arcattackandClaude Fable 5
27959990ea
Community reports said the camera looked too far back and the cockpit frames were never this revealed; the user's hypothesis (our projection widens the view) was exactly right. The original Tesla projection call, preserved in a comment at DPLRenderer::SetView, is dpl_SetViewProjection(view, -1, -aspect, +1, +aspect, 1/tan(viewangle/2)) i.e. BTDPL.INI's viewangle=60.0 is the HORIZONTAL field of view with the vertical derived by aspect: the pod's frustum was 60 x 46.8 deg at 4:3. The port fed the 60 to D3DXMatrixPerspectiveFovRH as the VERTICAL fov -> 75 x 60 at 4:3 (worse on widescreen): the world rendered ~25% farther away and far more canopy was visible than the pod ever showed. Fix: BTFovYFromHorizontal(viewangle, aspect) at all five projection sites (main, per-frame resize, sky pass, WM_SIZE rebuild, fallback) -- the horizontal field stays the authentic 60 deg at any window shape. The aim boresight reads the live projection (gBTAimP22) and adapts; combat re-verified (kill chain, no NaN). Cockpits now show the frames at the pod's framing: viewports dominant, frames at the periphery. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
174 lines
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174 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: cockpit-view
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title: "First-Person Cockpit: the *_cop Canopy + the Authentic Eyepoint"
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status: living
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source_sections: "task #55 (2026-07-10); reference/decomp part_007.c/part_013.c/part_014.c/part_011.c; engine/MUNGA_L4/bgfload.cpp, L4VIDRND.cpp; game/reconstructed/btl4vid.cpp"
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related_topics: [rendering, bgf-format, gauges-hud, subsystems, decomp-reference]
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key_terms: [material-ramp, siteeyepoint]
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open_questions: ["gyro tail: gait jolt/rumble [T3 gates], sway model, torso-pitch eye writer, damageForce fill", "exact unlit ramp index for the frame colour (BT_COP_RAMP_L=0.08 is T3 tuned-to-footage)"]
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---
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# First-Person Cockpit: the *_cop Canopy + the Authentic Eyepoint
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The pod's only view was the cockpit eyepoint looking out through a per-mech canopy shell.
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Task #55 reconstructed both halves — the CANOPY rendering and the EYE camera — from the binary.
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Verified in-game on the Madcat against gameplay footage. [T2]
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## The canopy shell (*_COP.BGF)
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- One per mech (12: AVX BLX FIX JAX LOX MAX OWX RAX SNX STX THX VUX; model→skeleton table in
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BTL4.RES @~3232850: `madcat=mad`, `blkhawk=blh`, … — the INSIDE skeleton is the X-variant, so
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Madcat = `MAX_COP`). It is the torso segment's SkeletonType_A mesh; the inside view loads
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EXACTLY ONE segment mesh (the `_cop`) — 25 others hidden. [T2]
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- Material: `<pfx>skin:blakskn_dz_{u,r,l}torso_mtl` — DIFFUSE/AMBIENT (0,0,0) + RAMP_REF
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`softer`, **NO texture** (BLXSKIN.BMF is 238 bytes total; byte-verified). The 56 nonzero-UV
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verts in BLX_COP sample nothing (planar-projection authoring leftover). [T1]
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- Geogroups carry the `SV_SPECIAL " dz_*torso PUNCH "` token → `dpl_Punchize` (see
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[[bgf-format]] PUNCH). The board opcode is a constant — the frame/window discriminator is the
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GEOMETRY, not a key. [T1]
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- **Every `_cop` is an OPEN STRUT LATTICE** (boundary-edge ratios, per-patch edge namespacing:
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38-59% across all 12). The struts ARE the frame; the openings ARE the windows. Beware the
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edge-counting trap: counting edges across patches (patch-local indices collide) undercounts
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boundaries catastrophically (BLX "7%" wrong → 59% right). [T1]
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- **Rendering (bgfload.cpp):** keyed by filename (`meshIsCop`, stem contains `_cop`):
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1. **Single-sided** (emitTri): double-siding draws far struts through the near openings → the
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"black box". `BT_COP_DOUBLE=1` restores (diag).
