---
id: locomotion
title: "Locomotion — gait, the ground model, collision, shadow"
status: established
source_sections: "PROGRESS_LOG.md §7, §10 (gait/ground/collision/shadow); docs/P3_LOCOMOTION.md"
related_topics: [asset-formats, decomp-reference, reconstruction-gotchas, combat-damage, rendering]
key_terms: [RootTranslation, ground-model, SequenceController, MechControlsMapper, SLD, joint]
open_questions:
  - "Authentic per-mech turn-rate constant (currently bring-up constant; the authored WalkingTurnRate/RunningTurnRate now STREAM correctly since the task #4 record-layout fix -- rec words 0x18/0x19 deg->rad -> mech+0x574/0x578, Wword-absorbed -- wiring them in retires the bring-up rate)"
  - "Airborne clip callbacks (FUN_004a7970) deferred"
---

# Locomotion

Walking, the gait controller, the ground/collision model, and the shadow. All DEFAULT-ON now
(`BT_GAIT_CUTOVER`, `BT_GAIT_SM`, `BT_COLLISION`, `BT_REAL_CONTROLS` — set `=0` to fall back). Full
detail: `docs/P3_LOCOMOTION.md` + `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md §7, §10`.

## Walk speed is animation-driven (not physics)
Each `.ANI` has a `[RootTranslation]` where **`.z` = forward root SPEED** (world units/s). The
engine `AnimationInstance::Animate(dt, move_joints)` integrates `movement += Δt·rootTrans.z` and
moves the body that far → feet plant by construction (no stride constant; k=1). Idle anims have
z=0. The `.MOD` physics governed thrust VEHICLES, NOT walk gait. [T1]

## The walk lean IS authored — and INTERIOR clips omit it (2026-07-13, task #59 CORRECTION) [T1/T2]
**A walking mech DOES lean forward — it's authored, sustained, and clip-set-specific.** (This
supersedes the earlier "NO walk lean" audit conclusion, which was right that no CODE writes body
pitch and that the CYCLE clips carry no pitch keys, but wrong about the net behavior: the
TRANSITION clips ramp `jointhip` (hingex, parent of `jointtorso` → the whole upper body + cockpit)
to a steady pose that the cycle clips never rebind, so it HOLDS.) Decoded from BTL4.RES + live
`[hip]` probe [T2]:
- `<pfx>swr` ramps `jointhip` 0 → **−8°** (stand→walk), `<pfx>wrl/wrr` −8 → **−11.1°** (walk→run),
  `<pfx>wsl/wsr` −8 → 0 (walk→stand). The dedicated return clip only exists because the lean
  persists. The BLH has NO `jointhip` channel in any clip → it stays level (both views).
- **Two clip sets per mech.** The ctor gate (@part_012.c:10308-10320) binds the **INTERIOR** set
  (4-char `'i'` suffix, `LoadLocomotionClipsExt` @004a86c8) to the **local cockpit master** — those
  clips animate `jointshakey` (cockpit shake, a BALL joint) and OMIT `jointhip`, so the PILOT's own
  view stays level. The **EXTERIOR** set (3-char, `LoadLocomotionClips` @004a80d4) goes to network
  REPLICANTS and the forced `L4VIEWEXT` external view — it carries the `jointhip` lean, so everyone
  ELSE sees the mech lean into its stride.
- **Port fix (task #59):** the interior loader was a stub aliased to the exterior loader, and the
  authentic ctor gate was a no-op (`LoadLowDetailBody`/`LoadHighDetailBody` mislabeled the
  FUN_004a80d4/86c8 clip-loader addresses as a body-LOD pair) — so the local cockpit mech played
  exterior clips and pitched −8°. Now `LoadLocomotionClipsExt` is the real 4-char interior loader
  and the ctor gate selects it (`getenv("L4VIEWEXT") || (instanceFlags&0xC)==4` → exterior; else
  interior). Verified live: default (interior) → 4 stray `jointhip` writes over a continuous walk;
  `L4VIEWEXT=1` (exterior) → 74 sustained writes at −8/−11°.
- **Copy-flag → VIEWPOINT adaptation (the other half, DONE):** the port never sets the replicant
  COPY bit (`instanceFlags & 0xC == 4`) — all MP mechs build as local masters (replication rides
  the registry + update-records; heat-sim/scoring/torso-watcher-connect all run on both by design,
  so flipping the bit would break them). The ctor gate therefore lands EVERY mech on interior. To
  restore the authentic RESULT, `Mech::MaintainViewClipSet()` (mech3.cpp, called each frame from
  `PerformAndWatch`) picks the set by VIEWPOINT: the mech you pilot (== `GetViewpointEntity()`)
  keeps INTERIOR (level cockpit — you never see your own mech externally in the real pod); every
  other mech flips ONCE to EXTERIOR (the −8/−11° lean). Reloads only on a viewpoint-status change;
  the two sets share stride data so the swap is seamless. Verified live: your mech `jointhip`=0
  while walking; the peer's replica leans at −8°/−11.1° in your view. (Model pointers stashed at
  ctor via `BTStashClipState`; the GameModel resource persists for the mission.)

