Joe DiPrimaandClaude Fable 5
bc27313f20
Audit of what actually landed in context/ versus what only ever got said in
chat. Five gaps and one stale claim repeated in four files.
New env gates were the biggest hole -- BT_TORSO_LOG, BT_MYOMERS_LOG,
BT_MYOMERS_REPAIR_TEST, BT_SELF_DAMAGE and BT_POWER_DETACH_TEST were all in the
code and none of them in decomp-reference §6, which is supposed to be the hub.
Added with the reasoning that makes them usable: why the myomers probe samples
every frame while unpowered (the NoVoltage window is about a second and a 1 Hz
probe steps straight over it), why the repair test also forces Manual (or
AutoConnect restores power a frame later), why SELF_DAMAGE latches off at the
first death, and why DETACH_TEST taking a NAME is what proves failover rather
than a same-generator re-attach.
The 6am log day was in the code and the player bats but not the KB. Now in
build-and-run with the stem table, the unconditional append, the 8 MB part
roll-over and the BT_LOG-truncates trap, plus the operator-facing note in
operator-console and OPERATOR_GUIDE that you ask for the NEWEST log, never
"today's".
Recorded the crash-symbolization gap, which is the one with teeth. BTCrashFilter
writes a stack into the day log and its own comment claims "we hold the PDB". We
do not: no Release PDB is produced at all, and /O2 implies /Oy so the EBP walk is
unreliable anyway. When the Owens crash finally lands we get an address we cannot
resolve. Written down with the fix (/Oy-, /Zi + /DEBUG, archive the PDB per
build) rather than left as something I mentioned once.
New gotcha 22: HeatModelOff() reads simulationState == 1, i.e. "am I destroyed",
and has nothing to do with the heat model. Behaviour at the call sites is right,
the name is not, and while chasing #70 it reads as "novice pilots cannot twist"
and sends you hunting an experience-level bug that does not exist. Same misnomer
in torso/gyro/sensor headers.
Also documented the dist flavor trap, having nearly shipped it myself: mkdist
reads build/CMakeCache.txt, so a tree configured BT_STEAM=OFF silently produces
a -nosteam zip with no play_steam.bat and no steam_api.dll. OFF is the CMake
default; ON is the documented dev state.
Swept the stale `btl4.log` filename out of reconstruction-gotchas,
reconstruction-method, build-and-run and CLAUDE.md itself -- the log has been
<stem>_YYYYMMDD.log since 1777d5a and every "read btl4.log" instruction was
pointing at a file that is no longer written.
checkctx CLEAN.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
144 lines
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144 lines
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---
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id: build-and-run
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title: "Build / Run / Debug — recipe, repo layout, env gates"
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status: established
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source_sections: "PROGRESS_LOG.md §10a, §10a-bis; README.md"
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related_topics: [wintesla-port, decomp-reference, reconstruction-method]
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key_terms: [BTL4OPT, cdb, BTL4.RES, EGG, WinTesla]
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---
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# Build / Run / Debug
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The one top-level `CMakeLists.txt` builds `munga_engine` (engine) + `bt410_l4` (reconstructed BT
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game lib) + `btl4.exe`. Full recipe + repo-layout map: `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md §10a / §10a-bis` +
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`README.md`. Env-gate table: [[decomp-reference]] §6.
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## Build (Win32 / VS2019 BuildTools — the DXSDK link libs are Lib/x86)
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```
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# configure once:
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cmake -S C:\git\bt411 -B C:\git\bt411\build -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A Win32 \
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-DCMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE="C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/BuildTools"
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# build:
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cmake --build C:\git\bt411\build --config Debug
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```
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- Links DXSDK d3d9/d3dx9/dinput8 + OpenAL/libsndfile (`engine/lib/`). DXSDK June 2010 at
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`C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)\` (overridable `-DDXSDK`). [T2]
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- Linker uses **`/FORCE`** — tolerates header-defined globals + the **dead offline-factory
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unresolved externals in mech3.cpp** (`Mech::CreateSubsystemStream` references `void*`-signature
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`CreateStreamedSubsystem` for every class; never called at runtime). ⚠ `/FORCE` also HIDES real
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unresolved symbols as runtime AVs — see [[reconstruction-gotchas]] §6. [T2]
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- Editing an `engine/` file rebuilds the engine lib automatically (one project). A NEW member on a
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`DPLRenderer`/`d3d_OBJECT` class needs the game objs that embed its layout recompiled — delete
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stale objs if layout-mismatch corruption appears. [T2]
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- ⚠ Kill the running exe before rebuilding (`taskkill //F //IM btl4.exe`) or you get LNK1104.