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2. **Per-face INWARD winding orientation** (finish()): the l/r torso patches are MIRRORED
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copies, so no global winding works — orient each face's kept winding toward the mesh
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interior (where the pilot sits). `BT_COP_FLIP=1` flips (diag).
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3. **Dark `softer`-ramp frame colour**: texture-less ramp + no normals = unlit; evaluate the
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ramp at a flat index, default `BT_COP_RAMP_L=0.08` (near the dark end — [T3] tuned to the
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near-black frame in footage; the board's exact unlit index is not in the code).
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- The shell SHOWS by default in the inside view (btl4vid.cpp ApplyViewSkeleton);
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`BT_HIDE_COCKPIT=1` hides it (diag).
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- **Wrong turns, recorded so they stay dead:** (a) "windows are punch texels" — no texel exists;
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(b) "the punch patch IS the visible frame / drop-punch removes the cockpit" — an artifact of
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testing with the broken pre-inverse eye; with the authentic eye the punch patches are plainly
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the WINDOWS (see §resolved below) and dropping them is correct; (c) a view-direction face-cut
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heuristic — not data-derivable, superseded by the lattice + winding + punch-drop treatment.
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## The authentic eyepoint (decomp-verified [T1])
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Pipeline: `eyeWorld = parentSegmentWorld · baseOffset · R(EyepointRotation)`; `VIEW =
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inverse(eyeWorld)`. No LookAt anywhere.
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- **Eye ctor = FUN_004579a8** (part_007.c:9274, = DPLEyeRenderable). Caller (part_014.c:5525-66,
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BTL4VID.CPP) gates on segment name `"siteeyepoint"`, passes:
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- offset matrix = the segment's **GetBaseOffset()** (segment+0x74, the LOCAL rest transform) —
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NOT GetSegmentToEntity, NOT an upright basis;
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- parent = the eyepoint segment's **parent draw component** (`dcs_array[GetParentIndex()]`) —
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liveness (torso pose, gait, gyro) reaches the eye ONLY through this parent chain;
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- the `EyepointRotation` entity attribute (EulerAngles; Mech member, init 0).
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- **Combine order:** `FUN_0040b104(dst,A,B)` computes `dst = B × A` (translation from B) →
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the eye local = `baseOffset × R`, R applied FIRST in eye-local space. Recomputed only when the
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euler CHANGES (FUN_00457b48 @part_007.c:9360, epsilon gate).
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- **Per-frame view = FUN_004c22c4** (part_013.c:11742): rebuilds eyeWorld from the view-DCS's
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live accumulated transform, then `FUN_0040b244` = TRUE AFFINE INVERSE → the view matrix, then a
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UNIFORM zoom scale. The forward/up axes fall out of the eye's own basis — the renderer never
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picks an axis. (Our old hand-rolled `D3DXMatrixLookAtRH` with forward=+Z/up=+Y row extraction
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was exactly why some mechs aimed into the canopy — see [[reconstruction-gotchas]].)
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- Port implementation: btl4vid.cpp (eye build: offset_matrix + parent_DCS), L4VIDRND.cpp
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DPLEyeRenderable::Execute (order `Orient × R`, `D3DXMatrixInverse` on the live path — note the
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ctor also holds a copy of this code but its view write is DEAD; patch the Execute).
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## Status per mech + the gyro (task #56 — gyro now LIVE)
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- **Madcat (MAX_COP): verified good on pure defaults** — dark domed frame (top arch +
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cross-braces + A-pillars + dash), world through the openings. Un-regressed with the gyro live.
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- **The gyro is RE-ENABLED and clean** (task #56): ctor field-map + integrators + writers
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reconstructed byte-exact from @004b3778/@004b2ec0/@004b30ec/@004b34ec, layout
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static_assert-locked (sizeof==0x3D0), joint-write dispatch moved to the MECH performance tail
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(`GyroFrameJointWrite`, matching the binary calls @0x4aaf74/83), gyro↔torso pitch link wired
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(`gyro+0x258 = &torso currentTwist`). Runtime: both joints resolve type 5, Performance
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installed (flags 0x100), `WriteMechJoint eyePos=(0,0,0) body=(0,0,0)` finite every frame — the
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old NaN is gone. Mechanism: WriteMechJoint drives ONE node (`jointeye`, which parents
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`siteeyepoint`): TRANSLATION = the eye position spring, ROTATION = the body tip spring.
