Joe DiPrimaandClaude Fable 5
bf39b81b9d
- CLAUDE.md front + project-overview: census/re-export DONE (93.5% coverage, 41KB dark), polish list refreshed; the citation-policy warning rides the front matter so it is unmissable. - locomotion §CROUCH addendum: the re-export CONFIRMS the hand transcription field-for-field, documents that Ghidra renders members as int-ARRAY indices ([0xfe] == byte 0x3f8 -- why offset-string greps of the export miss them), and records the AIRBORNE AUTO-RISE branch the raw pass missed (+ its fix). - decomp-reference §7: citation policy (@ADDR, never part/LINE -- old citations resolve only against archive_2025export/), the array-index gotcha, and the full re-export toolchain (ghidra_reexport.sh incl. the 8.3 short-path requirement, gapcensus, gapdiff). - open-questions: the leads the re-export produced -- @0x4c0904 is the MASTER BTPlayer Performance (team-by-name resolve + EndMission post + score heartbeat; our @0x4c083c attribution needs a re-check) and the ~9KB l4splr|btmssn cluster that stayed dark THROUGH the fill (no call/data reference reaches it -- jump-table entry suspected). - glossary: dark-region. Section ordering fixed (addenda above Key Relationships); checkctx CLEAN. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
65 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
65 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: project-overview
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title: "Project Overview — what this is, people, goals"
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status: established
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source_sections: "PROGRESS_LOG.md §1-3; README.md"
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related_topics: [pod-hardware, wintesla-port, source-completeness, build-and-run]
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key_terms: [BT, RP, MUNGA, Tesla-platform, WinTesla, pod]
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---
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# Project Overview
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Port VWE's arcade **pod** games (Tesla platform, release 4.10, ~1995-96) to modern Windows and,
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ultimately, the actual arcade pod hardware. Primary target: **BattleTech (BT)**; **Red Planet
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(RP)** shares the engine. Full detail: `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md §1-3`.
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The ORIGINAL 1995-96 team — the initials in the source headers matched to names by VWE veterans
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(dev team ~8, art ~6, MUNGA by a smaller internal team) — is credited in **`docs/CREDITS.md`**.
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## The stack
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- Two games, one engine: BT + RP. Engine = **MUNGA**; HAL = **L4** (`MUNGA_L4`). Game logic =
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`CODE/BT`, `CODE/RP`. [T1]
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- Original platform: **32-bit DOS** under a **DPMI32** extender, Borland C++ 5 + TASM32, on Novell
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DOS pods. 3D by a proprietary Division **IG image-generator board** (dual EISA), driven by the
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closed **`libDPL.lib`** (binary + VREND microcode). [T1]
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- **The port replaces the IG board/libDPL** with a `dpl_*` → Direct3D9 shim (done in WinTesla as
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L4D3D). Pods now run Windows 10 + a Voodoo/Glide wrapper. BT was abandoned (MechWarrior 4 runs on
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the current pods); this project revives BT. [T1]
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## People / goals
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- **arcattack** (user): doing the port. NVIDIA 3060 + A6000 dev GPUs.
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- **Nick:** owns the pods + the software license (porting is authorized). Runs the pod hardware. The
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gating dependency — the missing BT source likely lives on his backup drives (see [[source-completeness]]).
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- **Goal:** run on (a) a modern dev box and (b) the fixed pod hardware. Multiplayer (pod-to-pod) wanted.
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## Repo orientation (bt411)
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This is the **clean standalone bt411 repo**. `README.md` + the top-level `CMakeLists.txt` are the
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build of record. Tree: `engine/ game/ content/ docs/ reference/ tools/ context/`. Historical
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sections in `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md` cite old `C:/git/nick-games/...` paths — treat as provenance;
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they map into this repo (reconstructed BT → `game/reconstructed/`, engine → `engine/MUNGA{,_L4}/`,
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content → `content/`, raw decomp → `reference/decomp/`). [T2]
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## Current state (2026-08-06) — core gameplay reconstruction COMPLETE; polish phase
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Field-tested nightly at 4-8 pods over Steam (builds 4.11.622→801). Authentic + benched: the full
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SP+MP loop; per-panel mesh-true targeting/damage (+ crits, cylinder lottery, armour darkening);
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the 1995 SCORING model (kill awards + received penalties + panic cost — the id-0x16 report tail);
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death (blast/splash, wreck, burial) + respawn (full re-arm audit); locomotion (two-channel gait,
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gimp limp, knockdowns, CROUCH F4); the night kit (fog-swap SEARCHLIGHT F5 + beam cone); heat/
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power/myomers (incl. the seek-4 freeze); replication (masters/replicants, kill/death columns,
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ghost+skate field detectors); the Steam wire seam + build gate; the operator console/relay
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lifecycle; gauges/HUD; audio (real OpenAL backend + the AUDIO_FIDELITY trigger waves — footsteps/
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gait/alarms/impacts live in the field). [T2]
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**Infra ✅ 2026-08-06:** the #60 export gap census AND re-export shipped — coverage 87.3% →
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93.5%, dark code 90 → 41 KB, +205 functions, and the re-export independently confirmed the
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week's raw-disasm reconstructions ([[source-completeness]], `phases/phase-04-gap-census.md`).
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**Remaining (polish):** VehicleDead killed-by consumption (operator "X killed by Y" — the sender
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already ships the fields); burning-wreck handler (mech-0x17 label mismatch); `@0x4c0904` master
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BTPlayer Performance vs our `@0x4c083c` attribution; the id-0x16 type-0 curiosity; MechRIOMapper
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Keypress @004d2514; marker beacon (LoadObject wrapper stub); DIV firmware intersection routine
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(deep-cut); deferred ledger items in [[open-questions]]. [T2]
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## Key Relationships
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- Full detail: `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md`.
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- Enables: everything — see [[wintesla-port]] (the base), [[source-completeness]] (the gap),
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[[build-and-run]] (how to build).
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