CydandClaude Fable 5
d2be54a3b9
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>
71 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
71 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
# BTL4.CPP — reconstruction notes
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**Status: FULLY RECONSTRUCTED (2026-08-03) — both launch paths. The review/camera branch links against the real BTL4PB + L4SPLR bricks; no Fail() remains in this TU.**
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The 4.10 main TU. No original survives anywhere in the archive (OPT.MAK links
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`btl4.obj` as a bare object next to the libs — it was never a lib member).
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## Evidence base
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1. **Ghidra decomp of the 4.11 binary** — `C:\VWE\BT411\reference\decomp\all\part_000.c`,
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`FUN_0040109c` (the 524-byte function the Borland startup calls = `main`).
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The 4.10 and 4.11 binaries share the same string pool layout for this TU.
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2. **String pool of the original 4.10 `BTL4OPT.EXE`** (ALPHA_1/REL410/BT), file
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offset ~917884: `"btl4" "HEAPSIZE" "BattleTech v4.10" "btl4.res" "SPOOLSIZE"
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"Spool size = "` — banner text and resource name byte-exact.
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3. **Surviving 1995 launcher-style TU** `CODE/RP/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.CPP` — house
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style for `main(int, char*[])` and the `ProgName` global pattern.
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4. **BT411's win32 launcher** `game/btl4main.cpp` (adapted from RP's RPL4.CPP)
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independently reconstructs the same skeleton and pins `version[3] = {1,0,6}`
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against the RESOURCE.cpp version check.
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## Decoded decomp → source mapping
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| decomp | source |
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|---|---|
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| `FUN_004dbb24(&cout, "BattleTech v4.10", 0); FUN_004d9c38(&cout)` | `DEBUG_STREAM << "BattleTech v4.10" << endl` |
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| `FUN_0047b2ec(argc, argv, &LAB_0047af8c)` | `L4Application::ParseCommandLine(argc, argv, L4Application::ParseToken)` |
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| `FUN_00407218(stack84, "btl4.res", &DAT_004e0070, 3)` | `StreamableResourceFile resources("btl4.res", version)` (match_level=3 is the declared default) |
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| `DAT_004e0070` = 3 bytes | `version[3]` = `{MAJOR_DATA_VERSION, RELEASE_VERSION, MINOR_DATA_VERSION}` = {1,0,6} from BTL4VER.HPP |
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| `DAT_004fd550 < 1` | `L4Application::GetMissionReviewMode() < 1` (inline static accessor) |
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| `new(0x28) FUN_0044f29c(this, DAT_0052140c)` | `new ApplicationManager(GetTicksPerSecond())` (inline friend accessor, TIME.HPP:49) — DAT_0052140c is set to 28.0f by `SystemClock::SystemClock()` (L4TIME.CPP:93) when `L4TIMER=FAST` |
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| `new(0xd4) FUN_004d34c4(this, &resources, 0x3EB, &DAT_0051e8d8)` | `new BTL4Application(&resources)` — 0x3EB/`DefaultData` are the declared default args (BTL4APP.HPP:34) |
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| `FUN_0044f318(mgr, app)` | `application_manager->StartApplication(application)` |
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| `FUN_0044f344(mgr)` | `application_manager->RunMissions()` |
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| vcall slot 0 (mgr, 3) | `delete application_manager` |
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| `return DAT_004efc98` | `return Exit_Code` (APP.HPP:542) |
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## Review/camera branch (NOT yet reconstructed — staged Fail)
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Decomp structure for `missionReviewMode >= 1` (mode 1 = camera, 2 = review per
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emulator/CAMERA-REVIEW-NOTES.md):
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```
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spool_size = getenv("SPOOLSIZE") ? atoi(...) : 0x800000; // "Spool size = " printed
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mgr = new(0x38) MissionReviewApplicationManager(ticksPerSecond,
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(mode != 2) ? 2 : 1, spool_size);
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spool_file = <mgr getter, FUN_0044fa14>;
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if (spool_file)
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mgr->StartApplication(new(0xd8) BTL4PlaybackApplication(&resources, spool_file));
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if (mode == 1)
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mgr->StartApplication(new(0xd8) <camera app, FUN_0047c3fc>(&resources, 1));
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```
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RECONSTRUCTED 2026-08-03: the branch is real. BTL4PB.CPP reconstructs the
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playback app against its authentic surviving header; L4SPLR.CPP back-dates the
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RP411 descendant onto the authentic 1995 engine header (see each sidecar). Two
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identifications closed it: the `if (spool_file)` guard means the getter is
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GetStoredSpoolFile (the empty-spool getter cannot fail), and the camera app's
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ctor FUN_0047c3fc sits in the engine range with the (ResourceFile*,
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ApplicationID) shape — the camera app IS the engine's L4SpoolingApplication,
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started with ApplicationID 1 == BTL4. RUNTIME TEST PENDING: needs a
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camera/review egg and a recorded spool on the rig (CAMERA-REVIEW-NOTES.md).
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## Deliberate differences from the binary
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- `HEAPSIZE` string sits in the pool between ProgName and the banner but is not
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referenced from the decompiled main — it likely belongs to the runtime heap
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init, not this TU. Not reproduced.
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- `Register_Object`/`Start_Registering` debug bookkeeping is absent from the
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optimized binary (DEBUG_LEVEL=0 compiles it out), so it is not written here.
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