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## Run
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```
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run\run.cmd [EGG] # default DEV.EGG; cd's to content\ and runs btl4.exe -egg <EGG>
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```
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- **cwd MUST be `content\`** — the engine resolves `BTL4.RES`, `VIDEO\`, `BTDPL.INI`, eggs relative
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to cwd (the `loadTables` gotcha: `L4VIDEO.cpp:849` `fopen("VIDEO\\REPLACEMATS.tbl")` is relative +
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unchecked → fread on NULL if cwd is wrong). Logs to `content\<stem>_YYYYMMDD.log` (or `BT_LOG=<file>`). [T2]
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**Log naming (2026-07-28):** stem = the launcher (`solo`/`steam`/`join`/`joyconfig`, else `btl4`),
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chosen from `BT_FE_SOLO`/`BT_STEAM_NET`/`BT_FE_JOIN`/`BT_RELAY`/`BT_JOYCONFIG`. A self-named day
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file **always appends** (the default stream mode truncates, so a second launch would erase the
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morning — that is how the 2026-07-27 Owens crash stacks were lost under the old rotation). Nothing
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is ever deleted; past 8 MB the NEXT launch opens `<stem>_YYYYMMDD.1.log` (checked only at open, so
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a live session is never split). ⚠ **The log DAY runs 06:00 → 06:00 local, not midnight** — a late
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session stays filed under the evening it started, so one playtest night is one file. Only the
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FILENAME is shifted; the session header and `lastrun_<stem>.txt` each call `GetLocalTime`
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separately and carry true local time. ⚠ `BT_LOG=<file>` is used VERBATIM and **truncates** unless
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`BT_LOG_APPEND=1` — the player bats clear it for exactly this reason.
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**Since 2026-07-26 the exe enforces this itself** (`BTEnsureContentDirectory`, btl4main.cpp): if
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cwd has no `BTL4.RES` it probes from the exe's own directory (`..\..\content` for the shipped
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layout, plus flattened / in-content cases) and `SetCurrentDirectory`s there, before the log file
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opens. The boot line says so when it had to look. ⚠ **The landmine it defuses** (field report):
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a bare `btl4.exe` launch from `build\Release` found no resources ("Resource file btl4.res
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v1.0.0.0 is obsolete!"), wrote a stray `bindings.txt`/`environ.ini`/`btl4_*.log` NEXT TO THE EXE —
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so the player's real ones in `content\` looked like they were never created — and killed the
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mission generation the menu launched (the child inherits the parent's cwd). Invisible for years
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because every launcher `cd`s to `content\` first; it became reachable once glass became the
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desktop default and a zero-arg launch started opening the menu.
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- **The launcher's handoff wait must track ITS OWN generation [T2, 2026-07-27].** The front end
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does not stay resident — it `CreateProcess`es the mission generation and exits — so every
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launcher ends in a `:btwait` loop that waits for the handed-off process before printing its
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sign-off. That loop used to poll `tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq btl4.exe"`, which is **machine-wide**:
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a second client, the operator's own pod, or an orphan from a crash kept the window spinning
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forever, which is the field report *"closing the game leaves the terminal open"*. Fixed by
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snapshotting the PIDs alive before the launch and waiting only on PIDs absent from that snapshot.
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⚠ **Keep the `if /I "%%P"=="btl4.exe"` guard** — parsing tasklist with `tokens=2` alone reads its
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*"INFO: No tasks are running"* line as a PID and spins forever with nothing running. Full
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investigation, including which windows exit vs merely hide: `phases/phase-12-orphan-processes.md`.
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- **Why this is a BT411-only hazard [T1].** The 1995 pod shipped ONE folder — `BTL4OPT.EXE` sits
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next to `BTL4.RES`/`VIDEO\`/`GAUGE\`/`AUDIO\` (it is still there in `content\`) — and RP411/RP412
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keep that shape (`pack-dist.ps1` copies the exe and every asset dir into one dist root). BT411's
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two-folder split (`build\Release\btl4.exe` + `content\`) is not a design decision: `mkdist.py`
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zips TRACKED REPO PATHS verbatim, so the dist inherited the repo's developer layout. In the
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authentic single-folder shape cwd is right by construction and a double-click just works, which
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is why the other games never hit this. **A proposal to ship the authentic shape is written up
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in `docs/DIST_LAYOUT_PLAN.md` — PROPOSED, not implemented, awaiting a decision between the
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authors.** The cwd guard stays either way (it protects the developer tree, where the split is
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real and permanent).
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- Interactive: **WASD** drive; weapon groups (keyboard, task #43) **1/Space** = lasers, **2** =
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PPCs, **3/Ctrl** = missiles; **X** all-stop; **V** cockpit/chase view. Default egg = `DEV.EGG`
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(map=grass, time=day). Swap mech via the egg's `vehicle=` — **ALL 18 ModelList names
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CERTIFIED playable (2026-07-18 vehicle sweep)**: the canonical 8 (avatar, bhk1/blkhawk,
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loki, madcat, owens, sunder, thor, vulture) + the short variants (ava1, lok1/lok2,
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mad1/mad2, own1, snd1, thr1, vul1); each boots a solo mission, spawns, animates, no
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crash. The code path is mech-agnostic. [T2]
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## Debug (cdb x86)
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`"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x86\cdb.exe"`. Pattern for a faulting stack (cwd
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= content\): `-g -c ".lines;sxe av;g;kp 24;q"` with `BT_ASSERT_TO_DEBUGGER=1`. Debug CRT fills fresh
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heap **0xCDCDCDCD** (uninit) + freed **0xFEEEFEEE** — invaluable for "was this ever constructed?".
