TeslaRel410/restoration/source410/BT/MECH.NOTES.md

# MECH.CPP / .HPP — reconstruction notes

**Status: `Mech::Make` (factory) reconstructed; the Mech constructor and the
entire mech subsystem are the CURRENT FRONTIER — the largest remaining
milestone in the reconstruction.**

## What is reconstructed

- `Mech::Make(MakeMessage *)` = `return new Mech(creation_message);` — the
  factory the registry / `MakeAndLinkViewpointEntity` calls.
- The static shared data (ClassDerivations / DefaultData) — from the earlier
  staging.
- A staged Mech ctor that chains the real `JointedMover` base ctor (so the
  model skeleton/segments stream from BTL4.RES) and then Fails.

The spawn factory path is now validated live: `BTPlayer::CreatePlayerVehicle`
builds the `Mech::MakeMessage`, `Application::MakeAndLinkViewpointEntity` routes
it through the registry to `Mech::Make` -> `new Mech` -> the JointedMover base
ctor (real engine code, streams the mech model) -> the Mech ctor Fail. Boot
reaches `mech.cpp:66`.

## Why the Mech ctor is a milestone, not a brick

`Mech::Mech` is `@004a1674`, **5690 bytes** — the largest single function in the
game. It walks the model's segment table and instantiates the full subsystem
roster (power, heat, weapons, actuators, controls, tech, damage zones), and
primes ~150 members. Reconstructing it requires three things the tree does not
yet have:

1. **The complete 1995 Mech member layout as named fields.** MECH.HPP currently
   carries `int reserved[331]` (1324 bytes) as a placeholder. BT411's Ghidra
   reconstruction sidesteps the layout entirely by writing raw offset pokes
   (`Wword(0x104)`, `*(void**)((char*)this + 0x388)`, `this[0x14a]`) — a
   WinTesla-port technique that CANNOT compile into a fresh 1995 build, where
   BC4.52 assigns offsets from the header declarations. So the layout must be
   derived as real members first.
2. **The subsystem class hierarchy.** MechSubsystem + derived: sensor, generator
   (gnrator), gyro, torso, HUD, myomers, plus the weapon subsystems (mechweap,
   ppc, gauss, projweap, mislanch, ammobin...). Of these, only GAUSS, PPC,
   SENSOR survive as source in the 4.10 archive (CODE/BT/BT); GNRATOR is a
   partial .TCP. The rest are part of the measured "917 missing functions" and
   come only from BT411's decomp.
3. **The segment-table walk** that reads the model resource and instantiates +
   wires each subsystem.

BT411's mech reconstruction is ~12,255 lines across mech.cpp / mech2 / mech3 /
mech4 / mechsub alone, before the subsystem TUs — this is the bulk of the
remaining game.

## Reconstruction plan (for the dedicated mech milestone)

1. **Derive the Mech member layout.** Turn `reserved[331]` into named members.
   Sources: BT411's offset comments (`this[0x14a]` gyroSubsystem, `+0x388`
   target entity, etc.) give the binary offsets; the embedded member types
   (NameFilter, AlarmIndicator, Slot/Socket, Reticle, Filter, CString,
   StateIndicator) come from the surviving MUNGA headers. Cross-check total size
   against the binary's `new Mech` allocation.
2. **Reconstruct MechSubsystem base + the subsystem roster**, backdating BT411
   mechsub.cpp + the per-subsystem TUs; fold in the surviving 4.10 GAUSS/PPC/
   SENSOR source where it exists (authoritative over the decomp).
3. **Reconstruct the Mech ctor** against the named layout: embedded-member
   construction, the segment-table walk, subsystem instantiation + wiring.
4. Then the per-frame path (mech2 animation SM, mech3, mech4 locomotion/
   targeting) and the damage/weapon handlers.

Until then the ctor Fails cleanly at the frontier; everything below it (engine,
app, network, mission, player, factory, jointed-mover base) runs real
reconstructed code.

## PHASE 4 DONE + PHASE 5 FRONTIER (2026-07-20)

**The Mech constructor WORKS.** Live boot: `new Mech` -> segment walk instantiates
the full subsystem roster into the base Entity subsystemArray (dispatch on the
real VDATA classIDs; unknown IDs -> base MechSubsystem so no NULL slots) ->
caches sensor/gyro/sinkSource/hud -> mech links as viewpoint -> SetMappingSubsystem
installs the MechControlsMapper in slot 0 -> mission startup. All structural.

