Pulsing the player's SimulationState (DropZoneAcquired->Translocated) to trigger
the translocation sphere regressed everything else that dial drives in our
reconstruction -- the camera flipped to inside-view, targeting/firing gated off,
shadow pass glitched. That dial is load-bearing; co-opting it was wrong.
Replace with a self-contained render one-shot: btplayer.cpp respawn calls
BTStartWarpEffect(dropZoneOrigin); the effect plays its own collapse->expand and
touches nothing but the render. No SetSimulationState, no DropZoneLocation write,
no per-entity renderable walk (the tree's BTTranslocationRenderable objects are
now inert). Scale capped 30/40 (authentic 100/150) so the sphere -- centred on
your own reinsertion -- doesn't envelop the camera; tunable via BT_WARP_SCALE.
Smoke-verified 2-node: warp fires on each respawn (collapse 31->5, expand ->35),
repeats, respawn cycle intact, no crash. Camera/targeting restored (state pulse
gone).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
BTTranslocationRenderable was a no-op stub; now reconstructed over the engine's
POVTranslocateRenderable: loads tsphere.bgf and runs a collapse-on-arrival /
expand-on-reveal sphere (scale 100->1 over 1.3s, then 1->150 over 1.0s, rotating)
keyed on the player's SimulationState dial. Drawn direct from the render loop by
BTDrawTranslocationSpheres (beside BTDrawBeams, PASS_ALPHABLEND) -- the same
accommodation the beams/reticle use.
The asset loads by FILENAME (tsphere.bgf), not through the RES table -- which is
why every resource-name search missed the effect for three rounds.
Trigger wiring: btl4vid.cpp MakeEntityRenderables builds the sphere for the LOCAL
player (the authentic wiring builds it only for replicants + a POV fade for self,
but peer player-attribute replication isn't wired -- on a replicant SimulationState/
DropZoneLocation read uninitialised). btplayer.cpp pulses SimulationState
DropZoneAcquired->VehicleTranslocated at respawn (a 1.4s flip timer stands in for
the engine's +1s drop-zone re-post) and writes the respawn origin into the
DropZoneLocation attribute.
Verified 2-node (BT_TLOC_LOG): on respawn the sphere collapses (~100->5) then
expands (->150) at the valid drop-zone origin, deduped to <=2 active, respawn
cycle un-regressed, no render errors. Visual appearance (colour/size) still needs
a live look; the authentic see-others'-spheres path needs player replication.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
User screenshot showed three artifacts, all one root cause: my dpl2d
executor drew OpenLines/CloseLines vertex runs as a connected LINESTRIP.
Every ctor use of OpenLines is SEGMENT PAIRS (4 crosshair arms, one pair
per ladder tick, the compass stem, the lock ring's 4 ticks, threat
marks) -- the strip joined ticks into zigzags ("squiggly lines" on both
ladders), hung diagonals off the crosshair arms, and drew chords across
the lock ring. Now D3DPT_LINELIST (one line per pair).
Also PIP_SPACING: _DAT_004cdce8 is a DOUBLE = 0.03 (read from the exe);
my 0.01 guess overlapped the 0.028-wide pips (user: "pips are
overlapping"). Reference-screenshot pairs sit side-by-side, matching.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
A period pod screenshot from players who know the game flagged the
overlay. Stroke-by-stroke re-read of the ctor (@4546-4587) against it:
- The range caret triangle is GREEN width 1 (ctor @4550-4551 sets
SetLineWidth(1)+SetColor(0,0.75,0) AFTER the yellow bar's CallList) --
my transcription left it yellow/2. Same for the bottom bowtie carets
(@4569-4570). Both fixed; the caret polylines also get the binary's
explicit 4th closing point (@4558).
- The screenshot otherwise CONFIRMS our layout (yellow range bar, green
caret, colored pip dots, tick tape + green bowtie, rotating compass,
mid-ladder range with no lock = the world-pick terrain range).
