RP412/docs/ASSETS.md

Game Assets & Runtime Layout

A complete working copy of the shipped game lives under assets/RP411/. Together with the executables built from source (see BUILD.md) this makes the repository self-contained: buildable and runnable.

The build produces rpl4opt.exe; this folder supplies everything that exe loads at runtime (data, audio, gauges, config), plus the third-party runtime binaries.

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1. How to run it

The game is designed to run from \games\rp411 (see the launch scripts). It is an arcade pod-cabinet build — it expects RIO/serial controls and cabinet lighting hardware, but will start on a desktop for inspection.

cd \games\rp411
rpl4opt.exe -net 1501

Launch scripts included in assets/RP411/:

Script	Command	Purpose
startrp.bat	rpl4opt.exe -net 1501	Normal start
startRPlc.bat	rpl4opt.exe -net 1501 -lc	Start with gauges suppressed (-lc)
startRPmr.bat	rpl4opt.exe -net 1501 -mr	Mission-review mode (-mr)
RPLoop.bat	loop rpl4opt -net 1501 + sleep	Attract/restart loop for a cabinet
OnStart.bat	del last.spl	Clears the previous spool on boot

First-time setup also needs the OpenAL runtime installed: oalinst.exe /s (silent) — this is what assets/postinstall.bat does. libsndfile-1.dll must sit next to the exe (it already does here).

Command-line flags understood by the app (from MUNGA_L4/L4APP.cpp): -egg <file>, -spool <file>, -net <addr>, -r <file> (record), -p <file> (playback), -solids, -res <w> <h>, -windowed, -lc, -mr, -h/-help.

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2. Runtime configuration chain

1. environ.ini — top-level environment. Sets controls, target FPS, gauge mode, the cabinet plasma/lighting COM port, and — crucially — points at the DPL config:

   L4CONTROLS=RIO;KEYBOARD
   L4DPLCFG=RPDPL.INI
   L4GAUGE=640x480x16
   L4PLASMA=COM2
   TARGETFPS=25
   

2. RPDPL.INI — the DPL (renderer/scene) configuration. Resolves day/night and weather via compare/branch pages, defines lighting/fog/particle effects, and sets the asset search paths:

   objectpath   = .\video
   materialpath = .\video
   texmappath   = .\video
   

3. TEST.EGG — an "egg notation" mission script (mission/pilots/vehicle/ colors/badges). Loaded via -egg, or used as the default test mission.

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3. Asset directories

Dir	Size	Contents
AUDIO/	~97 MB	223 .wav sound effects + AUDIO.INI, AUDIO.RES, AUDIOMR.INI, CTMIX.CFG
VIDEO/	~10 MB	3D + material data: .X DirectX meshes, .SKL skeletons, .det detail meshes, .sph collision spheres, .met materials, .pcc/.png/.pcx textures, .vsh/.psh shaders, .sky, and .tbl material-replacement tables
GAUGE/	~0.8 MB	HUD: .GIM gauge images, .PCC/.PCX bitmaps/fonts, GAUGE.GAT, L4GAUGE.CFG, L4GAUGE.INI, VCS.CFG
SPOOLS/	—	Empty at rest; the game writes replay/spool streams here at play time (.gitkeep retains the folder)

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4. Binaries in the working copy

File	Role
rpl4opt.exe	The game. Also built from source — this is the shipped reference binary (Jan 2012). The source build output goes to Release\rpl4opt.exe.
libsndfile-1.dll	Runtime sound-file library (DLL counterpart of lib/libsndfile-1.lib)
oalinst.exe	OpenAL redistributable installer (run once via postinstall.bat)
sleep.exe	Small delay utility used by RPLoop.bat

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5. Notes & caveats

• The root-level RPL4.RES, TEST.EGG, and JOYSTICK.INI here differ from the same-named files under RP_L4/ in the source tree — the copies in assets/RP411/ are the deployed/runtime versions; the RP_L4/ copies are what the build compiles/links.
• Assets are committed directly to git (not LFS). The bundle is ~110 MB, the bulk being AUDIO/. Largest single file is ~2.2 MB.
• assets/RP411/VIDEO/Thumbs.db (a Windows thumbnail cache) is intentionally git-ignored, as are runtime *.spl spool files.