**Phase-5 frontier (the behavioral integration):** boot now crashes (real NULL
deref, not a staged Fail) in `Simulation::GetAttributePointer` reached via
`Simulation::PerformAndWatch` (the per-frame execute + watcher update). Root:
the reconstructed subsystems reuse the base `Subsystem::AttributeIndex`, so they
publish NONE of their real attributes (Sensor RadarPercent/SelfTest/BadVoltage,
Generator OutputVoltage, Emitter ChargeLevel, HUD/Torso/Gyro readouts, ...). The
watcher/gauge binding + per-frame PerformAndWatch resolve those attribute IDs and
hit a bad/NULL activeAttributeIndex path.

Phase-5 work, in order:
1. Per-subsystem AttributeIndex: define each subsystem's AttributePointers[]
   (ATTRIBUTE_ENTRY(class, Name, member)) + a real AttributeIndex chained to the
   parent, and pass it to that subsystem's DefaultData (instead of the base).
   The surviving CODE headers (SENSOR.HPP, PPC.HPP, GAUSS.HPP) list the attribute
   enums; the decomp AttributePointers[] tables give the rest.
2. Watcher / capability-chain / plug wiring in the Mech ctor (controllable/
   heatable/weaponRoster/damageable) so PerformAndWatch has valid targets.
3. The per-frame simulation itself: mech2 (animation SM), mech3, mech4
   (locomotion/targeting) -- ~9K lines, currently all staged Fail.
4. Rendering integration (the DPL renderer bridge) + playable verification.

Everything through the Mech ctor + viewpoint link runs real reconstructed code.

## PHASE-5 CRASH LOCALIZED (2026-07-20)

Trace-confirmed: the Mech ctor FULLY constructs on the real pod TEST.EGG mech --
`subsystemCount=33 weaponCount=7` (BT_MECH_LOG). The crash is AFTER construction,
in BTL4Application::MakeViewpointEntity's "Load the control mappings" block
(btl4app.cpp ~420): it SearchLists the ControlMappingsListResourceType resource
and binds each streamed mapping to a subsystem attribute -- via an AttributeWatcher
-> Simulation::GetAttributePointer(attributeID). The reconstructed subsystems
publish NONE of their real attributes (they reuse the base Subsystem::AttributeIndex),
so the streamed attribute IDs don't resolve.

Phase-5 step 1 = per-subsystem AttributeIndex, and it's a precision task:
- BT411 has the AttributePointers[] tables (mechsub 1, heat/HeatSink 12, powersub 4,
  Generator, sensor 3, torso 13, weapons, ...) -- but ATTRIBUTE_ENTRY(class,Name,member)
  needs each member NAMED + accessible (several of ours sit in reserved dynamics
  pads -- Gyroscope/Torso/HUD -- and must be broken out).
- The attribute-ID enums chain Simulation::NextAttributeID -> Entity -> Mover ->
  ... -> subsystem, and MUST match the 4.10 binary IDs (the streamed control
  mappings reference them by number).
Then: watcher/plug/capability-chain wiring, then the mech2/3/4 per-frame sim
(~9K lines, staged), then rendering. This is the behavioral half.

## PHASE-5.1 CRASH SOLVED + BOOT REACHES THE GAME LOOP (2026-07-20)

The `GetAttributePointer` fault was localized (per-slot probe over the roster)
to roster **slot 22 = `PPC_1`**, an energy weapon: its `GetAttributePointer`
read `entryCount` off a **NULL `activeAttributeIndex`**. Root cause: our
reconstructed `EMITTER.HPP` DECLARES `static AttributeIndexSet AttributeIndex`
(with a `ChargeLevelAttributeID`) but `EMITTER.CPP` never DEFINED it — and the
surviving 4.10 `PPC.CPP` binds `PPC::DefaultData` to the inherited
`PPC::AttributeIndex` (= `Emitter::AttributeIndex`), so the SharedData ctor's
`activeAttributeIndex(&attribute_index)` captured a null/zero symbol. The
surviving `GAUSS.CPP` also *chains* `Emitter::AttributeIndex` as its
inheritance, so the same hole corrupts GaussRifle. (Sensor et al. never
crashed: their `DefaultData` uses the defined `Subsystem::AttributeIndex`.)

