RP412/docs/RP412-FRONTEND-DESIGN.md

# RP412 Front End & Steam Multiplayer — Design Notes

Findings from reading TeslaConsole's Red Planet control code
(`TeslaSuite/Console/TeslaConsole.RedPlanet/`) against the game side
(`MUNGA_L4/L4NET.CPP`, `MUNGA/NETWORK.cpp`), and how a Steam front end maps
onto it. Written 2026-07-12 for the implement-decision.

## 1. What the console actually does

TeslaConsole is four things, and RP412's front end must absorb all four:

### a) Pod control channel (`Munga.Net`, TCP console port)

Per-pod state machine (`RPGame.cs`): take **ownership** of a pod, watch its
app state, and drive the lifecycle:

```
WaitingForEgg   --egg chunks-->   (ACK, 5s retry)
WaitingForLaunch --RunMissionMessage-->
RunningMission   --telemetry-->   EndMission (final scores)
                 --AbortMissionMessage--> reset
```

The egg is sent as `EggFileMessage` chunks of 1000 bytes with an
`AcknowledgeEggFileMessage` reply from the pod.

### b) The mission egg (the ENTIRE mission definition)

A NotationFile-format text file (`RPMission.ToEggString()`), newline→NUL:

```ini
[mission]      adventure=Red Planet, scenario, map, time, weather,
               temperature, compression, length (seconds)
[pilots]       ordered pilot=<host address> list (players, then cameras)
[<address>]    per participant: hostType, dropzone, name, bitmapindex,
               loadzones, vehicle, color, badge (+ team/position in football)
[largebitmap]  player names PRE-RENDERED as 1bpp bitmaps for the plasma
[smallbitmap]  glass (128x32 and 64x16), generated by the console
[ordinals]     1st-4th place plasma graphics (hardcoded art)
```

The game already loads a local egg with `-egg <file>` (standalone mode) —
the same text format. **Building an egg locally = the whole single-player
front end problem.**

### c) The catalog (`RedPlanet/RPConfig.xml`)

Two scenarios — **Martian Death Race** and **Martian Football** (2-color
teams, crusher/blocker/runner positions) — 11 maps, ~30 vehicles (sharing a
handful of models), 9 colors, 11 badges, day/night, 3 weather levels, with
per-scenario exclusion lists. Clean data file; reusable as-is.

### d) Results & telemetry

During the mission the pods stream `VTVBooster/Damaged/Killed/Scored/
ScoreUpdate` and `EndMission(finalScore)` to the console host, which records
them (`RPMissionRecorder`) into `RPMissionResults` and prints score sheets.
The consumer version wants this as a post-race results screen (and, later,
Steam leaderboards/achievements fed from the same events).

## 2. How the pods network with each other (the key finding)

The console does NOT relay gameplay. Every pod receives the *same* egg, and
`L4NetworkManager::StartConnecting` builds a **deterministic full TCP mesh**
from the ordered `[pilots]` list:

- Resolve each address (`ip[:port]`, default = game port).
- Entries **before your own**: open a TCP connection to them.
- Entries **after your own**: listen for their incoming connection.
- No entry matching a local address → single-user mode, immediate load.
- Egg-from-network (`SlaveMode`) → ACK the egg, wait for mesh completion.

So the "lobby protocol" is simply: *agree on an ordered participant list,
then everyone meshes*. This is an exceptionally good fit for Steam.

