arcattackandClaude Fable 5
48c9c8444f
The "fireballs like the demo vids" arc, decomp/content-grounded end to end,
plus the live-play UX batch verified over the same sessions:
FIRESMOKE SHEET (the PFX fireball fix): every firesmokeN_scr_tex in BTFX.VMF
maps the SAME 64x64 tileable noise image bintA (variants differ only in SCROLL
rate) and firesmoke1_mtl colours it through the "fiery" ramp (0.3,0.1,0.1)->
(0.9,0.7,0.3). The particle layer now bakes ramp(lum(bintA)) as its sprite
colour (noise detail in alpha) and SCROLLS it at firesmoke1's authored rate
via a texture-transform; the port's radial soft-edge mask moved to a second
CLAMPed stage so the WRAPPED scroll rolls flame through the sprite without
scrolling the edge away. Old grit x radial bake kept as the no-BINTA fallback.
Impact hits, damage-band smoke and death booms all ride this layer.
AUTHORED TEXTURE SCROLL in the model path: the BMF TEXTURE records carry
SPECIAL " SCROLL u0 v0 du dv" (tag 0x2037); the draw path always supported
per-op scrolling (SetTextureScrolling) but the BGF loader never parsed it, so
every scrolling material rendered frozen. Wired TexRef -> MatInfo -> batch ->
L4TEXOP.doScroll: the flame cards (flamebig/fire5) now roll fire noise.
VERTEX-ALPHA EFFECT CARDS (the "twisted drill bit of fire" fix): FLAMEBIG's
verts carry authored float RGBA -- white-hot base (1.0,0.99,0.97) -> dark-red
tip fading to alpha -0.2 (the DPL clamp convention). The loader kept a flat
batch colour and drew it OPAQUE = a solid orange spike. Corpus sweep: exactly
14 shipped BGFs carry vertex alpha, ALL effect cards (flames, MUZFLASH,
EXDISK_A/B/C, TMST_A/B/C, beam models, DECLOUDS). Such batches now keep the
authored per-vertex gradient and route to the alpha-blend pass, unlit,
colour = texture x gradient, alpha = the vertex fade; sky objects excluded
(drawAsSky + alphaTest passes NEITHER pass filter -- DECLOUDS stays in the
sky pass). MUZFLASH/EXDISK render correctly for free when the muzzle-model
work lands.
WRECK DRESSING (the 1996 ExplosionScripts case-4 transcription): pieces spawn
HIDDEN and reveal 0.25s after the boom (the InstanceSwitch delay, behind the
dnboom flash); flamebig hangs over the pile, Y-BILLBOARDED at the camera
(SetOffsetYaw + a camera-pos getter -- the dpl_SetDCSReorientAxes analog);
the MakeDCSFall settle arms at the reveal with the two authored rates (hulk/
debris -0.025 t^2, fires -0.01 t^2 -- the flames ride above the sinking pile
and die with it at burial). EMPTY-PLACEHOLDER hulk guard: THRDBR.BGF is a
153-byte zero-geometry stub that "loads fine" -- vertex-count check now routes
it to the gendbr fallback (a Thor wreck was invisible). Hulk content census
recorded: AVADBR==MADDBR==VULDBR geometry (palette-only prefix diffs),
RAPDBR==SNDDBR==STIDBR byte-identical -- wreck variety is materials + the
dressing, not unique piles.
LIVE-PLAY BATCH: muzzle resolve uses the named segmentIndex (raw +0xdc read
was layout garbage); forward launch frame (authored MuzzleVelocity +Z vs the
mech's -Z facing); dock-bottom single window (gauge strip appended below the
world viewport, 1100x600 default, BT_DEV_GAUGES_WINDOW=1 restores the separate
window); portrait sec surface unrotated CW; ammo counters live via typed
bridges (BTAmmoBinCountPtr/BTAmmoBinFeeding/BTWeaponAmmoBin -- raw bin+0x180
and a hand-rolled link walk were garbage); fourth fire key ('4' = Pinky);
panel/arc probes de-aliased (%61 prime).