**Fix (EMITTER.CPP):** define `Emitter::AttributePointers[]` (one entry,
`ATTRIBUTE_ENTRY(Emitter, ChargeLevel, chargeLevel)`) and `Emitter::AttributeIndex`
chained to `Subsystem::AttributeIndex`, and point `Emitter::DefaultData` at it.
This is the correct 1995 reconstruction (Emitter publishes the beam charge
level for the HUD gauge; PPC binds it; Gauss chains it). Static-init order is
satisfied by ORDER_bt (`... emitter ppc ... gauss`) with `subsystm` in
munga.lib (constructs first). After the fix the per-slot probe walks all 33
slots (PPC_1/2, ERMLaser_1..3, AmmoBinSRM6_1/2, SRM6_1/2, MessageManager,
MechTech, ...) cleanly, and the control-mapping binding block completes.

**Result:** with the Emitter fix + BTPlayer::InitializePlayerLink +
VehicleDeadMessageHandler(non-death), the reconstructed tree now boots with
**zero `Fail()`** all the way into the live per-frame game loop
(`LBE4ControlsManager::Execute` spinning). See BTPLAYER.NOTES.md. The remaining
gap to "playable" is behavioral (mech2/3/4 per-frame sim + renderer + real
control input), not structural — the boot path is complete.

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 1: Mech::Simulate MOTION CORE (2026-07-21)

`Mech::Simulate(Scalar)` is reconstructed and installed as the mech's per-frame
Performance (`SetPerformance(&Mech::Simulate)` at the end of the ctor). Until now
the mech ran the base `DoNothingOnce`; it now runs real body code every frame
(dispatched via Mover→Entity→`Simulation::PerformAndWatch` once RunningMission).

This increment is the **load-bearing spine** of the 1995 Simulate
(mech4.cpp @004ab430): integrate the body velocity into `localOrigin`
(`linearPosition.AddScaled(linearPosition, worldLinearVelocity, dt)`) and commit
the Origin to the world transform with the engine's own idiom
(`localToWorld = localOrigin`, per ENTITY.CPP:988 / MOVER.CPP:850). BT411's RE
was decisive here: the mech's motion operates on the ENGINE BASE Mover fields
(`localOrigin`/`projectedOrigin`/`previousOrigin`/`projectedVelocity`/
`localToWorld`) — the raw `this+0x100/0x260/0x26c` offsets in the WinTesla decomp
actually *stomp* those base fields (their MechBaseLayoutCheck static_asserts).
So the clean reconstruction uses the NAMED base members directly.

**Verified headlessly** (BT_MECH_LOG `[sim] mech pos=` 1 Hz): with
`BT_DRIVE="5,0,10"` the mech advances +5.0/s in x and +10.0/s in z (y fixed),
exactly the injected world velocity; with no BT_DRIVE `worldLinearVelocity` is
zero and the mech holds its spawn pose — no regression, zero Fail. `BT_DRIVE`
is a retained DEV hook (world-velocity injection) for headless motion tests.

**Deferred to the next increments (the locomotion wave):**
1. gait-cycle self-propulsion that FEEDS `worldLinearVelocity` — the authentic
   model derives forward speed from the walk/run animation cycle
   (`IntegrateMotion`→`AdvanceBodyAnimation`→cycleDistance) steered by the
   control-mapper throttle/turn demands, NOT a raw velocity;
2. heading integration (rotate `localOrigin.angularPosition` by the turn rate);
3. terrain-height drop (`BoundingBoxTreeNode::FindBoundingBoxUnder`) resting the
   feet on the ground;
4. cockpit telemetry `FilteredScalar`s (head/aim/leg/torso angular rates).

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 2: DRIVABLE via authentic control interpretation (2026-07-21)

The mech is now **drivable**: `Mech::Simulate` consumes the control-mapper
demands and drives locomotion with the authentic model. Chain:

`MechControlsMapper::InterpretControls` (roster slot 0, ticks before the mech's
Performance each frame — see MECHMPPR.NOTES.md) reads the pushed raw inputs and
publishes `speedDemand` (world u/s = topSpeed·throttle·fwdScale) and `turnDemand`
([-1..1]). `Mech::Simulate` then:
- reads speedDemand/turnDemand from `subsystemArray[0]`;
- accelerates `currentBodySpeed` toward the demand (bounded by `maxBodyAcceleration`);
- computes the authentic per-mech turn rate `authTurnRate` =
  lerp(walkingTurnRate, runningTurnRate) by ground speed with a `runTR/t²`
  over-run falloff (mech4.cpp master-perf @0x4aa3d3);
- integrates heading: `localOrigin.angularPosition.Add(prevPose,
  (0, turnDemand·authTurnRate·dt, 0))` — the engine rotation-integrate op;
- takes the world −Z basis (`localToWorld.GetFromAxis(Z_Axis,…)`, negated) as the
  facing and sets `worldLinearVelocity = facing · currentBodySpeed`;
- integrates position (the increment-1 core).

