The operator caught this: I had carried the old "please send the operator your
matchlog" instruction into the release notes, and the shipped README has said
it for a while. It is out of date.
Since 2026-07-22 the client auto-uploads its match forensic log to the relay
after every round: btl4main.cpp:914 calls BTRelayUploadMatchLog() once
RunMissions() returns, and the console receives it on route -9 and saves it as
matchlogs/<peer>_<name> (btconsole.py:1026-1042). content/matchlogs/ is
already full of them.
So the instruction was making every tester hunt down and attach a file the
operator already had. Corrected to state the real contract, including the
gaps the auto-upload genuinely cannot cover:
* RELAY modes only -- join.bat and join_lan.bat both set BT_RELAY, so both
upload. play_solo.bat and play_steam.bat set none, so those still need a
manual send.
* The upload fires when a round ends CLEANLY (after RunMissions returns), so
a mid-round CRASH loses it -- exactly the case we most want the file for.
* join.log is NEVER uploaded -- no mechanism exists -- so that one is still
a manual ask, and is now called out separately rather than buried.
Also added the same correction to dist/RELEASE_NOTES_4.11.550.md.
The zip cut before this (BT411_4.11.550.zip) carries the stale README and must
be re-cut.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
110 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
110 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
BattleTech {VERSION} -- multiplayer client
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==========================================
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IMPORTANT: FULLY EXTRACT this zip first (right-click - Extract All).
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Do NOT run anything from inside the zip. The .bat files must sit next
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to the 'content' and 'build' folders.
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UPGRADING from an older version? Extract the new zip OVER your
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existing game folder and say YES TO OVERWRITE. Do NOT delete the
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folder first -- your personal files (content\bindings.txt with your
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key/joystick setup, content\volume.cfg with your volume) are not in
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the zip and survive an extract-over-top, but a delete wipes them.
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If you prefer a clean delete anyway, copy those two files out first
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and put them back after.
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TO JOIN AN INTERNET GAME: double-click join.bat
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-- pick your CALLSIGN and MECH, click JOIN (your choice is sent to
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the operator; waits for the session if it's not up yet)
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TO JOIN A LAN GAME: double-click join_lan.bat (operator's LAN;
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same callsign/mech menu)
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SINGLE-PLAYER: double-click play_solo.bat -- opens the
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mission menu: pick your mech (all 18), map, experience level,
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colours, weather and mission length, then launch
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{STEAM}STEAM INTERNET PLAY: double-click play_steam.bat (EXPERIMENTAL --
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{STEAM} needs the Steam client running; host or join from the menu)
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Your seat is assigned automatically; you'll pilot the mech you picked
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in the join menu (the operator can override it).
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When a round ends your game AUTOMATICALLY rejoins for the next one
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(same seat, same mech) -- just wait for the operator's next launch.
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Close the window to leave for real.
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If the game closes unexpectedly, send the operator content\join.log.
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AFTER A MULTIPLAYER SESSION: the game writes a small match report
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(content\matchlog_<date>_<time>_<number>.txt) and, on join.bat /
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join_lan.bat, UPLOADS IT TO THE OPERATOR BY ITSELF at the end of each
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round -- you do not need to send it. Please send one MANUALLY only if
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the game CRASHED mid-round (the upload happens on a clean round end, so
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a crash loses it) or if you were playing SOLO or over STEAM (no relay
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to upload through).
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IF ANYTHING CRASHED OR MISBEHAVED, send content\join.log -- that one is
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never uploaded and only exists on your machine.
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You start INSIDE the cockpit with the pod's MFD panels composited
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around the view (one window). The red MFD buttons, radar rails and
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joystick buttons are all MOUSE-CLICKABLE -- right-click a button to
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latch it held. Press V any time to toggle the external camera.
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CONTROLS (keyboard):
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W/S or Up/Down ....... throttle lever X / NumPad5 ... all stop
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A/D or Left/Right .... turn pedals Alt ........... reverse thrust
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Q/E .................. torso twist R/F ........... torso aim
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NumPad 8/2/4/6 ....... torso aim/twist (alt) Shift ......... throttle up
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1 or Space ........... main trigger 2 ............. middle thumb
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3 or Ctrl ............ upper thumb (missiles) 4 ............ pinky
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V view | B look-behind | M control mode | N schematic | J/K/L MFD pages
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NOTE: you SPAWN IN BASIC control mode (the pod's rookie setting) --
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in BASIC the stick steers and the pedal keys (A/D, arrows) do
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NOTHING. Press M once for MID (pedals steer, stick twists the
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torso -- the full experience). If 'turning does not work', it is
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this, not a bug.
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CONTROL MODE (BAS/MID/ADV, the M key IN the cockpit) is NOT the
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menu's EXPERIENCE setting (novice/standard/veteran/expert) -- that
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one changes the simulation (heat, damage), not your controls.
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Numpad aim keys (8/2/4/6) need NUMLOCK ON; with it off they act as
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arrow keys instead.
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- / = ................ game volume down/up (saved between sessions)
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H (hold) ............. coolant flush (dumps reservoir to cool everything)
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C .................... cycle a coolant valve. CAREFUL: the detents go
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1 - 5 - 50 (max) - 0 (CLOSED!) - back to 1. One press past max
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SHUTS THE LOOP OFF and everything on it will overheat -- watch the
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valve dial on the coolant screen. Boosting one loop starves the
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others (the coolant supply is shared).
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A weapon gone quiet with ammo left has probably JAMMED (heat makes
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ballistic weapons jam -- authentic!). Check its panel's ENG DATA page
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for the jam lamp (a cocked round with warning bolts). The pod's fix
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is the EJECT button on that weapon's ENG DATA page: TAP to eject the
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jammed round (weapon reloads and returns to service), HOLD ~3s to
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jettison the whole bay before it cooks off. Watch the TEMP strip and
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pace salvos.
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NEW: on a jam or a bay fire, that system's ENG-page buttons now FLASH
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to catch your eye -- the pod's own annunciator, restored.
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NEW AND DANGEROUS: an AMMO BAY FIRE is now genuinely lethal. You get
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a fire icon by the ammo counter, the flashing buttons, and about TEN
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SECONDS -- then the bay detonates for (rounds x per-round damage),
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which can and will kill you. HOLD the EJECT button on that weapon to
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dump the bay and put the fire out. Previously these fires were
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harmless; they are not any more, so treat one as an emergency.
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G (hold) + fire key .. regroup a weapon onto that trigger -- or hold a
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weapon panel's red PROGRAM button with the mouse and tap a fire key;
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the joystick diagram on the panel shows the binding live.
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KNOWN ISSUE THIS BUILD -- a weapon that goes dark after you press ENG-page
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buttons: the BUS MODE button detaches that weapon from its generator on
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its second press, and the automatic re-attach is not working yet. The
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symptom is a weapon whose recharge arc and ready dot are BOTH blank and
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which will not fire, while its panel still shows normal data. THE FIX:
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press one of the GENERATOR SELECT buttons (A/B/C/D) on that weapon's
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panel and it comes straight back. Not a lost mech -- just that button.
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An Xbox controller works out of the box. FLIGHT STICKS / HOTAS /
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pedals: run joyconfig.bat ONCE -- a wizard asks you to move each
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control (stick, twist, throttle, fire buttons), writes the bindings,
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and drops you into the solo menu to try them. Rebind keys in
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content\bindings.txt (regenerates with defaults if deleted).
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This build: {VERSION}. Private -- do not redistribute.
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{EXPIRE}Test builds STOP WORKING 14 days after they are made -- if the game
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{EXPIRE}says it has expired, just grab the operator's newest zip.
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