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WriteEyeJoint is a MULTIPLICATIVE sway attenuator on `jointlocal`'s animated rotation
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(gated legAnimState!=0; must run after the animation pass). [T2 runtime-verified]
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- **Steady-offset hypothesis DISPROVEN [T2]:** the .MDL spring targets are SYMMETRIC
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(pos=(0.1,0.15,0.1), neg=(−0.1,−0.15,−0.1) — same for madcat AND bhk1) → the eye equilibrium
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is (0,0,0) and the clamps limit gyro motion to ±0.1..0.15u. The gyro is a BOUNCE/sway
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mechanism, NOT a large steady offset. The authentic resting eye = raw baseOffset for every mech.
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- **FINAL (2026-07-11, i860-firmware-decoded): PUNCH is a three-chunk STENCIL-CUT KIT.** The
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VREND.MNG board firmware's 'damageize' handler (@0xf040f6f8, disassembled with a custom i860
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tool) writes the dpl_Punchize token triple {dmg_set, undmg2enbl|texture, dmg_clear} onto the
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punch geogroup's first three geometry chunks IN FILE ORDER: chunk1 = the detailed
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window-aperture shapes = an invisible per-pixel MASK; chunk2 = the coarse HULL = the ONLY
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colour-drawn geometry, drawn where NOT masked; chunk3 = a byte-identical hull twin = the
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damage-reset record, never visible. The visible canopy = hull-minus-apertures. Port:
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bgfload identifies the within-patch twin pair (hull + skip) and tags the non-paired pmeshes as
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masks; L4D3D draws mask (stencil 1, no colour/z-write), hull (stencil-reject), mask (stencil 0)
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on a D24S8 device; the cut never touches z, so later-drawn entities show through apertures.
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BT_COP_PLATES=1 disables the kit (diag). In-game, all 8 mechs on pure defaults [T2]:
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connected dark frames with clear viewports; thor (the footage mech) shows the big central
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viewport + surrounding frame exactly as filmed. TWO earlier readings are superseded and were
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WRONG: "punch patches = windows, drop them" (left floating frame fragments) and "duplicate
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pairs = plates, hide both" (hid the HULL and drew the MASK = the inversion the user caught).
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- **Hit-bounce: LIVE and verified [T2] (2026-07-11).** The damage→gyro fan-out **FUN_004b2980**
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was re-disassembled byte-exact from the raw image (capstone; scratchpad/dis_4b2980.py) and
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reconstructed as `Gyroscope::ApplyDamageResponse` (gyro.cpp): zero-damage + Collision(0) no-op;
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hit direction = `Damage::damageForce` or a RANDOM horizontal fallback when ~zero (our senders
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don't fill damageForce yet — the fallback is binary-legal; directional fidelity = fill it later);
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rotated by the yaw-only torso-twist frame; per-type scaling `amount / damageMultiplier[type] *
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damageResponse[type].{trans,pitchRoll,yaw,vibration}` (Explosive alone multiplies burstCount);
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clamp 1.3; four kicks — impulse(trans, dir), torque(pitchRoll, dir), impulse(vibration,
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**vibrationDirection@0x390 = (0,1,0)** — the "animationOffset/Scale/Phase scalars" were this
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unit vector all along), verticalImpulse(yaw, dir). Call sites wired: the take-damage hub
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(mech.cpp TakeDamageMessageHandler, FIRST action, binary @0x4a0264), the crushable-icon crunch
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(mech4.cpp, torque 0.4 along Δv + up-impulse 0.2, @4aa81e/@4aa86c), the firing recoil
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(projweap.cpp FireWeapon: damage>3 → impulse (0,0.6,−1.5) × damage/16, @4bc136-4bc19c).
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Verified live: `[gyro-dmg]` fires per hit with correct scaling, eyePosition shows the damped
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oscillation (ramp to ~0.015u, Y oscillating, decay to 0), no NaN, kill chain un-regressed.