New named Mech members (out of `reservedState`, now [211]): `walkingTurnRate`,
`runningTurnRate`, `reverseStrideLength` (top speed), `walkStrideLength`,
`reverseSpeedMax`, `forwardThrottleScale`, `maxBodyAcceleration`,
`bodyTargetSpeed`, `currentBodySpeed`.

**Model-resource sourcing (2026-07-21, VERIFIED).** The ctor now sources the
authentic per-mech `walkingTurnRate` / `runningTurnRate` / `maxBodyAcceleration`
/ `forwardThrottleScale` from the GameModel resource
(`SearchList(GameModelResourceType)` → `ModelResource`), replacing those
bring-up defaults. Each read is SANITY-GUARDED (out-of-band → keep the default)
because BT411 flags parts of the ModelResource layout as mis-decoded — but the
live values came back clean and authentic: **walkTR=75°/s, runTR=50°/s,
maxAcc=30 u/s², throttleAdj=1.0** (walking turns faster than running; maxAcc
matches BT411's madcat note), confirming the struct layout is correct for these
fields. Verified drive: at walk speed the authentic 75°/s tightens the turn
circle to r≈6.9 (=speed/turnRate). Still on bring-up defaults:
`reverseStrideLength` (top speed) / `walkStrideLength` / `reverseSpeedMax` —
their authentic source is `LoadLocomotionClips` (measured from the walk/run
animation clips), a later wave.

**VERIFIED headlessly** (`BT_MECH_LOG` `[sim]`/`[mppr]`; forced-input dev hooks
`BT_FORCE_THROTTLE`/`BT_FORCE_TURN` in InterpretControls):
- `throttle=1.0` → speedDemand=30, mech accelerates to 30 u/s and walks straight
  along its heading (per-second position delta magnitude = 30.1);
- `throttle=0.3, turn=1.0` → spd=9, mech walks a CIRCLE of radius ≈ 10 =
  speed/turnRate (9 / 0.87 rad·s⁻¹) — heading integrates continuously;
- neutral (RIO, no hardware) → speedDemand=0, mech holds pose;
- zero Fail/Exception throughout.

Still deferred: gait-clip-exact advance + leg animation (needs the animation
subsystem + renderer), model-resource/LoadLocomotionClips sourcing, terrain
drop, torso/free-look aiming (Torso/HUD analog axes), telemetry filters.

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 3+: skeleton-joint resolver + torso aim wiring (2026-07-21)

- Torso weapon-elevation aim reconstructed (`Torso::TorsoSimulation`, wired into
  `InterpretControls`): stick pitch → elevation, slew + clamp to the resource
  limit (verified: clamps at the authentic 20°). See TORSO.NOTES.md.
- **`Mech::ResolveJoint(name)`** reconstructed (mech.cpp @00424b60): `GetSegment
  (name)` → segment joint index → `GetJointSubsystem()->GetJoint(idx)`. The
  shared skeleton-joint resolver the subsystems use to bind their animated
  joints.
- **The skeleton is live headlessly** (verified, `BT_MECH_LOG` `[skel]` summary +
  `BT_SKEL_DUMP` per-segment list): the JointedMover base streams the full
  segment/joint tables — `jointCount=19`, 40 named segments including the gun
  joints (`jointlgun`/`jointrgun`), shoulders, hip, and all leg joints
  (`jointlthigh`…`jointrankle`). So joint-driven aim / gait / damage has real
  joints to bind to.
- The Torso now resolves + binds its twist joint (`ResolveJoint(torsoHorizontal
  Joint)`) and pushes `currentTwist` onto it via `Joint::SetRotation` (hinge →
  Radian, ball → EulerAngles yaw). The bring-up TEST.EGG mech has a FIXED torso
  (`horizJoint=''`, `enabled=0`) so its twist path is inert — correct and
  guarded; a torso-twist mech would drive the joint.