## 3. Steam mapping (plan)

| Arcade concept | Steam concept |
|---|---|
| TeslaConsole operator | **Lobby owner** (host player) |
| Pod list / Site Management | `ISteamMatchmaking` lobby members |
| Pilot config dialog | In-lobby cockpit UI; member data (name/vehicle/color/badge) via lobby member data |
| Egg delivery + ACK | Owner builds the canonical egg, distributes via lobby data or reliable P2P channel; same ACK semantics |
| `[pilots]` host addresses | **Ordered SteamID list** — same list, different address type |
| TCP mesh (`StartConnecting`) | `ISteamNetworkingSockets` P2P mesh over SDR: ConnectP2P to earlier entries, accept later ones — the connect/listen ordering ports 1:1 |
| Console telemetry sink | Lobby owner doubles as the console host (results collection); results screen replaces the printout |
| Site network / fixed IPs | NAT traversal + IP privacy for free via Steam Datagram Relay |

Transport seam: mirror the `RIOBase` pattern at the L4NET layer — a
`NetTransport` interface with the existing WinSock TCP implementation
(LAN/dev, keeps working today) and a Steam-sockets implementation (retail).
`L4Host` keeps its identity/queue role; only connect/listen/send/recv move
behind the interface.

**Status (2026-07-12): the seam is IN.** `MUNGA_L4/L4NETTRANSPORT.h/.cpp`
defines `NetTransport` (startup/cleanup, local-address list, ip[:port]
resolve, connect/listen/accept/close, send/receive, remote-address) with
`WinsockNetTransport` as the process default; L4NET.CPP contains no raw
Winsock calls anymore. `MUNGA_L4/L4STEAMTRANSPORT.h` documents the
per-method ISteamNetworkingSockets mapping (FakeIP keeps the `[pilots]`
list as IPv4 strings) and stays behind `RP412_STEAM` until the Steamworks
SDK is dropped at `extern\steamworks` (partner-login download). Remaining
Steam work: SDK drop → implement `SteamNetTransport` → lobby UI in the
front end (owner collects FakeIPs/loadouts via lobby data, builds and
distributes the canonical egg, runs the RPL4CONSOLE marshal) → install
with `NetTransport_Set` at WinMain when launched under Steam.

**Multi-pod verified (2026-07-12):** `tools/two-pod-test.ps1` runs two
`-net` pods on loopback (console ports 1501/1601 → game ports 1502/1602)
marshaled by a minimal console feeder built on TeslaSuite's vendored
`Munga Net.dll`. Confirmed end to end through the seam: egg chunks +
per-pod ACK after "All connections completed!" (pod A listened, pod B
connected from its bound game port — the deterministic mesh), both pods
raced the same 60s mission, StopMission(0) ended it, and both pods
returned EndMission final scores. The feeder is exactly the marshal the
Steam lobby owner will run in-process.

## 4. Implementation options (decide here)

**A. In-engine front end (recommended).** Port the egg builder (~300 lines:
`RPMission/RPPlayer.ToEggString` + the plasma name-bitmap generator) to C++
inside RP_L4. New application state before `WaitingForEgg`: a menu that
renders on the cockpit displays we just built — scenario/map/weather/length
on the viewscreen, selections driven by the MFD buttons and map presets
(the cockpit IS the menu — maximally pod-authentic). Single player works
immediately: build egg → hand to the existing egg-load path. Multiplayer
then layers the Steam lobby under the same UI (owner builds the egg,
distributes, mesh over Steam sockets).

**B. Standalone launcher app** (C#, reuse TeslaConsole code nearly verbatim,
drive the game via `-net` + console port like the arcade). Fastest to stand
up, but a second process, not cockpit-feel, and awkward under Steam (overlay,
launch flow, no in-game rejoin). Useful as a dev tool, not the product.

**C. Hybrid:** in-engine UI, but mission/egg logic in a small shared C++
library so a dev console tool and the game share one egg builder.

### Open decisions

1. Front end location — Option A (in-engine, cockpit-rendered) confirmed?
2. v1 scenario scope — Death Race only, or Football (needs teams UI) too?
3. Results screen — post-race on the cockpit displays (replaces printout)?
4. Steam model — lobby-owner-as-console confirmed? (Implies owner migration
   handling later; the egg re-issue path makes host migration plausible.)
5. Pilot identity — Steam persona as pilot name; vehicle/color/badge
   persisted per player (Steam Cloud later)?