KB: rendering.md (vertex-alpha card family + scroll), combat-damage.md (hulk
census + THRDBR stub), gauges-hud.md (ammo bridges).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
106 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
106 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: rendering
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title: "Rendering — the D3D9 pipeline, materials, sky, beams, performance"
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status: established
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source_sections: "PROGRESS_LOG.md §10 (render-fidelity notes); docs/BGF_FORMAT.md"
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related_topics: [bgf-format, asset-formats, wintesla-port, locomotion, pod-hardware, cockpit-view]
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key_terms: [L4D3D, material-ramp, BSL, LOD, DPL, beam]
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open_questions:
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- "Replacement-LOD for NON-additive multi-LOD models; day/night material path priority (BT_MATPRI)"
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---
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# Rendering
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The port renders via the WinTesla `L4D3D`/`L4VIDEO` Direct3D9 path ([[wintesla-port]]), carrying our
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BT loader (`bgfload.cpp`) + fidelity work. The goal: match the authentic pod footage. Geometry/LOD
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mechanics are in [[bgf-format]]; this topic covers the D3D9 draw path + the fidelity fixes. Full
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detail: `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md §10`.
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## The IG-board shading model (from libDPL DPLTYPES.H)
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Shading is selected PER-GEOMETRY by vertex type: **no-normal geometry** (terrain/mesas/sky/buildings/
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mech — WHITE baked verts) is UNLIT, colorized by the material's 2-endpoint **[[material-ramp]]**
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(`dpl_SetMaterialRamp` — texture luminance indexes a low→high gradient); **normal-bearing geometry**
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(~150 vehicle/missile files) is LIT by the map light. Applying the ramp to lit geometry = the "dusty
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white blobs" bug (gate on `hasNormals`). [T2]
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Exception: cockpit-frame (`*_cop`) batches are pure-emissive constant colour (0.13,0.12,0.15),
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`BT_COP_FRAME` overrides — see [[cockpit-view]] (task #55; the old `BT_COP_RAMP_L` ramp-index
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approach is retired). [T2]
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**VERTEX-ALPHA EFFECT CARDS (2026-07-12) [T1 corpus-swept]:** exactly 14 shipped BGFs carry
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per-vertex float RGBA with alpha < 1 (tags 0x0082/0x008A, RGBA at +12, values OUTSIDE [0,1] —
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clamp): FLAMEBIG/FIRE5 (flames), MUZFLASH, EXDISK_A/B/C, TMST_A/B/C, BLUEBEAM/GREEBEAM/RED_BEAM/
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PPC, DECLOUDS — the EFFECT-CARD family. Their authored gradient (white-hot base → dark tip fading
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to alpha −0.2) IS the shading: drawn opaque with a flat batch colour they render as solid shapes
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(the wreck flame read as a "twisted drill bit"). The loader now keeps the authored per-vertex
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RGBA for any batch with vertex alpha < 1 (`BgfDrawBatch.vertexAlpha`) and L4D3D routes it to the
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ALPHA-BLEND pass, unlit, colour = texture × gradient, alpha = vertex fade (SRCALPHA/INVSRCALPHA).
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SKY objects are excluded from the routing (drawAsSky + alphaTest passes NEITHER pass filter —
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DECLOUDS must stay in the sky pass). Authored TEXTURE **SCROLL** (BMF TEXTURE tag 0x2037
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`" SCROLL u0 v0 du dv"`, e.g. firesmoke1 = 0.05,−0.331 uv/s) is now parsed and propagated to
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`L4TEXOP::doScroll` — scrolling materials (firesmoke flame cards) animate in the model path. [T2]
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## The big render-fidelity fixes (dbase/desert matched to pod footage)
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- **Geometry:** CONN is a flat trilist (not fan); CONN+PCONN coexist — see [[bgf-format]]. Malformed
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fan-garbage was the "faceted mountains" bug. [T2]
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- **RAMP colorize** (default-on `BT_RAMP`) + **day/night material priority** (default-on `BT_MATPRI` for
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the ramps): the `mat\day` libs carry the warm ramps; the generic GEO libs are gray. Terrain/mesas
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render warm tan; the sky's `dsky_mtl` ramp (0→0.99) gives bright clouds. `hasNormals` gate keeps
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vehicles LIT (colored trucks). Ramp tint rule: explicit diffuse + NEUTRAL ramp ⇒ tint; coloured ramp
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⇒ white. [T2]
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- **Sky:** a `*sky.bgf` dome/plane drawn in a dedicated fullbright **PASS_SKY** (LIGHTING off, extended
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far=9000 + world fog); tagged `drawAsSky` at load (the `.x` sidecar path doesn't exist). [T2]
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- **The env pipeline** (`DPLReadEnvironment`→`DPLReadINIPage`, reads **`content/BTDPL.INI`** via
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`L4DPLCFG`): resolves map+time → clip/fog/ambient + a directional sun. Bring-up stubs