- Its crosshair is ~2.5x taller with arrowhead arms -- NOT our binary's
+-0.04..0.16 program: a different pod revision. Ours stays [T1] to
BTL4OPT.EXE 4.10.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
[hud] pip diagnostic logs each registered pip's classID/PipPosition/
WeaponRange/PipExtendedRange/PipColor. The live dump corrects the
"everything is 500m" assumption: BLH lasers red @500 (x3, ext=1),
missiles amber @800 (x2), PPCs blue @900 (x2) -- the pips sit at their
weapons' max-range marks on the range ladder (caret below a pip = that
weapon reaches), so 7 weapons read as 3 weapon-system groups. KB +
comments corrected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
User video evidence (lasers firing at nothing) + the colleague's
torso-locked report + the binary all reconcile into one model:
The boresight pick hits the WORLD, and the target slot mech+0x388 holds
whatever entity is downrange:
- enemy mech under the boresight -> aimed target (hull point -> STEP-6
zone under the boresight, hotbox + lock ring, damage);
- else the TERRAIN downrange (BTGroundRayHit to 1200) -> the beam and
missiles fire at the scenery ("firing at nothing", as in the pod
videos), range caret reads the ground distance (authentic :5639), no
damage;
- else (sky) -> no target, and the weapon's own double 0x388 gate
refuses the discharge.
Binary evidence for non-mech targets: HudSimulation :5620 explicitly
handles a target WITHOUT damage zones (target->0x120 == 0) -- dead code
if only mechs were ever targeted. The pick is automatic every frame
(0x388: 11 reads / 0 direct stores in CODE).
Implementation: gBTTerrainEntity captured in MakeEntityRenderables
(Terrain::GetClassDerivations); mech4 pick = enemy PickRayHit else
ground ray -> terrain entity + ground point; damage/hotbox/lock only
for the mech pick; the task-40 enemy auto-converge REMOVED (facing away
now fires at the scenery, not magically at the enemy -- the user's
complaint). Verified all three states headless (BT_AIM 0,0 / .6,.5 /
0,-.8): aimed zone hits / terrain beams + 0 damage / no discharge.
Fourth (and evidence-complete) targeting model iteration; KB updated.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- LOCK rules transcribed from the exported HudSimulation
(part_013.c:5619-5634): lock requires a target AND your own HUD host
zone damage < 0.75 (_DAT_004b7ec4 -- a shot-up targeting computer
drops lock) AND the targeted zone damage < 1.0 (_DAT_004b7ec8;
whole-mech target checks zone 0 -- a wreck's dead zone can't
re-lock). Box and ring are now separate signals like the binary:
gBTHudLockState 1 = target held (hotbox draws), 2 = LOCKED (+ the
spinning ring).
- SIMPLE-X mode: the ctor's [0x99] minimal-reticle list transcribed
(@4689-4705: green +-0.02..0.08 cross on the aim translate); Draw
switches master <-> simple X on the PrimaryHudOn element bit (0x20),
completing the recovered Execute's state-list logic.
- Canopy diagnosis sharpened (open-questions): blx_cop is the torso
segment's inside-skeleton mesh enclosing the eye; the black box =
the skeleton render branch missing its texture + PUNCH cutout (the
canopy windows are punch texels). A rendering-branch task; stays
hidden by default.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The one un-exported gap in the reticle chain, read via capstone
(tools/disas2.py; the annotated disasm preserved at
reference/decomp/reticle_execute_004cdcf0.disasm.txt). Draw() is now a
transcription of the real per-frame logic, and the HUD attr-table names
(hud.hpp ids 4/5/6/8/A/B/C/D) are CONFIRMED by their Execute usage:
- Range ladder: BAR from ladder-top to the caret + caret translate.
- The bottom 21-tick tape is the TORSO-TWIST indicator (NOT heading):
deflection = -/+(span/2) x (RotationOfTorsoHorizontal / twist limit),
attrs 4/5/6. Fixed-torso BLH reads centred -- authentic static.
