice`,`standard`,`veteran`,`expert`}; required unless
   `vehicle=camera`; unknown value = hard abort. Parse @4d2f3e (part_014.c:7830-7900, strings
   @51e6f1); `tools/eggmodel.py` knows the value set.
2. **BTMission** (`BTMSSN.HPP` survived, T0): stored at `mission+0xe4` (`experienceLevel`, accessor
   `ExperienceLevel()`); the neighboring egg key `advancedDamage` → `mission+0xf0`
   (`advancedDamageOn`) — the separate site-technician splash/collision switch (manual p13).
3. **BTPlayer ctor @4c0bc8** (part_013.c:10816-10871): on the MASTER branch
   (`(simulationFlags & 0xc) != 4`; the replicant branch instead swaps in the console-update
   Performance) it reads `btMission(+0x1f8)->experienceLevel(+0xe4)` and fans it out:

| egg value | +0x25c | +0x260 | +0x26c | +0x270 | +0x274 (raw) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| novice   | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| standard | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| veteran  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| expert   | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |

then unconditionally `+0x264 = +0x268 = mission->advancedDamageOn(+0xf0)` (both copies). [T1]

## What each flag gates (binary consumers, all reached via `mech+0x190` → BTPlayer) [T1]

- **+0x25c — "sim live", off only for novice.** Consumers: ballistic jam roll `CheckForJam`
  @4bbfcc early-returns NO-JAM when 0 (projweap.cpp calls this `LiveFireEnabled`); Searchlight
  `ToggleLamp` @4b860c (searchlight.cpp `ControlsAllowLights`); PoweredSubsystem message handler
  @4b0efc (powersub.cpp's "message-manager short-event flag" — same flag, misattributed); the mech
  combat-ineffective evaluation (part_012.c:9364: mech state ∈ {3,4} && novice is an extra OR-term
  setting `mech+0x414`). The `#if 0` block in surviving PPC.CPP:63-95 (novice PPCs deal no damage)
  shows the original intent of the tier.
- **+0x260 — the HEAT-MODEL master switch, ON for veteran+expert.** This is `FUN_004ad7d4`
  (`*(*(sub+0xD0)+0x190)+0x260`), the single most-called gate in the subsystem family: Myomers
  work→heat (movement heat, MyomersSimulation @4b8d18), Emitter/energy-weapon firing heat, missile
  launch heat, the heat.cpp simulation, projectile-weapon heat, and the heat-scaled part of the jam
  chance. Standard mode has NO heat consequences; that is authentic, not a port gap.
- **+0x274 — the raw level.** `FUN_004ac9c8` = (level == 0), the NOVICE lockout used as the
  condenser-valve guard ([[gauges-hud]] task #13) and by the PoweredSubsystem handler @4b21d0
  (not-novice gate). The port's `BTPlayerRoleLocksAdvanced` bridge implements this predicate
  (correct behavior, wrong seeding — see Port state).
- **+0x264/+0x268 — advancedDamage copies.** Read in the heat-family sim (part_013.c:8757).
  Independent of experience.
- **+0x26c / +0x270 — consumers NOT located** via the mech→player hop. 0x26c (standard+veteran
  only) best fits the manual-p22 myomer supercharge clamp (standard locked, expert unlocked) [T4].

## Player-facing behavior (Tesla 4.0 manual) [T1 primary source]

Manual pp. 7, 11-14, 21, 22, 24 (the dedicated Simulation Modes page, manual p2, is MISSING from
the `Tesla40_BT_manual.pdf` scan along with p3):
- **Standard**: armor-only damage — no criticals, no generator outages, no jams, no heat concerns;
  MechTech limited to the leg-damage audio warning; viewscreen hunting aids (red hot box + guide
  arrow, 60° FOV) on; myomer supercharge locked.
- **Veteran**: critical hits (any hit can go internal; likelihood rises as armor thins; a crit can
  kill the mech), generators take damage/go offline (reroute power), ballistic jams (manual
  clearing), full MechTech audio + smart buttons; viewscreen hunting aids OFF (radar hot box stays).
- **Expert**: veteran + heat as a core mechanic: movement generates heat (accel/decel worst),
  heat slows recharge/top speed, incoming fire causes coolant leaks, ammo-bay fires/cook-off;
  myomer supercharge allowed.
- Scoring identical in all modes (p4). Splash/collision damage = a separate technician setting.

## 4.0 → 4.10 drift [T1]

- **The viewscreen hunting-aid gate is GONE in 4.10**: part_014 (HUD/btl4vid TU) reads none of the
  player flags — the target hotbox/edge arrows (@4cdf6f) are gated on lock state only, every mode.
  Fits the 4.10 arcade-cities positioning.
- **Movement heat is veteran+expert in 4.10** (the +0x260 gate), not expert-only as the 4.0 manual
  states. Whether a coefficient still differentiates them is open.