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(EnsureValidProjection / per-frame ambient / uninit cloud colours) had clobbered it — now they
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RE-ASSERT the env values. Debug: copy BTDPL.INI → *DBG.INI with `debug=True`. [T2]
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- **Projection / stencil (task #55):** the BTDPL.INI `viewangle=60` is the **HORIZONTAL** FOV —
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authentic 60×47 frustum at 4:3; fovY derived via `BTFovYFromHorizontal` (L4VIDEO.cpp), applied at
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all 5 projection sites (it was mis-applied as vertical). The device depth-stencil is now
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**`D3DFMT_D24S8`** for the cockpit punch stencil-cut (L4VIDEO.cpp:2799; sequence
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L4D3D.cpp:1199-1248) — see [[cockpit-view]]. [T2]
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## Backface culling (default CW, `BT_CULL`)
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The bring-up `D3DCULL_NONE` drew interior/back faces (the "dark wedge" shapes = mesh insides). CW is
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correct for the BGF quad triangulation `[a b c][a c d]`. [T2] Exception: cockpit `*_cop` batches
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default DOUBLE-SIDED (`BT_COP_SINGLE=1` restores single-siding, diag) — see [[cockpit-view]]. [T2]
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## LODs (default: shipping-engine first-LOD + ADDITIVE_LODS; `BT_ADDLOD`/`BT_LOD_SCALE`/`BT_PUNCH`)
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See [[bgf-format]] for the √3 range decode, the ADDITIVE_LODS cumulative rule, PUNCH cutouts, and the
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coplanar-shell submission-order depth bias. Replacement LOD selection for NON-additive multi-LOD
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models is deferred (needs the board's hot-spot semantics). [T2]
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## Mech skins (BSL bit-slice — the rainbow-mech fix)
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`.BSL` is a bit-sliced container (6 grayscale sub-images per file); the BMF `0x18 BITSLICE` tag picks
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the slice. Reading it as RGB overlaid 2-3 gray sheets = the "rainbow/graffiti" bug. Fixed:
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`image.cpp decodeBSL` slice-decodes; `bgfload` threads the 0x18 channel; a cross-library RAMP registry
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resolves the mech-skin `softer` ramp (defined in OTHER libs). Every mech renders authentic gray-metal
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paint now. See [[asset-formats]]. [T2]
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## Weapon beams (the unported dpl_* layer)
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The `dpl_*` beam renderable was never ported → beams are drawn by `BTPushBeam`/`BTDrawBeams`
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(L4VIDEO). The real look is the `ermlaser.bgf` TUBE (native Z 0..−2000, UVs tiled) with the scrolling
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`bexp` grit texture (from the `.VMF` `SCROLL`). ER lasers red, PPC blue, standard yellow. The beam
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origin re-anchors to the live muzzle every frame (can't run out from under your own beam). See
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[[combat-damage]] for fire-rate/muzzle. [T2]
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## Translocation warp (the respawn vortex) — see [[translocation-warp]]
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The death/respawn "blue whirlwind" is `tsphere.bgf` (a 12-facet bicone) spun on-axis with the `bintA`
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cloud through a wide lavender ramp, drawn as SKY. Full geometry/material/lifecycle/env in
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[[translocation-warp]]. ⚠ **Rendering-wide fix that came out of it:** `L4D3D::SetTextureScrolling`
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computed its texture-matrix offset as `scrollDelta × absolute_time`, which grew unbounded and collapsed
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UV float precision → grainy/spoked scrolled textures the longer a session ran. Wrapped with `fmodf(…,
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1.0f)`. This also cleans up the scrolling `bexp` beam grit and any other `SCROLL` material. [T2]
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(Bug class: [[reconstruction-gotchas]] §13.)
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## Performance — the 10fps→60fps fix (~50-80× render speedup)
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The 10fps baseline had THREE stacked causes, all fixed (engine tree): (1) **`D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_
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VERTEXPROCESSING`** — every vertex transformed+lit on the CPU → HARDWARE first; (2) D3DX `DrawSubset`
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attribute-table scan (our double-sided tris broke OptimizeInplace) → explicit `SetAttributeTable` +
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direct `DrawIndexedPrimitive`; (3) no frustum culling → bounding-sphere culling per frame. ⚠ LESSON:
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the user plays the DEBUG build, but the 10fps was NOT the debug build (RelWithDebInfo identical) —
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split draw-vs-present + check the DEVICE flags before blaming the compiler. Diagnostics kept:
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`[spike]/[loadobj]/[rstat]`. [T2]
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## Key Relationships
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- Geometry/LOD: [[bgf-format]]. Base: [[wintesla-port]] (L4D3D). Shadow/visual-conform: [[locomotion]].
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- Renders on: [[pod-hardware]] (main 3D view).
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