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`BT_HEAPCHECK=1` = whole-heap validation every alloc/free (O(n²) at mission load — SLOW). To attach
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to a frozen abort dialog: `cdb -p <pid> -c ".lines;~*kp 30;q"`. [T2]
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⚠ **A FIELD crash stack is currently NOT symbolizable — two gaps, 2026-07-28** [T1].
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`BTCrashFilter` (btl4main.cpp:193) catches unhandled exceptions and writes
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`[crash] UNHANDLED EXCEPTION code=… addr=… (btl4+0xNNNN)` + an EBP-chain walk straight into the day
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log — no minidump, no separate file. Its comment claims "we hold the PDB". **We do not:**
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1. **No Release PDB is produced.** Only `build/Debug/btl4.pdb` exists and the shipped exe embeds no
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PDB path, so `btl4+0xNNNN` from a tester cannot be resolved to a function.
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2. **Frame pointers are omitted.** Release flags are `/O2 /Ob2 /DNDEBUG` with no `/Oy-` anywhere, and
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`/O2` implies `/Oy` on x86 — so the EBP walk is unreliable and the `[crash] stack:` chain is often
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shallow or wrong. The **first** line is still exact (`addr` comes from the exception record, not
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the walk).
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FIX when field stacks are wanted: add `/Oy-` to the Release flags and `/Zi` + linker `/DEBUG` so a PDB
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is generated, then ARCHIVE that PDB per build (never ship it in the zip). The session header already
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stamps `build=4.11.<n> (<hash>)`, so an archived PDB matches a tester's log exactly.
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## Repo layout (bt411)
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- **`engine/MUNGA/` + `engine/MUNGA_L4/`** — the shared 2007 MUNGA engine + Win32/D3D9 HAL (carries
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our BT render/loader work: bgfload/L4D3D/L4VIDEO + the image codec). `engine/shim/` (ATL),
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`engine/lib/` (OpenAL/libsndfile), `engine/rp/` (RP *headers* the audio HAL includes).
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- **`game/reconstructed/`** — the reconstructed BT source (the bulk).
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- **`game/original/BT/` + `BT_L4/`** — surviving original BT `.cpp` + **all BT headers** (the include path).
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- **`game/fwd/`** — ~186 forwarding shims (`#include <EXPLODE.hpp>` → `../../engine/MUNGA/<NAME>.h`).
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- **`game/btl4main.cpp`** — the WinMain launcher.
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- **`content/`** — the runtime tree (BTL4.RES, VIDEO/, GAUGE/, AUDIO/, eggs, BTDPL.INI). Run cwd.
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- **`reference/decomp/`** — the raw Ghidra pseudocode (`all/part_*.c`) — the source-of-truth.
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- **`docs/`** — the detailed ledgers (incl. `PROGRESS_LOG.md`, the full pre-restructure CLAUDE.md).
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- **`tools/`** — btconsole.py, disas2.py, map/res scanners. **`context/`** — this knowledge base.
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## Versioning (2026-07-18)
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`4.10` = the 1995 arcade release; `4.11` = this win32 reconstruction; dev builds =
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**`4.11.<git commit count>` + short hash**, `+` suffix = built from an uncommitted tree
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(e.g. `4.11.311 (980c9cd+)`). Stamped every build by `tools/btversion.cmake` →
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`build/btversion.h` (`BT_VERSION_*` macros); shown in the boot banner (day-log head) and
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the window title. Ask a tester for their title bar, or read the `===== BT411 SESSION … build=… =====`
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header that starts every session inside `content\<stem>_YYYYMMDD.log`, to identify a build.
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**Cutting a tester zip:** `python tools/mkdist.py` → `dist/BT411_4.11.<n>.zip` (name from
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`build/btversion.h`; ships git-TRACKED `content/` only, so working-tree junk stays out).
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⚠ **It reads `build/CMakeCache.txt` for the flavor, so configure BEFORE building:** with
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`BT_STEAM=OFF` the zip is renamed `-nosteam` and carries neither `play_steam.bat` nor
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`steam_api.dll` — useless for a Steam playtest, and easy to ship by accident since OFF is the CMake
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default (`-DBT_STEAM=ON` is the documented dev-checkout state). `BT_EXPIRE=ON` (default) gives the
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14-day tester window; an expire-OFF zip is renamed `-noexpire` and warns. Verify by extracting the
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zip somewhere clean and booting it with no repo present — that is what catches a missing runtime DLL.
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## Key Relationships
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- Base: [[wintesla-port]] (the engine build recipe).
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- Verify loop: [[reconstruction-method]]; env gates: [[decomp-reference]] §6.
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