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- **Deferred gyro tail:** (a) the alternate-gait engage JOLT + 0.4s engaged-gait RUMBLE
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(@4aa158-4aa365 — full byte recipe in the wf_6880e605 synthesis; **flagged [T3] on the gate
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naming** and it mutates the gait state machine tasks #49/#50 stabilized — do NOT wire without
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re-verifying the gate semantics); (b) the mech+0x3F0 overspeed sway model (swayBias fed 0);
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(c) the per-frame `EyepointRotation.pitch = torso pitch` writer (FUN_004b66b4 @0x4aafab) + the
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mapper glance-look states (FUN_004afd10); (d) senders filling `Damage::damageForce` (beam:
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impact−muzzle; projectile: velocity) for directional bounce fidelity; (e) FireWeapon's heat add
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(pre-existing separate gap). `gyroRumbleTimer@0x5c4` was re-typed from the mis-named
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`int clipLoadGuard` (binary uses it as a float rumble countdown).
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## Offset cockpits — the placement-model verification [T1/T2]
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Some mechs have laterally OFFSET cockpits, and the data + our port agree exactly (2026-07-11):
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`[jointeye]` rest translation per SKL vs the `_COP` canopy X-center — **thor: tranx=+1.13, canopy
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center +1.13 (exact)**; loki −0.25/−0.15; owens +0.19/+0.16; the other five ≈0/≈0. Our in-game
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measured eye (`[EYECHK]`) reproduces the Thor offset to the hundredth (lateral 1.13 from the mech
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origin). The eye chain (baseOffset + parent-segment DCS composition) is therefore CORRECT per-mech;
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the still-blocked cockpit views are a canopy-RENDER question, not a camera one.
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## The playable roster is 8, not 12 [T1]
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`BTL4.RES` contains exactly 8 mech model resources (avatar, bhk1/blkhawk, loki, madcat, owens,
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sunder, thor, vulture — each with `<name>`, variants `<pfx>1/2`, and a `<pfx>dead`). Strider /
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Raptor / Firestarter / Blackjack have `_COP` meshes, SKLs and gauge configs but NO model resource
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(cut/other-version leftovers); forcing them via `BT_FORCE_MODEL` feeds NULL to
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`ResourceDescription::Lock` → AV in `CreatePlayerVehicle` (cdb-verified). Valid `BT_FORCE_MODEL`
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names: `avatar bhk1 loki madcat owens sunder thor vulture` (+ variants ava1/lok1/lok2/mad1/mad2/
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own1/snd1/thr1/vul1/blkhawk).
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## The authentic view field (FOV) — viewangle is HORIZONTAL [T1]
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`BTDPL.INI [dpl_defaults] viewangle=60.0` is the **horizontal** field of view: the original Tesla
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call (preserved in the DPLRenderer::SetView comment, L4VIDEO.cpp) is
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`dpl_SetViewProjection(view, -1, -aspect, +1, +aspect, 1/tan(viewangle/2))` — horizontal
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half-extent 1.0, vertical scaled by aspect. Authentic frustum at 4:3 = **60° × 46.8°**. The
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port had fed the 60 to D3DX as the VERTICAL fov (75° × 60° at 4:3, worse on widescreen) — the
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world read ~25% farther away ("camera too far back" reports) and the canopy frames were
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massively over-revealed. Fixed (`BTFovYFromHorizontal`, all 5 projection sites incl. sky +
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resize): the horizontal field stays 60° at any window shape. The aim/pick feed reads the live
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projection (`gBTAimP22`) so targeting adapts automatically (combat re-verified). Credit: a
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user-community report ("frames were never this revealed") + the resolution/FOV hypothesis.
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## Diagnostics / env gates
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`BT_FORCE_MODEL=<name>` (force the player mech: madcat/owens/sunder/…; btl4mssn.cpp),
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`BT_HIDE_COCKPIT`, `BT_COP_DOUBLE`, `BT_COP_FLIP`, `BT_COP_RAMP_L`, `BT_COP_DEBUG` (paint the
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shell green), `BT_COP_DUMP` (per-batch punch/bbox), `BT_EYE_FWD=<f>` (push the eye forward — the
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position probe), `[EYECHK]` log (eye world pos + look dir + entity pos, first frames).
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## Key Relationships
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- Uses: [[bgf-format]] (PUNCH, vertex tags) · [[rendering]] (ramp model, skeleton branch)
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- Feeds: [[gauges-hud]] (the HUD overlays this view) · [[subsystems]] (gyro, task #56)
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- Gotchas: [[reconstruction-gotchas]] §14 (LookAt axis guess), §15 (per-patch edge counting)
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