The MadCat (and every leg-mech) leans -8deg into a walk / -11deg into a run --
an authored jointhip (hingex) pose in the EXTERIOR gait clips that the walk/run
CYCLE clips never rebind, so it HOLDS. The 1995 game keeps a separate INTERIOR
('i'-suffix) clip set for the mech you PILOT: those shake jointshakey (cockpit
rattle) and OMIT jointhip, so your own view stays level while everyone else sees
you lean. The port had this entirely dead -- the local cockpit mech pitched
-8deg into the ground (user-reported "staring at the ground").
ROOT CAUSE (two stacked bugs):
- The authentic ctor clip-set gate (@part_012.c:10308-10320) was reconstructed
as no-op stubs: LoadLowDetailBody/LoadHighDetailBody MISLABELED the
FUN_004a80d4/86c8 GAIT-CLIP loader addresses as a "body LOD" pair, so the gate
did nothing and a separate unconditional LoadLocomotionClips always loaded
EXTERIOR clips.
- LoadLocomotionClipsExt (the interior loader) was a stub aliased to the
exterior loader.
FIX:
- Reconstructed the real 4-char INTERIOR loader (byte-exact vs @004a86c8; the
'i'-suffix table dumped from the exe @0x10d74d: swri/wwri/wwli/...; all 18
base clips confirmed present in BTL4.RES for mad/blh/ava).
- Fixed the ctor gate: getenv("L4VIEWEXT") || (instanceFlags&0xC)==4 -> exterior
(replicant / forced external view); else -> interior (local cockpit master).
Removed the mislabeling no-op stubs.
- PORT ADAPTATION (MaintainViewClipSet, per-frame in PerformAndWatch): the port
never sets the replicant COPY bit (all MP mechs build as local masters --
heat-sim/scoring/torso-watcher-connect all run on both, by design), so the
ctor gate lands everyone on interior. Pick the set by VIEWPOINT instead: the
mech you pilot keeps interior (level cockpit), every other mech flips once to
exterior (the lean). Reloads only on a viewpoint-status change; the sets
share stride data so the swap is seamless. Model pointers stashed at ctor.
VERIFIED live (BT_HIP_LOG probe): your walking mech writes jointhip=0 (level);
the peer's replica in the other pod's view leans at exactly -8.0/-11.1deg --
the authored clip values. A/B control: L4VIEWEXT=1 forces the walking master
back to 74 sustained -8/-11 writes.
KB: locomotion.md ("NO walk lean" audit conclusion CORRECTED -- the lean is
authored + sustained + clip-set-specific), asset-formats.md (.ANI parses
pitch/yaw/roll for all joint types; KeyJointPos translation; cycle clips carry
no pitch), open-questions.md (item closed).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