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 5: eyepointRotation -- elevation is NOT a gun-joint binding (2026-07-21)

Before reconstructing "elevation → gun joints," checked BT411 for how the
authentic engine actually consumes `Torso::currentElevation` — and it does NOT
drive any skeleton joint. BT411's own history records the discovery (mech4.cpp
@~5219, user report "pitch does not work"): the Torso sim integrated the R/F
aim into `currentElevation` but nothing consumed it — no joint search ever
existed for a gun/arm elevation joint. **The pod's stick-Y aim pitches the
COCKPIT EYE, not the torso geometry**; `eyepointRotation` (an `EulerAngles`
Mech member) is composed each frame from the look-state pitch/yaw (buttons)
plus the Torso elevation, and `DPLEyeRenderable` reads it for both the camera
view AND the weapon boresight (so a low target can still be hit — the fire ray
re-applies the elevation onto the leveled boresight). BT411's sign convention
was pixel-calibrated against real screenshots; our composition matches it
verbatim (mirroring the additive pitch, zero look terms until that wave lands).

**Reconstructed:** `Mech::eyepointRotation` (`EulerAngles`, out of `reservedState`,
now `[208]`) + `GetEyepointRotation()` accessor. Composed in `Simulate` each
frame: `eyepointRotation = EulerAngles(Radian(Normalize(lookPitch + elevation)),
Radian(Normalize(lookYaw)), Radian(0))`, reading `Torso::CurrentElevation()` via
`sinkSourceSubsystem`. `lookPitch`/`lookYaw` are 0 until the look/eyepoint button
wave (`BTCommitLookState`) is reconstructed.

**VERIFIED headlessly:** `BT_FORCE_ELEV=0.8` → `torsoElev=0.349066` (the 20°
resource limit) and `eyePitch=0.349066` — an exact match, every frame; neutral →
`eyePitch=0`. Zero Fail.

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 6: the look-button state machine (2026-07-21)

The five-state LOOK machine (the binary's controls-mapper tail,
part_013.c:396-459) is reconstructed as proper members/methods (not BT411's
global bridges):

- **Mapper** (`MECHMPPR`): `LookState` enum (None/Left/Right/Behind/Down),
  `lookState`/`previousLookState` members; InterpretControls picks the state
  from the look buttons each frame and, ON A CHANGE, calls
  `mech->CommitLookState(state)`. `BT_FORCE_LOOK=<1..4>` dev hook.
- **Mech**: authored look angles (`lookLeft/Right/Front/BackAngle`, deg→rad
  from the GameModel resource, guarded like the other reads) + `lookPitch`/
  `lookYaw` (the committed eye component) + **`CommitLookState(int)`** — side
  looks yaw by the authored angle, look-behind = yaw π + `lookBackAngle` pitch,
  look-down = `lookFrontAngle` pitch, forward = identity.  The per-frame
  eyepoint compose in Simulate now adds the live Torso elevation on top of the
  committed look terms.
- Deferred inside the commit (needs the MechWeapon viewFireEnable/rearFiring
  members): re-arming the per-view weapon fire enables (forward = non-rear
  weapons, look-back = rear-mounted 'b'-port weapons, side/down = none) and the
  HUD pip group-mask flip.

**VERIFIED headlessly:** the model reads clean authored angles (L=60° R=−60°
F=−10° B=0° — layout confirmed again); `BT_FORCE_LOOK=3` fires ONE commit
(`[look] state=3 yaw=3.14159 pitch=0`) and the per-frame compose holds
`eyeYaw=π` with `eyePitch=0.349066` (lookBackAngle 0 + the 20°-clamped
elevation).  Zero Fail.

Next: the gait leg-clip animation / terrain drop / weapon wave. These become
VISIBLE only under the renderer; headlessly the composed angles are loggable
(as here).

## PHASE 5.3 INCREMENT 7: weapon view-fire gating (2026-07-21)

Completes the weapon-side half of the look commit:

- **MechWeapon** gains the real `rearFiring` / `viewFireEnable` members (out of
  the 1995 binary's @0x334/@0x3E0) + accessors.  The ctor resolves REAR-FIRING
  authentically (binary ctor tail @004b99a8): the weapon's MOUNT SEGMENT site
  name is tested for the 'b' (back) marker — the back gun ports
  (`sitelbgunport`/`siterbgunport`) are the only port names carrying it.  A
  weapon spawns armed for the forward view (`viewFireEnable = !rearFiring`).
- **Mech::CommitLookState** now re-arms every roster weapon on a view change
  (forward = non-rear weapons, LOOK-BACK = rear-mounted, side/down = none) and
  flips the HUD reticle pip group with the authentic 1995 enum flags
  (`Reticle::FrontFiringWeaponsOn`/`RearFiringWeaponsOn` — BT411's raw "bits
  1/2" resolved to their real names).

