The lobby could stage a room but the launched mission never fed the members.
BTLocalConsole_InstallNetworkMission (btl4console.cpp) makes the host play the
arcade console in-process over the NetTransport seam (Winsock TCP or Steam SDR):
- connect to each member's console channel (ip[:port] from BT412HOSTPODS);
- feed each the chunked egg (NetworkManager::ReceiveEggFileMessage, \n->NUL
wire image like tools/btconsole.py), resending until it ACKs;
- poll member state (StateQueryMessage); when the whole mesh is staged at
WaitingForLaunch, dispatch RunMission to every member + locally at once;
- StopMission at expiry (members first, then self after a short grace);
- scores are BT's kills/deaths snapshotted from the *meshed* roster at the
stop -- no EndMission wire intake (that flow is a BT stub; the mesh already
put every pilot in the host's roster). The owner's own pod is fed locally
via L4NetworkManager::FeedLocalEgg.
Engine change (ported 1:1 from RP412): gConsoleMarshalsLaunch (APPMGR.h/.cpp) +
the `!gConsoleMarshalsLaunch &&` guard in APP.cpp's WaitingForLaunch self-launch.
The owner has no console connection to itself, so without this it would
self-launch before the mesh staged and never send the coordinated RunMission.
Default False = stock behavior; solo boot un-regressed.
WinMain host path (btl4main.cpp) now honors BT412HOSTPODS (+BT412HOSTPORT) for
the lobby host AND a classic-LAN host: SetNetworkCommonFlatAddress +
InstallNetworkMission, falling back to a solo marshal if no member is reachable.
Verified (loopback): two `btl4.exe -net` pods fed by tools/btconsole.py reach
"All connections completed!" and run after the engine change -- the exact
protocol + launch handshake the marshal uses. Both gates build+link; the
Release dist boots and the Steam transport comes up. The live multi-machine
Steam mission (FakeIP mesh + pilot-slot matching) is untestable here -- see the
new docs/STEAM-3-MACHINE-TEST.md. Dist README updated: multiplayer is now
"newly implemented, please test" rather than deferred.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adapt RP412's pack-dist.ps1 for BattleTech. Assembles dist\ from a Release
Steam build (build-steam\Release\btl4.exe -- Release so it runs on a machine
without VS's non-redistributable debug CRT) plus steam_api.dll + OpenAL32.dll,
the content\ data (AUDIO/GAUGE/VIDEO, BTL4.RES, BTDPL.INI, the VREND
manifests, bindings.txt, DEV/MP/MP1 eggs), oalinst.exe (OpenAL fallback),
tools\btconsole.py, a TEST-only steam_appid.txt=480, a self-documenting
environ.ini (BT412STEAM=1 + the L4MFDSPLIT cockpit), start.bat, and a README
that states the multiplayer status plainly (lobby works; the host->member
mission feed is deferred; classic btconsole.py TCP path works today). -Zip
emits BattleTech-4.12.zip (~46 MB).
Verified: the Release exe boots a live DEV.EGG mission (optimizer-clean), and
the packaged exe run from dist\ brings the Steam transport up (FakeIP
allocated, lobby available) -- self-contained. dist/ + the zip are gitignored.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
CydandClaude Opus 4.8