- The circle-with-stem is the COMPASS (attr 0xD, rad->deg rotation) at
(botX, botY - 3*tickMajor - 0.03), with the THREAT trail (attr 0xC)
in its rotated frame: 0.05-unit attack-direction marks, fresh < 2s
red, expiring at 6s. Port feed: player TakeDamage pushes the impact
direction (dormant vs the passive test dummy).
- Pips (composed into subB6): hidden when destroyed (attr 1 == 1), LIT
when the fire cycle is LOADED (attr 0x1c == 2; port source
rechargeLevel >= 1) else the dark charging ring; filtered by the
weapon-GROUP bits (weaponMode & elementMask&0xF). Range plays NO part
(the stored TargetWithinRange slots are never read by Execute).
- Lock ring: subB9 at frame centre SPINNING 4 deg/frame while locked
([0x9d] is the spin matrix, not a heading list).
- Target HOTBOX: a rectangle hugging the projected extents (x+-4 around
the top-centre hotbox point, +1/-11.5 vertical; baked K=2.8145 -- the
port projects through the live per-axis projection), switching to the
edge arrows past +-1.6 or behind (BTProjectHotBox, L4VIDEO).
- Reticle state Off/On + PrimaryHudOn full-HUD/simple-X switch, aim
translate on slew move, 3D marker + PNAME player-name mesh identified
(chain still deferred).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The engine Reticle model (MUNGA/RETICLE.h [T0]) reconstructed end to end:
- Mech::targetReticle is a real Reticle member bound to the TargetReticle
attribute (0x1d), per the RP VTV analog (VTV.h targetReticle).
- Crosshair slew: mouse -> client rect -> reticle coords (the pod stick
free-aim channel's dev-box stand-in); BT_AIM="x y" pins it headless.
LMB fires lasers / RMB missiles (alongside SPACE/CTRL).
- Pick ray: the ACTIVE eye publishes pos + LookAtRH basis (BTSetAimCamera,
L4VIDRND view-write site) + the render loop publishes proj._22;
BTGetAimRay builds the world ray, Mech::PickRayHit slab-tests it against
the collision template's ExtentBox via the engine's BoundingBox::HitBy
(local frame; clips the Line at entry) -> world hull point.
- Designation: the mech under the crosshair designates (sticky; re-hover
refreshes; cleared when the target leaves the roster at burial); the
entity target slots 0x37c/0x388/0x38c feed the whole weapon path.
- Aimed fire: while HOT the impact point is the PICKED hull point -> the
STEP-6 cylinder lookup resolves the zone under the crosshair (verified:
center-aim -> head-band zone 13 dominant). Off-crosshair the sticky
designation converges on center mass.
- HUD: the aim group draws at the slewed position ([0x9a] translate,
contained by push/pop); the designator ring tracks the target's
projected point (subB9 hot / subB8 designated, BTProjectToReticle);
edge arrows when off-screen/behind.
- AUTHENTIC gating: no fire arc exists in the binary (FireWeapon fires
whenever HasActiveTarget, part_013.c:7758) -> BT_FIRE_ARC is now an
explicit OPT-IN presentation clamp; the hardwired gEnemyMech lock and
the projectile path's gEnemyMech fallback are removed.
- Fixed en route: every renderable rebuild stomped mCamera back to the
chase eye (start-inside silently lost the cockpit camera; the aim feed
exposed it). BTL4VideoRenderer::mViewInside persists the chosen view.
Verified headless: BT_AIM="0 0" -> HOT lock, pick hits the hull face at
exact range, aimed zones resolve; BT_AIM="0.8 0.3" -> no lock, zero
damage, zero missile launches; kill chain completes to wreck + smoke.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- dpl2d API fully recovered from the binary recorders (@487f34-488630):
opcode model (points/lines/polyline/circle/color/width/matrix/push-pop),
CallList = INLINE include (state persists to caller), centered coordinate
frame (unit = half viewport height). game/reconstructed/dpl2d.cpp rework.