Other pitch sources (unchanged, still correct): `bmp` stagger (≈25° — THE knockdown pitch); JAK's
four directional fall clips (`JAKFB/FF/FL/FR`, root pitch to 1.79 rad — the only mech with them);
`IntegrateMotion`@0x4ab1c8 rotates orientation by `angularVelocity`@0x2d4·dt (yaw only); ground
snap is Y-only (terrain pitch/roll → `jointshadow`). The gyro's `bodyOrientation` spring
(@004b30ec) writes only `jointeye` (cockpit hit-bounce, not a lean). `fallDirection`@0x4a8/
`fallScalar`@0x4b4 are record-payload only. [T1]

## The MARCHING-GHOST desync — ROOT-CAUSED + FIXED (2026-07-13, live diagnosis) [T2]
The long-parked "replicant walks in place while its master stands still" reproduced live with
telemetry running: the master's `[gaitSM]` showed `state=0 cycleSpeed=-2.50725 kfCur=19` — BOTH
channels stuck at a REVERSE cadence inside Standing.  Mechanism: the walk-family stop gate
(`cycleSpeed <= ZeroSpeed`, mech2.cpp) passes trivially for NEGATIVE (reverse) cadences, and
several stand-entry paths (turn exit, terminal poses) never touch the cycle — so a reverse-stop
enters Standing at full reverse cycle speed.  The master looks still (case-0 never advances the
clip; `kfCur` freezes) but the stale cycle REPLICATES, and the peer's replicant animates it =
the marching ghost.  A clean FORWARD stop decays the cycle first (`legSum ~3e-8` on the healthy
node) — which is why the bug was intermittent and direction-dependent.  FIX: all four
Advance*Animation Standing cases zero their channel's cycle on entry + ForceUpdate(8) so the
peer hears the stop immediately.  (The signed-demand change (task #15) is what let negative
cycles reach machinery written for forward decel.)  The earlier "bob reduction + stutter"
symptom family likely shares this root — re-observe after this fix before chasing separately.

