CydandClaude Fable 5
d8dd512843
Identity pass (README/CLAUDE.md/CMake project bt412), the steamification roadmap (docs/BT412-ROADMAP.md), and the living context topic (context/steamification.md). Forked at BT411 4e72f0c; origin is VWE/BT412.git only -- this repo never touches the BT411 remote. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
124 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
124 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
# BattleTech 4.12 (bt412) — the Steamification
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**BattleTech** is VWE's arcade mech-combat game (Tesla platform, release 4.10, ~1995–96),
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originally played from inside Virtual World cockpit pods. This repo is the consumer line of
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that reconstruction:
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| Generation | What it was |
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|------------|-------------|
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| **BattleTech 4.10** | The original pod game — DOS-era MUNGA engine, serial RIO cockpit I/O, 7-monitor cockpit, operator console |
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| **BattleTech 4.11** | The **Win32 port** — the BT game logic reconstructed from `BTL4OPT.EXE` on the shared RP411 Windows engine; DirectX 9, full single-player combat loop, two-instance LAN multiplayer |
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| **BattleTech 4.12** | **This repo: the Steamification of 4.11** — the same engine, missions, and wire protocol, made distributable on Steam and playable over the internet with no pod hardware |
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The plan and workstreams live in [docs/BT412-ROADMAP.md](docs/BT412-ROADMAP.md). The sister
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project **RP412** (Red Planet's steamification, shipped end-to-end: lobby → Steam-sockets mesh →
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marshaled race → results on every machine) is the proven recipe this repo follows — each pod-era
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dependency replaced by a consumer equivalent behind the engine's existing seams.
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> **License:** the game content (`content/`) and the original binary are proprietary to Virtual
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> World / the pod owner. This repository is **private**; do not redistribute.
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---
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## Layout
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```
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CMakeLists.txt one build: munga_engine lib + bt410_l4 game lib + btl4.exe
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engine/
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MUNGA/ shared 2007 sim/render engine (149 .cpp + headers)
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MUNGA_L4/ Win32/D3D9 HAL + renderer + asset loaders (44 .cpp), incl.
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our BT work: bgfload / L4D3D / L4VIDEO + the image codec
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shim/ minimal ATL shim (USES_CONVERSION/W2A)
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lib/ OpenAL32 / libsndfile import libs + runtime DLLs
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game/
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reconstructed/ the reconstructed BT game logic (mech, subsystems, HUD, app; ~47 .cpp)
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original/BT,BT_L4 surviving original BT source + all BT headers
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fwd/ header shims forwarding <NAME.hpp> -> the engine's NAME.h
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btl4main.cpp WinMain launcher / entry point
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content/ runtime data: BTL4.RES, VIDEO/, GAUGE/, AUDIO/, *.EGG, BTDPL.INI
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context/ progressive knowledge graph — 18 on-demand topic files (routed by CLAUDE.md)
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docs/ format specs + reconstruction ledgers + PROGRESS_LOG.md (full history)
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reference/
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decomp/ raw Ghidra pseudocode — source-of-truth for ongoing recon
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ghidra_scripts/ the headless decomp exporter
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glossary.yaml term / acronym definitions
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phases/ restructuring / investigation logs
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tools/ btconsole.py (MP console emulator), map/resource scanners
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run/ run.cmd helper
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CLAUDE.md knowledge-base ROUTER — identity, protocols, quick-lookup, conventions
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```
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## Prerequisites
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- **Visual Studio 2019 BuildTools** (MSVC v142, x86). The Community install on the original dev
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box was broken, hence the explicit BuildTools instance in the configure line below; adjust to
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your install.
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- **CMake ≥ 3.20**.
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- **Legacy DirectX SDK (June 2010)** — the engine uses `d3dx9`/`dinput`/`dxerr`, removed from the
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modern Windows SDK. Default path `C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)`;
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override with `-DDXSDK=<path>`. (The installer may throw a harmless **S1023** error — dismiss it;
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the SDK headers/libs install before the failing redist step.)
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OpenAL/libsndfile import libs + DLLs are vendored under `engine/lib/`; the DLLs are copied next to
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the exe automatically at build time.
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## Build (32-bit / Win32)
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```
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cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A Win32 ^
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-DCMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE="C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/BuildTools"
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cmake --build build --config Debug
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```
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Must be **Win32** — the DirectX SDK link libs are `Lib/x86`. The link uses `/FORCE`: the 1995
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headers define free functions/globals without `inline`/`extern`, so identical symbols appear in
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many translation units (~124 `LNK2005`); `/FORCE:MULTIPLE` keeps the first. `UNRESOLVED` tolerates
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a dead offline-tool factory in `mech3.cpp` that is never called at runtime. (Cleanup task: move
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those definitions to single TUs + neutralize the dead factory, then drop `/FORCE`.)
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## Run
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```
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run\run.cmd REM boots DEV.EGG (grass / day)
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run\run.cmd DBASE.EGG REM any egg in content/
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```
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The working directory **must** be `content/` (the engine resolves `BTL4.RES`, `VIDEO\`,
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`BTDPL.INI`, and eggs relative to cwd); `run.cmd` handles that. Maps available in `BTL4.RES`:
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`cavern grass rav polar3 polar4 arena1 arena2 dbase` — switch via a copied egg's `map=` field.
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### Useful env-var flags (default OFF unless noted)
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The authentic stack (gait, collision, real controls) is **default-on**; set `=0` to fall back.
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Debug/harness flags: `BT_FORCE_THROTTLE=1` (auto-walk), `BT_SPAWN_ENEMY=1` (spawn a target dummy),
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`BT_FORCE_FIRE=1` (auto-fire), `BT_HEAPCHECK=1` (whole-heap validation — slow), `BT_BSL=0` (legacy
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texture decode), `BT_DEV_GAUGES=1` (render the cockpit MFDs in a dev window), `BT_LOG=<file>`.
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Interactive: **WASD** drive, **Space/Ctrl** fire, **X** all-stop. The complete env-gate table is in
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`context/decomp-reference.md` §6 (routed from `CLAUDE.md`).
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## Multiplayer (two instances, one box)
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```
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instance A: btl4.exe -egg MP.EGG -net 1501 (BT_LOG=mp_a.log)
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instance B: btl4.exe -net 1601 (BT_LOG=mp_b.log)
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console: python tools/btconsole.py MP.EGG 127.0.0.1:1501 127.0.0.1:1601
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```
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`-net <port>` enables networked mode; the console emulator delivers the mission egg and the launch
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command. Entity + movement replication works; cross-pod combat is in progress.
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## Status & continuing the work
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The engine, renderer, audio, HAL, build, locomotion, collision, damage, render fidelity, the full
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cockpit **gauge / MFD system** (every config binding resolves + every widget builds), and the
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projectile / missile weapon families are done. Active fronts: per-subsystem polish (the gyroscope
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integrator; the `0xBD3` message manager that gates the valve / status-message control routes) and
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cross-pod MP combat. `reference/decomp/` holds the raw pseudocode every reconstruction is verified
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against.
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**Start with `CLAUDE.md`** — it is the router into the progressive knowledge base: a quick-lookup
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table pointing to the `context/*.md` topic files (loaded on demand), the evidence-tier and
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convention rules, and `context/open-questions.md` for what's deferred / next. The complete
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pre-restructure history is preserved verbatim in `docs/PROGRESS_LOG.md`; `docs/*.md` holds the
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detailed running ledgers.
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