- BTReticleRenderable ctor @004cc40c transcribed with the authentic
calibration (originX .35, originY .25, scaleY .5, 0..1200m right range
ladder, bottom heading tape, FUN_004cd938 tick ladders, lock rings,
turn arrows); range caret slides from the live target range fed by the
mech4 targeting step (BTSetHudTargetRange).
- Weapon pips: the binary gate is IsDerivedFrom(0x511830 =
MechWeapon::ClassDerivations) [T1: part_014.c:5386 hard-aborts on missing
weapon attrs; part_012 counts + roster ORs capabilityFlags@+0x334] so ALL
7 BLH weapons register (3 lasers + 2 PPCs + 2 MissileLaunchers). Pip A
(lit, authored PipColor) on TargetWithinRange, else dark ring B.
- AddWeapon @004cdac0 store map corrected to the verified order
(part_014.c:4827-4837); both state attrs are literally named
"SimulationState" (strings @51d526/51d577) -> weapon simulationState.
- Mech roster this[0x1ef] renamed poweredSubsystems -> weaponRoster
(0x511830 is MechWeapon, not PoweredSubsystem=0x50f4bc); derivation-tag
table added to context/decomp-reference.md.
- Draw hook BTDrawReticle after the 3D scene, cockpit view only. Binary
Execute @004cdcf0 is an un-exported gap -> Draw dynamics [T3], tracked
in context/open-questions.md with the blx_cop canopy + PNAME pip meshes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- V toggles the authentic cockpit eyepoint <-> the chase camera. Both eyes
coexist; DPLEyeRenderable::Execute now writes the VIEW only when it IS
mCamera (unconditional writes let the last-executed eye stomp the toggle).
- EyepointRotation is a real zeroed EulerAngles member on Mech (was bound to
the shared junk attrPad -- the eye composes this attribute into the view
EVERY frame, so the cockpit camera was rotated by garbage: the canted
horizon, then the black screen). The eye-slew systems write it later.
- The cockpit eye mounts at the eyepoint's REST position with a clean upright
forward basis on the tree root (the live joint chain fed it the site tilt +
torso pose; authentic pitch/yaw is the deferred gyro eye chain).
- The inside view swaps the player to the INSIDE skeleton mesh set
(SkeletonType_A): 19 body segments hide, exactly one mesh remains --
blx_cop.bgf, the authentic cockpit canopy shell around the eyepoint. It
currently renders as a black enclosure (the black-screen report), so it is
HIDDEN pending its interior/punch-material rendering (BT_INSIDE_COCKPIT=1
shows it for that work). Damage gstates respected in both directions;
RemakeEntity keys off the DISPLAYED skeleton.
- Dev: BT_START_INSIDE=1 starts in the cockpit view.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Answers "does the wreck fade away?": YES, by sinking. FUN_00456410 (the 1996
sink renderable) computes offsetY = rate * t^2; the hulk's authored rate is
-0.025 -> the ~7-unit hulk is fully underground ~17s after the kill. The
script also pairs the standing hulk with the LDBR strewn-debris field (12x13u
flat scatter), parented together and sinking together.
Also verified from the mesh data: BLHDBR (1537 verts -- more than the intact
torso) IS the authored Blackhawk wreck: the classic standing-leg-in-rubble
sculpt. The "just a leg standing there" report is the authentic art.
(THRDBR -- the mesh the 1996 script hardcoded -- parses to ZERO vertices;
more evidence the hardcode was an unfinished dev shortcut.)
Implementation: SwapToWreck adds the ldbr piece; TickWreck applies the
quadratic sink per frame (driven from the dead mech's UpdateDeathState),
hides both pieces at burial and reports it so the wreck-smoke re-arm stops
with the wreck. DPLStaticChildRenderable::SetOffsetTranslation added
(Execute re-reads OrientationMatrix per frame -- same in-place idiom as
SetDrawObj).