## The two-channel gait (real controls)
The BT `SequenceController` (`seqctl.cpp`, from `SelectSequence@004277a8`+`Advance@0042790c`) drives
locomotion. Under `BT_REAL_CONTROLS` two channels run — **roles corrected 2026-07-09 (task #49) from
raw disasm** (both Advance fns had NO static decomp caller; found by byte-scanning for `e8` calls):
- **LEG channel = the LOCAL sim.** The master perf (the `0x4a9b5c` gap region) calls
  `AdvanceLegAnimation` @0x4aa399 (airborne @0x4aa388) and stores `-dist/dt` into **localVelocity
  (+0x1cc)** — the leg drives the local mech's TRAVEL and, advancing LAST (mj=1), the DISPLAYED pose.
  It reads the LIVE `speedDemand` and owns trn/turn-in-place + the early-stand wind-down guard. [T1]
- **BODY channel = the replication PROJECTOR.** `IntegrateMotion` (0x4ab1c8; body advance @0x4ab312,
  from `FUN_004ab430`, the projected-origin/dead-reckon updater) stores `-dist/dt` into
  **projectedVelocity (+0x2a0)** — the dead-reckoning feed for update records. Its phase drift is
  locally INVISIBLE in the binary. The literal projectedVelocity store is unwired, but the
  update-record velocity feed is live via the localVelocity/worldLinearVelocity maintenance
  (mech4.cpp VELOCITY STORAGE block) — replicant gait (task #50) runs off it. [T1]
**v5 (current): display == travel BY CONSTRUCTION through the LEG** (body advances first, leg last).
History: v3 (travel=leg, display=body) foot-slipped — two channels, different consumers; v4 unified
BOTH on the body (mis-reading 0x4ab430 as the travel source) — feet planted, but whenever the two
state machines phase-split, the out-of-phase LEG pose showed through on frames the body didn't write
(Standing/wind-down) = the RECURRING "legs stutter / lose sync" report. The split mechanism [T2,
reproduced via `BT_FORCE_OSC` + `BT_FORCE_TURN` + `BT_SYNC_LOG`]: (a) SEED — the bring-up trn trigger
arms only the leg (authentic trn dispatcher still unlocated), so the walk re-entry lands 1 frame
apart; (b) AMPLIFIER — with offset clips the end-of-clip callbacks fire on different frames, so a
demand change landing between them picks DIFFERENT next states (one winds down, one keeps walking)
→ opposite-phase churn. Under v5 both effects still exist but only skew the projection channel. [T2]
The gait STATE MACHINE (`AdvanceBodyAnimation`, mech2.cpp) slews `bodyCycleSpeed` toward the demand
through walk/run caps (`LoadLocomotionClips`, mech3.cpp:326 — measures `walkStride`/`standSpeed` via
`legAnimation.SelectSequence`). Transition callbacks (`Mech::BodyClipFinished @0x4a6d8c`,
`LegClipFinished @0x4a6928` — PE-parsed jump tables) alternate walk 6↔7 / run 12↔13 + walk→run. [T2]
⚠ **Aliasing bug class (namedClip):** `namedClip[]`@0x5e0 == `animationClips[]`@0x5cc+0x14 (ONE array);
`gimpBaseClip`@0x64c == `animationClips[0x20]`; `bodyAnimationState`@0x728 == `bodyStateAlarm.level`.
Declared-separate members don't see each other's writes — alias them.
Replicants (task #50): travel = engine DeadReckon; leg channel driven joints-only from the replicated
worldLinearVelocity -> speedDemand (mech4.cpp REPLICANT MOTION) — detail in [[multiplayer]]. [T2]

## The AUTHENTIC 1995 ground model (default-on, `BT_GROUND_REAL`)
Decoded by the 10-agent `ground-model-decode` workflow (binary `FUN_004a9b5c` = the master perf).
**NO GRAVITY anywhere** — accelerations zeroed every frame. Vertical position = an ABSOLUTE per-frame
ground SNAP:
1. ctor lifts `collisionTemplate->minY` by 5% of volume X-width (the probe height + wall-vs-floor separation).
2. per frame `MoveCollisionVolume()` re-finds the containing node in the zone's **BoundingBoxTree**
   (BOXTREE.cpp — NOT a heightfield).
3. probe `q = origin + (0, lift, 0)` → `FindBoundingBoxUnder(q, &h)` (h = distance down to the highest
   solid top; −1 = miss).
4. snap gate `h > 1e-4`: `origin.y -= (h − lift)` ⇒ y = surfaceY exactly. **MISS ⇒ NOTHING** (y holds,
   no runaway). Up-slope bounded by the lift window (implicit step allowance); walk-offs drop instantly.
5. `GetCurrentCollisions` → `ProcessCollisionList` → `Mech::ProcessCollision` (@0x4abb40, vtbl+0x3c):
   BoxedSolid resolver → StaticBounce → owner classification. Crushable icon (flags&0x8000) = damage
   0.00123f sentinel = move stands; damage>0 = **FULL FRAME REJECTION** (walls block, never slide);
   impactVel²>40 = crash-anim (SetLegAnimation(0x20)). [T2]
KEY: `FindSmallestNodeContainingColumn`/`FindBoundingBoxUnder` (`FUN_0040e36c`/`0040e5f0`, BOXTREE.CPP)
are ALIVE in the 2007 engine — the "heightfield" labels were wrong (caused two reverted attempts). A
master mech needs a **CollisionAssistant** (GetCurrentCollisions iterates it unchecked). BT solids
ship ZERO tiles (h never negative). [T2]

## Knockdown / crash + the desync/stutter fixes
Wall impacts iv²>40 (~6.3 u/s) bind the `bmp` stagger clip. Two documented bug fixes: (a) the
knockdown must stagger BOTH channels (`SetBodyAnimation(0x20)` + `SetLegAnimation(0x20)`) or display
+ travel split permanently (foot-slip); (b) a contact-hysteresis gate (0.4 s `gBlockCooldown`)
stops the knockdown re-firing on sustained/glancing contact. `localVelocity` is zeroed while crashed
(spec-faithful) so a knocked mech can't keep advancing. [T2]

