BTL4PB.CPP reconstructed against its AUTHENTIC surviving header (BTL4PB.HPP)
from the binary's 0x4d3b74-0x4d40d8 cluster, cross-checked against the
surviving RP411 twin -- and the review/camera launch in BTL4.CPP's main() is
real code now. btl4.lib 11 -> 12 members, link clean, zero unresolved: the
linker pulled the entire playback chain for the first time.
The launch decode closed on two identifications:
The `if (spool_file)` guard in the decomp means the manager getter is
GetStoredSpoolFile -- the empty-spool getter cannot fail, so a review pod
with no recorded battle simply starts nothing, which is the right field
behaviour.
The camera app's ctor (FUN_0047c3fc) sits in the ENGINE range with the
(ResourceFile*, ApplicationID) shape: the camera pod's recorder IS the
engine's own L4SpoolingApplication -- restored one commit ago -- started
with ApplicationID 1 == BTL4. BT shipped no camera app of its own.
What the playback app does, all binary-anchored: BTSpoolerTask pumps
recorded packets through DispatchPacket -> the client's own
ReceiveNetworkPacket; RunMission synchronises the clock (timeBias = Now -
the recorded run packet's stamp); the frame loop runs controls ONLY in
interactive review (mode 2), then update/interest/renderer/intercom; and
StopMission plays the WINNERS CIRCLE -- release the spool, park each
player's mech on the dropzone named "win1".."winN" by finishing rank,
freeze it (DoNothing performance), and tilt the camera up 45 degrees over
the tableau.
DOS-authentic ctor shape throughout: the binary's base call is (resource,
0x3eb, DefaultData) -- no windowing parameters ever existed in 4.10; the
RP411 twin's HINSTANCE/HWND threading is port drift, dropped.
Also fixed from 5.3.105's debt: L4PlaybackNetworkManager chains
NetworkManager::DefaultData -- the 1995 header declares no statics of its
own; the RP411 self-reference was drift too.
One [T3] in source: the idle frame's renderer service (the descendant's
ExecuteIdle) has no 1995 entry point; pre-egg the idle frame spins.
RUNTIME TEST PENDING, stated plainly: exercising review needs a
camera/review egg and a recorded spool on the rig (CAMERA-REVIEW-NOTES.md
has the roles). The normal pod path regressed clean (mode gate untouched).
The Fail() census moves: BTL4.CPP and SEQCTL.CPP are now stub-free; 22
stubs remain across 15 files.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The reconstructed tree now produces a runnable binary with the authentic
1995 toolchain (BC4.52 / tlink32 / DPMI32):
- BTL4.CPP main TU reconstructed from the 4.11 Ghidra decomp (FUN_0040109c)
+ the 4.10 binary's own string pool + surviving RPL4TOOL.CPP house style;
probe_main.cpp scaffold retired (BTL4.NOTES.md documents every decoded call)
- L4NET.CPP staged: L4NetworkManager ctor/dtor + 10 vtable-pulled virtuals
(standalone-benign ones no-op, network ones Fail loudly) + NetNub client
globals (Net_Common_Ptr=NULL routes L4File to its plain-DOS path)
- build410.sh: libs now built in the AUTHENTIC makefile member order
(MUNGA.MAK / mungal4.mak / BT.MAK / BTL4.MAK). Order is load-bearing:
tlink emits static-init records in module pull order, and alphabetical
order booted into a null-vptr crash (IcomManager::ClassDerivations
constructing before parent NetworkClient::ClassDerivations). Also fixed
stage_link to the proven 32-bit lib set (SOSDBXC+SOSMBXC, no WATTCPLG)
- BOXTREE.HPP MemoryBlock unify, BTL4GRND notify stubs, remaining engine
backfills (audio/gauge/resource/stream TUs) that closed the deep ledger
Smoke test (DOSBox-X + 32RTM, copy of the pod BT tree, our exe swapped in):
BattleTech v4.10
BTL4Application::BTL4Application
l4net.cpp(22): L4NetworkManager -- l4net.cpp not yet reconstructed
Static init, main, -egg parse, BTL4.RES load (version 1.0.6 check passes),
ApplicationManager and the BTL4Application ctor chain all execute real
reconstructed code; boot halts at the first staged Fail() as designed.
Next brick: the real l4net.cpp body.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
CydandClaude Fable 5