Lifecycle verified live: kill -> 'blhdbr.bgf' + ldbr debris -> smoke re-arm
@10s -> wreck buried @~17s -> smoke stops.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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>
The 'can't kill the enemy / no visible damage' cluster, root-caused and fixed
faithfully:
- STEP-6 unaimed path was INERT: the cylinder table was 'cached' at Wword(0x111)
-- the recon ABSORBER bank (stores nothing, reads 0) -- so every unaimed hit
silently no-op'd. Promoted to the named member Mech::damageLookupTable
(binary this[0x111], was mislabeled ammoExpended). New gotcha class recorded
(reconstruction-gotchas §2) + sweep; 2 dead multiplayer branches logged.
- Fire path migrated off the stale vital-zone aim onto the completed STEP-6
unaimed dispatch (zone=-1 + beam entry point -> cylinder resolves the
exterior zone). No more invisible 1-shot kills; death via the authentic
cascade (~14 center-mass hits). Wreck stays TARGETED on kill (beams stop on
it); scoring latches off.
- SendSubsystemDamage AV fixed: unbound critical-subsystem plug guard (43
unbound plugs/mech logged as an open question -- the binding itself is a gap).
- RemakeEntity (render damage swap): the 1996 render state machine's missing
Remake state, reconstructed as an in-place SetDrawObj mesh swap keyed by each
segment's damage-zone graphic state (tree dtor doesn't cascade -> never
rebuild). Destroyed arms/guns visibly wreck (the only variants the RES
registers).
- BT .PFX particle layer (L4VIDEO.cpp): the 1995 explosion/damage effect layer,
unported since 2007 (DPLIndependantEffect/ReadPSFX/ExplosionScripts all
stubs). Parses the authentic VIDEO/*.PFX definitions via the [pfx_day]
psfxN mapping; premultiplied blending renders BOTH families from the same
data (additive-style fire + occluding smoke -- DDAM2 is 30% grey, DDTHSMK
ramps negative: impossible additively); depth-sorted billboards with a
radial-masked grit sprite; impact-frame orientation (.PFX offsets are
authored mech-local, -Z = out of the struck armor toward the shooter) for
weapon hits AND damage bands (via lastInflictingID, now maintained -- was
declared but never written). Both effect-number encodings route (raw dpl
<100 + WinTesla 1000+slot carried by the band resources). Death fires the
authentic dnboom (7) + ddthsmk smoke plume (1).
- Effects anchor at the impact point / damaged zone's segment, not the mech
origin (no more fire at the feet).
- Dev force-input gates BT_AUTOFIRE / BT_AUTODRIVE for headless fire-chain
verification; BT_PFX_ADD=1 flips the particle blend for A/B.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Clean, self-contained extraction of the BattleTech-specific work from the
reverse-engineering workspace -- engine + game + content + build, with nothing
from Red Planet or the raw archive dumps. Builds green (Win32) and runs the
single-player drive->animate->target->fire->damage->destroy loop out of the box.
Layout:
engine/ MUNGA + MUNGA_L4 shared 2007 engine, carrying our BT render/loader
work (bgfload/L4D3D/L4VIDEO: BSL bit-slice decode, LOD/ground/shadow
models) + image codec; the minimal rp/ headers the audio HAL needs
game/ reconstructed BT logic + surviving-original BT source + fwd shims
+ WinMain launcher
content/ full runtime tree (BTL4.RES, VIDEO/, GAUGE/, AUDIO/, eggs, BTDPL.INI)
docs/ format specs + reconstruction ledgers
reference/ raw Ghidra pseudocode (recon source-of-truth) + decomp exporter
tools/ MP console emulator + map/resource scanners
One top-level CMake builds munga_engine lib + bt410_l4 game lib + btl4.exe.
All paths relativized (186 fwd shims + ~437 CMake abs paths -> repo-relative);
DXSDK is the one external, overridable via -DDXSDK. Verified: builds to a
byte-identical 2.27MB exe and runs combat (TARGET DESTROYED, 0 crashes) against
the bundled content.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
