Death = the burning WRECK-HULK swap (effect 104) -- the authentic chain, reconstructed

The user was right: a dead mech turns into a pile of wreckage.  The authentic
1995 chain, recovered end-to-end:

  kill -> the victim's per-mech DEATH ModelList ('blhdead'/'lokdead'/'owndead'/
  'thrdead', .RES ids 22-25) -> its authored effects: 104 (the WRECK script) +
  1007 (dnboom big explosion) + 1001 (ddthsmk rubble smoke plume) + a damage-
  smoke burst (3/4/5/15).

Effect 104 = ExplosionScripts case 4 (part_008.c:2663, LIVE in the 1996 binary;
the "disabled" warning is case 6): loads the destroyed hulk + flamesml/flamebig
flame meshes with sweep flicker.  Every mech ships its hulk (BLHDBR/MADDBR/
LOKDBR/... + GENDBR generic); the 1996 script hardcoded thrdbr.bgf (dev
shortcut) -- we use the victim's own.

Reconstructed as BTL4VideoRenderer::SwapToWreck: hide every segment mesh, hang
"<prefix>dbr.bgf" on the tree root (pending-swap if death precedes tree build);
routed from the engine's ExplosionClassID dispatch (effect 104 ->
BTSwapMechToWreck(explosion->GetEntityHit())).  The kill now fires the
authentic 'blhdead' resource (manual 7+1 pfx calls removed -- the list carries
1007/1001 itself).  Verified live:
  [death] firing authentic death list 'blhdead' id=22
     ** effect_number = 104
  [BTrender] wreck swap: victim -> 'blhdbr.bgf'

Follow-ups noted: mesh flames + hulk settle (cosmetic), DeathSplash.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

context/combat-damage.md

@@ -199,10 +199,22 @@ Full decomp map of the death path. Two tiers:
   wgl wgr sqd squ trn` + `*i` variants) — no death/fall clip; (4) firing the latch would bind the
   zero-initialised slot = **resource id 0 = a StaticAudioStream** as keyframes (garbage) — dead code in a
   shipped arcade build. The authentic BT death modes are the FREEZE modes: `IsDestroyed()` ==
-  (`movementMode` 2 || 9), locomotion zeroed by `FUN_004ab1c8`. **The death READ = instant freeze + the
-  dnboom explosion (psfx 7) + the ddthsmk smoke plume (psfx 1) + destroyed skins + subsystem shutdown —
-  the wreck stands.** `UpdateDeathState` (mech4.cpp) settles straight to 9 (never 5-8, which would trip
-  the garbage latch). If period pod footage ever shows a mech falling, that's NEW evidence — reopen then.
+  (`movementMode` 2 || 9), locomotion zeroed by `FUN_004ab1c8`. `UpdateDeathState` (mech4.cpp) settles
+  straight to 9 (never 5-8, which would trip the garbage latch).
+- ✅ **The DEATH VISUAL is the WRECK-HULK SWAP, not a fall (2026-07-08) [T1].** The authentic chain:
+  death fires the victim's per-mech **death ModelList** (`blhdead`/`lokdead`/`owndead`/`thrdead` =
+  .RES ids 22-25; + `trkdead`/`bigdead`/`meddead` 32-34 for icons), whose authored video objects
+  dispatch (verified live from resource 22): **effect 104** = the burning-WRECK script + **1007**
+  (dnboom big explosion) + **1001** (ddthsmk rubble smoke plume) + a 3/4/5/15 damage-smoke burst.
+  The 1996 `ExplosionScripts` **case 4** (part_008.c:2663, LIVE — the "disabled" warning is case 6/
+  effect 106) loads the destroyed hulk + `flamesml/flamebig.bgf` flames with sweep-flicker and a slow
+  settle. Every mech ships its hulk (`BLHDBR/MADDBR/LOKDBR/VULDBR/AVADBR/OWNDBR/SNDDBR/THRDBR` +
+  `GENDBR` generic + `LDBR/MDBR/RAPDBR/STIDBR`); the 1996 script hardcodes `thrdbr.bgf` (dev
+  shortcut). **RECONSTRUCTED**: `BTL4VideoRenderer::SwapToWreck` (btl4vid.cpp) — kill →
+  `blhdead` Explosion → effect 104 → hide every segment mesh + hang the victim's own
+  `<prefix>dbr.bgf` on the tree root (gendbr fallback; pending-swap if death precedes tree build).
+  Mesh flames + the settle motion are noted follow-ups; burning reads via 1001/1007 + the wreck-smoke
+  re-arm. Verified: `[BTrender] wreck swap: victim -> 'blhdbr.bgf'`. [T2]
 - `Mech::IsDestroyed()` (`FUN_0049fb54`) = `movementMode==2||9` (reconstructed as `IsDisabled`, btstubs.cpp);
   `FUN_004ab1c8` freezes locomotion (zeros mech+0x298) when destroyed.
 - **`MechDeathHandler`** (ctor `FUN_0042a984` + Performance `FUN_0042aa2c`, cached mech+0x850 / `mech[0x214]`) —

context/open-questions.md

@@ -109,9 +109,13 @@ authentic path scoped.
   `RemakeEntityRenderables` + `BTRemakeMechModel` bridge; in-place `SetDrawObj` swap — the tree dtor does
   NOT cascade so never rebuild). ✅ (a) **RESOLVED — no collapse animation exists in BT 4.11** [T1]: the
   fall latch (modes 5-8 → table slots 0x1c-0x1f) is a vestige — no loader fills the slots, no fall clip
-  ships, and firing it would bind resource 0 (an AUDIO stream) as keyframes. Authentic death = FREEZE
-  (mode 9) + dnboom + ddthsmk plume + destroyed skins ([[combat-damage]] "Death SEQUENCE" for the proofs).
-  **Remaining**: (c) the whole-mech **DeathSplash** radius damage. Do NOT issue DestroyEntityMessage on death.
+  ships, and firing it would bind resource 0 (an AUDIO stream) as keyframes. ✅ The authentic death
+  VISUAL is the **WRECK-HULK SWAP** (death ModelList `blhdead` → effect 104 → the victim becomes its
+  `<mech>dbr.bgf` burning hulk) — RECONSTRUCTED + verified (`SwapToWreck`, btl4vid.cpp; see
+  [[combat-damage]] "Death SEQUENCE" for the full chain + proofs).
+  **Remaining**: (c) the whole-mech **DeathSplash** radius damage; wreck mesh FLAMES
+  (flamesml/flamebig + sweep flicker, 1996 script case 4) + the hulk settle motion (cosmetic).
+  Do NOT issue DestroyEntityMessage on death.
 - **Critical-subsystem plugs UNBOUND (43 skips/mech) [T3].** `MechCriticalSubsystem::subsystemPlug`
   never gets WIRED to its live subsystem (the ctor's Resolve() at mechdmg.cpp:276 only READS; the
   binding write is elsewhere/unreconstructed), so `SendSubsystemDamage` skips every entry via the