CydandClaude Fable 5
fbd23ff1ca
Full input-surface audit of the PC keyboard channel. The arcade abort was the typed ampersand character (0x26), but the Win32 port feeds WM_KEYUP VIRTUAL-KEY codes into the same channel - and VK_UP is also 0x26. The hat look-up key aborted the mission: that was every mystery abort across the multiplayer test rounds. Likewise the E key (0x45, the right pedal!) dumped the event queue on every release. Disarmed: plain 0x26 and E are swallowed at the L4 layer; the abort answers only to the deliberate Alt+Q chord (translated to the legacy engine code, so APP.cpp is untouched); the debug toggles (wireframe Alt+W, predator vision Alt+V, frame dump Alt+F, perf stats, event queue on Alt+E now) arm only with RP412DEVKEYS=1. The cheat-string manager has no PC-keyboard strings and the trace-log keys are compiled out of release - both inert. Verified live: a volley of VK_UP releases mid-race leaves the mission running; Alt+Q aborts on demand. Docs and the dist README updated. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
89 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
# Steam multiplayer — three-machine test procedure
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The full end-to-end: three machines, three Steam accounts, one lobby,
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one marshaled race over Steam Datagram Relay. Written 2026-07-12 for
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the first live test.
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## Per machine (all three)
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1. Steam client installed, logged in (different account per machine),
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and RUNNING.
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2. Copy the `dist\` folder onto the machine.
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3. In the dist folder, create `steam_appid.txt` containing exactly:
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`480`
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(Spacewar, Valve's public dev AppID — replaced by the real AppID
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once the store page exists.)
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4. Add to `environ.ini`:
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`RP412STEAM=1`
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5. Start with `start-windowed.bat` as usual.
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Sanity check per machine: `rpl4.log` should show
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`SteamNetTransport: up as 169.254.x.y (fake ports N console, M game)`.
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If it says "staying on TCP", Steam isn't running / not logged in / the
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appid file is missing.
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## The test
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1. **Machine A (host):** pick a track, vehicle, color, pilot name on
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the setup menu, then click **HOST STEAM RACE**. The lobby room
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appears with A listed as `[HOST]`.
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2. **Machines B and C:** click **JOIN STEAM RACE** on the setup menu.
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(It joins the first open RP412 lobby it finds — pick loadouts on the
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menu BEFORE joining; the lobby publishes them.)
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3. When all three names show bright in A's room (bright = FakeIP
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published), A clicks **L A U N C H R A C E**.
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4. All three pods leave the room and boot the mission. Expect in logs:
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- every pod: `SteamNetTransport: peer registered` x3
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- members: `SteamNetTransport: listening on engine port 1501/1502`
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- A: `LocalConsole: connecting to pod 169.254...` then
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`egg sent`, `EGG ACK (mesh complete)` per member
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- everyone: `All connections completed!` then the race
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5. The race runs for the length A picked; A's console stops everyone;
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A gets the results screen with all three personas and scores.
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6. Everyone lands back in the lobby room. A can launch again —
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different track, same lobby, no restarts.
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## Controllers: disable Steam Input (once per machine)
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Steam Input intercepts Xbox controllers for AppID 480 the moment the
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game initializes SteamAPI, hiding them from XInput entirely - the pad
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works everywhere else and is invisible only in-game (reproduced A/B on
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the dev box). Fix, either scope:
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- Per game: Steam Library -> Spacewar -> Properties -> Controller ->
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Override for Spacewar: **Disable Steam Input**.
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- Global: Steam -> Settings -> Controller -> uncheck **Enable Steam
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Input for Xbox controllers**.
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PadRIO re-probes every 3 seconds, so the pad hot-connects the moment
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Steam releases it - no restart needed. (Our own AppID will configure
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this server-side; test machines need the client setting.)
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## The abort key
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**Alt+Q** aborts your mission deliberately - score banked, back to the
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lobby room. If the host presses it, the race ends for everyone.
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(History: the legacy abort was the '&' character, and the Win32 key
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channel made the UP ARROW - the hat look key! - collide with it. That
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was every mystery abort in rounds five and six. Plain arrow keys are
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now safe; debug keys like wireframe/frame-dump need RP412DEVKEYS=1.)
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## Notes and knowns
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- All pods use engine ports 1501/1502 by convention under Steam; the
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transport maps them to the Steam-assigned fake ports per peer.
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- FakeIPs are allocated per session — they are exchanged live through
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lobby member data, never configured by hand.
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- Same-LAN machines may get a direct route from SDR; different
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networks relay. Both are fine.
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- Two instances under ONE Steam account cannot mesh (one identity per
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account) — hence three machines.
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- If a member joins after A already launched once, it will answer the
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NEXT launch only (launch signals are nonced).
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## What to collect if something breaks
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`rpl4.log` from each machine (each dist folder), plus which step of
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the sequence above diverged.
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