**Discovery:** the TEST.EGG mech genuinely mounts TWO REAR LASERS — ERMLaser_2
on `siterbgunport`, ERMLaser_3 on `sitelbgunport` (PPCs on the u-ports, the
third laser + SRM6s on the torso ports).

**VERIFIED headlessly** (`BT_FORCE_LOOK=3`): the look-behind commit arms exactly
the two rear lasers (`rear=1 armed=1`) and disarms the five forward weapons;
`pipMask=0xfffffffe` (front pips off, rear on).  Zero Fail.

### The stale-obj layout-skew trap (build410.sh hardened)

The first test runs showed the rear flags mysteriously zeroed after
construction.  Root cause was NOT game code: `build410.sh cc()` skipped
recompiles purely on obj-vs-.cpp timestamps, so after MECHWEAP.HPP grew two
members, `emitter.obj` (+ ppc/gauss/projweap/...) kept the OLD MechWeapon
layout — their `Emitter::chargeLevel = 0.0f` write landed exactly on the new
`rearFiring` offset.  A silent cross-TU struct-layout skew.  Fix:
`build410.sh` now keeps header stamps (newest source410 engine-header mtime
invalidates every bucket; newest BT/BT_L4 header mtime additionally invalidates
the game buckets) so header edits force the dependent recompiles.  CODE/ is
immutable and needs no stamp.  When in doubt: purge `build410/obj/*` for a
clean baseline.

## PHASE 5.3.12: the missing SetValidFlag (2026-07-22)

The Mech ctor tail now calls `SetValidFlag()` -- every 1995 entity ctor does
(CamShip/DoorFrame/DropZone/...), and ours didn't.  LOAD-BEARING:
`Entity::Dispatch` routes messages to an INVALID entity into the deferred
event queue, so the mech never received a directly-dispatched message -- the
PlayerLink bind silently never landed and every player-experience gate read a
NULL player (dev-permissive heat-always-on) until this line was restored.
Found while verifying the novice-mode heat lockout end-to-end.

## 5.3.16 — the target slot + hull zone fill (Pass 3)

- `Entity *targetEntity` @mech+0x388 (Get/SetTargetEntity; ctor NULLs it;
  reservedState [202]→[201]). The authentic WRITER is the reticle pick
  (render/mech4 wave); the BT_SPAWN_ENEMY harness (BTPLAYER.CPP) sets it for
  headless fights.
- Hull damage-zone fill after the model-param block: re-open the type-0x14
  DamageZoneStream, skip the count word the Entity base ctor consumed, and
  construct `new DamageZone(this, dz, &stream)` per zone — the CLASS-SCOPE
  typedef = `Mech__DamageZone` (authentic CODE/BT/BT/MECHDMG.HPP), whose ctor
  parses the full BT per-zone record. Then the SetLODParentPointers pass over
  all zones (binary Pass-3 order, FUN_004a1674). Full forensics in
  MECHDMG.NOTES.md — the Entity ctor ONLY allocates the pointer array; an
  unfilled or base-class fill is the 5.3.16 crash pair.

## 5.3.17 — the Mech damage entry + friend

- `Mech::MessageHandlerEntries/MessageHandlers` now DEFINED (chained to
  JointedMover's set; Build overlays the TakeDamage slot by ID — no gap risk,
  the parent chain registered it). DefaultData switched onto it.
- `TakeDamageMessageHandler` override (binary hub @004a0230): latches
  `lastInflictingID` (mech+0x43c, keys the zone LOD router's same-attacker
  clustering), gyro-bounce feed STAGED (log marker), cylinder unaimed-zone
  resolution DEFERRED (type-0x1d table), chains to Entity's handler.
- `friend class Mech__DamageZone` (BT411 mech.hpp:301 — authentic): the
  per-zone damage code walks the roster / segment table / statusAlarm.
- `IsMechDestroyed()` = statusAlarm (the @0x714 body-graphic alarm) >= 9.