## Controls (`BT_REAL_CONTROLS`, default-on)
`MechControlsMapper` (mechmppr.cpp @004afbe0; btl4mppr.cpp mappers) interprets input → `speedDemand`
/ `turnDemand`. ⚠ **WndProc NEVER receives WM_KEYUP** (the engine's per-frame reader `GetMessage`s
them out) → poll `GetAsyncKeyState` per frame, gated on foreground. Virtual controls: W/S sweep a
persistent throttle LEVER with a zero detent; A/D a momentary auto-centering stick. [T2]

## Shadow (default-on, `BT_SHADOW_TILT`)
BT 4.10's shadow is the `*_tshd.bgf` proxy, posed by `jointshadow` (terrain tilt — the SKL's own
contract: "apply terrain angle to pitch and roll") + `jointtshadow` (torso twist). The working 2026-07-09
arrangement (user-verified live: feet layer over it, opaque, survives inclines/declines) has FOUR
co-dependent parts — change one, re-check the others:
1. **TILT** (mech.cpp `UpdateShadowJoint`): quad up aligned to the surface normal via an orthonormal
   basis fed to the ENGINE's own LinearMatrix→EulerAngles conversion — hand-derived Euler signs are
   exactly how two prior tilt attempts "dug into the hillside"/vanished. ~35° cliff-guard cap.
2. **SAMPLER** (mech4.cpp): gradient from the collision probes PLUS `BTVisualGroundLift` per probe
   (the quad hugs the VISIBLE terrain, whose lift varies across a slope); world→local by the TRUE yaw
   from `localToWorld` (NOT the `gDriveHeading` scalar mirror — the task-#48 drift bug class).
   `BT_SHADOW_LOG` traces the normals.
3. **DRAW ORDER** (`PASS_SHADOW`, l4d3d.h/L4VIDRND/L4VIDEO): shadows draw between the STATIC terrain
   and the DYNAMIC opaque bodies (classic decal order), so the mech z-passes over the shadow — the
   bias can never paint the shadow OVER the feet, structurally.
4. **BIAS pairing** (L4D3D.cpp): tilt on (default) → decal epsilon −0.0008; `BT_SHADOW_TILT=0`
   (flat A/B fallback) → the old −0.004 it needs to survive slope burial. `BT_SHADOW_BIAS` overrides.
5. **LOADER-LEVEL TAG** (L4D3D.cpp `LoadObjectBGF`): `*tshd*` filenames get `SetIsShadow(1)` in the
   LOADER, not at call sites. The V VIEW TOGGLE (`SetViewInside`) and the damage swaps RELOAD segment
   meshes; an untagged reload disengages the whole pipeline — solid opaque black, no bias, buried on
   any slope ("shadow broke mid-session after pressing V", user-confirmed fixed). The all-shadow-
   material detector misses the mech proxy (plain black material, not shadow_mtl). [T2]
Polar maps have STUB `*_tshd` (shadow authored-off on snow). The visual-ground conform (`btvisgnd.cpp`)
stays render-only (never touches localOrigin). [T2]
⚠ **"Shadow vanishes on inclines" now has THREE confirmed/suspected causes — diagnose before fixing:**
(a) the V-toggle/reload UNTAG above (solid black + buried; broke mid-session; the likeliest cause of
the recurring reports — a relaunch always "fixed" it because the fresh build re-tagged); (b) gait
desync popping the displayed root pose past the bias margin (the first 2026-07-09 recurrence co-
resolved with gait v5, no shadow code changed — though (a) may have contributed) [T2 obs; mechanism
T4]; (c) genuine slope burial when the quad is flat/mis-tilted (the depth-bias margin is finite).
Check `[shadowobj]` tag lines and `[sync]`/`BT_SYNC_LOG` before touching bias/tilt.

## Key Relationships
- Detail: `docs/P3_LOCOMOTION.md`. Uses: [[asset-formats]] (SKL/ANI), [[decomp-reference]] (offsets).
- Feeds: [[combat-damage]] (collision→damage), [[rendering]] (shadow/visual-conform).