## Port state (as of 2026-07-20) — WIRED (issue #2) [T2]

The wiring landed (uncommitted during the coordination pause; issue #2):
- **Seed**: the `BTPlayer` master ctor (`btplayer.cpp` ~1305) now reads
  `((BTMission *)playerMission)->ExperienceLevel()` + `->AdvancedDamageOn()`. The binary's +0x1f8
  mission pointer IS the inherited `Player::playerMission` (master: set by the base ctor;
  replicant: back-filled from `Application::GetCurrentMission()` = app+0xc8) — the old separate
  `btMission` member was a phantom duplicate, never set on the master branch; removed. The two
  switch slot errors are fixed (binary rows verified against part_013.c:10843-10870). A `[exp]`
  sentinel logs the seeded flags per master player.
- **Renames** (btplayer.hpp): showDamageReceived→`simLive` (0x25c), showKills→`heatModelOn`
  (0x260), showDamageInflicted→`advancedDamageOn` (0x264), roleReturnDelay→`advancedDamageOn2`
  (0x268, was mistyped Scalar), roleReturnDelay2→`levelFlag26c` (0x26c), showScore→`levelFlag270`
  (0x270), roleClassIndex→`experienceLevel` (0x274).
- **Bridges** (btplayer.cpp, complete-type TU): `BTPlayerExperienceSimLive` (+0x25c) and
  `BTPlayerExperienceHeatModelOn` (+0x260) join `BTPlayerRoleLocksAdvanced` (+0x274==0). All
  consumers route mech→`GetPlayerLink()`→named member; NULL player reads permissive [T3].
- **Gates unified**: `HeatSink::HeatModelActive()` (heat.hpp; also serves mislanch/projweap/
  heatfamily call sites) + `Myomers::OwnerAdvancedDamage()` (myomers.hpp) → the +0x260 bridge;
  `ProjectileWeapon::LiveFireEnabled()` (projweap.cpp) + `Searchlight::ControlsAllowLights()`
  (searchlight.hpp) → the +0x25c bridge; `PoweredSubsystem::HandleMessage` @4b0efc (powersub.cpp)
  → not-novice + the +0x25c bridge (the old "message-manager short-event flag" misattribution and
  its dead `BT_GetMessageManager` guard are gone).
- **FUN_004ac9c8 family corrected**: `MechSubsystem::IsDamaged` (mechsub.cpp — was a live
  raw-offset databinding trap `*(*(*(owner+0xd0)+0x190)+0x274)`), `BT_IsBusLive` (btstubs.cpp —
  was `return True`), and powersub's `IsDamaged()` call sites @4b11bc/@4b21d0/@4b179c now all
  route through `BTPlayerRoleLocksAdvanced`. `HeatSink::IsDamaged` (heat.hpp) deliberately keeps
  the simulationState shadow for the gauge tint (btl4gaug.cpp:172).
- **SHIPPED EGGS ARE ALL `expert`** (every pilot page in all 19 content/*.EGG, camera pages
  included) — so the default felt behavior is unchanged by the wiring (expert and the old
  hardwired veteran agree on every LOCATED consumer: sim live, heat on, controls unlocked; they
  differ only in the unlocated +0x26c flag). The glass front-end writes `veteran` when a pilot's
  experience is empty (btl4fe.cpp:307).
- Myomers movement heat remains arithmetically inert (the Owner* motion accessors still return
  neutral 0s — the gate is wired, the couplings are the reconciled follow-up).

## Corrections (swept 2026-07-18)

- `btplayer.hpp` "per-role display toggles from returnFromDeath" for 0x25c-0x274 was WRONG — the
  source is `btMission+0xe4/+0xf0`, not the role; the `showKills`/`roleClassIndex` names date from
  the scoring work and don't match the gate semantics (kept in code for now, comments corrected).
- `gauges-hud.md` "ROOKIE-role lockout" for FUN_004ac9c8 → novice-EXPERIENCE lockout.
- `open-questions.md` "true semantic of player+0x260/0x274 not yet pinned" → pinned here.

## Key Relationships
- Feeds: [[subsystems]] (the heat model + jam/valve gates) · [[combat-damage]] (criticals tier intent) · [[gauges-hud]] (valve guard)
- Sourced from: the egg ([[multiplayer]] egg format) · `BTMission` (BTMSSN.HPP, T0)
- Offsets: [[decomp-reference]] §3 (mech+0x190 row + BTPlayer flag block)
- Manual audit: [[pod-hardware]] §Manual